OHA bucks plan to give landowners 10% of our buck pronghorn tags

We are coming upon the 70th calendar day of 2009 Legislative Session, and the building is really beginning to hum. Currently we are following more than 100 bills for OHA. Right now we are in the middle of the first round of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife budget hearings with questions from the committee on general fund expenditures and the cougar plan. Things are upside down for Oregon economically, and all agencies are expected to take big general-fund hits.

Many bills abound, and here are the highlights of the hottest ones:

• LOP Reauthorization: House Bill (HB) 2219 is the bill that extends the sunset on the landowner preference tags program. At the beginning of the Legislative Session, OHA was asked by Chair Brian Clem (D-Salem) of the House Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Communities Committee to present OHA’s position on the bill. The OHA Legislative Committee developed a position on the bill and provided it to the various user groups interested in the bill. HB 2219 would, among other things, allow a landowner with 5,000 acres or more (or a member of the landowner’s immediate family) to become eligible for one landowner preference tag for buck antelope. Currently the program only allows for an antelope tag, not a buck antelope tag. According to ODFW this would take approximately 1,700 tags out of the general draw. OHA is opposed to that provision in the bill.

  We are also opposed to the provision of HB 2219 that would allow for an increase in tags that could go to the non-immediate family members. The bill increases the amount from the current level of 1/3 to 1/2. OHA is also asking for new language to be added to the bill that would expand the definition of immediate family to include “domestic partner, spouses or domestic partners of the fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, stepchildren and grandchildren.” This would allow more people in the family the opportunity to hunt. OHA also asks that a workgroup be established during the interim to examine the development of an LOP system that will tie the transferability of tags to property damage.

  We will keep you updated through our various information outlets about the status of this bill.

• Invasive Species: A number of bills deal with invasive species. HB 2221 outlines procedures and outcomes for landowners to rid their property of feral pigs. This bill was heard in early March and is being amended to allow the landowner to be notified by ODFW of the options available to landowners to rid their property of feral pigs. There is broad-based support for this bill by OHA, landowners and the general public.

  Many bills address aquatic invasive species. One of them is HB 2220, which authorizes OSP, ODFW and the State Marine Board to require a person transporting recreational or commercial watercraft to stop at check stations for inspection of watercraft for the presence of aquatic invasive species. The bill speaks to check stations, and this points to some constitutional problems, because check stations of this sort have been deemed unconstitutional in the past. The bill is currently being rewritten to avoid any constitutional challenges. Another invasive species bill, HB 2583, prohibits a person from launching a boat into public waters if the boat has visible aquatic invasive species. The bill was heard in early March, and OHA testified in support of the concept of the bill, but asked that a definition of aquatic invasive species be added to the bill.

• Access and Habitat: The ODFW Access and Habitat (A&H) program is one of the best programs for opening up lands for hunters in Oregon. The current program is scheduled to sunset, and HB 2218 was introduced to reauthorize the program and to raise the current surcharge used to fund the program from $2 to $4. The bill had a hearing early in March, and was overwhelmingly supported by all the user groups. A companion bill, HB 2628, allows the A&H program to purchase easements or land. The bill was heard at the same time, and OHA testified in support of the concept behind the bill, but stated some concerns about the program tying up money in land purchases. Other user groups testified to similar concerns about the bill. A workgroup has been established by Rep. Bill Witt (D-Clatskanie), the sponsor of the bill, to find a workable solution to some of the concerns voiced by the user groups at the hearing.

• Metolius Basin: Many bills in both the House and the Senate address destination resorts and the Metolius Basin. HB 2227 has had the most publicity, with hearings in Redmond and Salem. This bill deals with future developments in the basin and the need to have LCDC establish criteria to protect wildlife, fish, habitat and water. HB 3100 addresses the current building proposed in the basin and asks that criteria be met first regarding wildlife, fish habitat and water before any building can proceed. OHA is on record as supporting HB 3100 and is working with the bill’s sponsors.