OHA members went before the Deschutes County Commission two weeks in a row in January, first giving input regarding the priority of the Goal 5 Wildlife Inventory Update that had been shelved for political reasons. OHA members showed up wearing OHA hats and jackets, and the commission noticed to the degree that additional opportunity for comment was provided the next week.
OHA members, mainly from the Redmond and Bend chapters, both in person, and through email comments, reminded commissioners that our mule deer, elk and eagle wildlife inventories were last updated in the 1990s and are not the best scientific data.
The overwhelming message from OHA was that development and recreation pressure is bringing more conflicts between land use and wildlife protection and that protection of wildlife is a widely shared value in Deschutes County.
Our thanks go to OHA Southeast Director Mary Jo Hedrick and to OHA president Steve Hagan for not letting this fall through the cracks. And thanks to the Bend and Redmond chapters who showed up in January when they could have been out chukar hunting. —Gary Lewis
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