Why It Matters: Oregon’s hunters, anglers, and trappers have long played a vital role in funding conservation and wildlife management efforts throughout the state. Under the American System of Conservation Funding (ASCF), a unique “user pays – public benefits” structure, Oregon’s sportsmen and women generate tens of millions of dollars each year for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW). These funds are generated through fishing and hunting license sales and through a 10-11% excise tax paid on sporting-related goods via the Pittman-Robertson and Dingel-Johnson/Wallop-Breaux Acts. Ongoing attempts to restrict Oregon’s 940,000 sportsmen and women from their outdoor pursuits of hunting, fishing, and trapping threatens this vital funding revenue for Oregon’s conservation, habitat restoration, and wildlife management efforts.
Highlights:
- On January 19th, the Oregon Sportsmen’s Conservation Partnership elected a new Board of Directors to lead the coalition. The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation’s (CSF) Western States Manager Keely Hopkins was elected to serve as Chair of the coalition for a two-year term.
- Born out of the need to organize in response to the previously proposed Initiative Petition 13 that would ban all hunting and fishing in the state, the outdoor and sporting community recognized the need to have a formal, ongoing coalition that could work together in response to the initiative, but also on all other efforts that could impact the future of the state’s outdoor heritage.
- This coalition, which was modeled after the Hunting and Conservation Coalition in California, is one of many efforts taking place in states across the West as we continue to see increased attacks on our sporting community. Similar coalitions have also been formed in Colorado and Washington.
As we continue to see increased attacks on our outdoor heritage, sportsmen and women in states all across the West are banding together to form an organized response. Just two years ago, in response to the proposed ballot Initiative Petition 13 that sought to end all hunting, fishing, and trapping in the state, the Oregon sportsmen’s community quickly united to form the Oregon Sportsmen’s Conservation Partnership. While the new coalition was formed primarily out of the need to organize in response to IP13’s blatant attack on the state’s outdoor heritage (which has since been refiled as IP3 for the 2024 ballot and IP28 for the 2026 ballot), the coalition has also worked together to proactively introduce and advocate for legislative proposals and engage with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission. The coalition now includes over 30 national and state hunting and angling organizations.
On January 19th, the Oregon Sportsmen’s Conservation Partnership elected its next Board of Directors to lead the organization for the 2024-2026 term. Elected to the Board of Directors were Keely Hopkins, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (Chair), Chris Hager, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (Vice Chair), Amy Patrick, Oregon Hunters Association (Secretary), Bill Richardson, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (Wildlife), Leonard Krug, Oregon Anglers Alliance (Fisheries), Michael O’Casey, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (Eastside), and Matt Little, Ducks Unlimited (Westside). The new Board will strive to continue the strong work that has taken place in recent years under the leadership of Amy Patrick and Stan Steele.
In addition to Oregon, coalitions have also formed in other states across the West. In Washington, following the Spring Bear Hunt suspension in 2022, the sportsmen’s community came together to form the Washington Fish and Conservation Partnership, which has now grown to include over 30 organizations that have been working together on legislative and regulatory issues. Similarly, the Colorado Wildlife Conservation Project was formed over the proposed bill to ban mountain lion hunting, and is now focused on proposed ballot Measures 91 and 101, both of which seek to undermine the North American Model of Conservations and limit science-based wildlife management.
The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation is proud to be working on the ground with our partner organizations in these states and will continue to protect and advance hunting, fishing, trapping and recreational shooting.
