On Tuesday, April 23, the Oregon House of Representatives resoundingly passed House Bill 2624, legislation that would allow local communities to decide if they would like the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to allow the use of dogs to manage cougar populations in their area. Designed to once again give wildlife managers the tools they need to actively manage predator populations, the effort to pass this legislation through the House has been led by Oregon Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus members including Co-Chairs Representatives Sal Esquivel and Brad Witt.
Next, House Bill 2624 will head to the Senate where Senate President Peter Courtney will assign the bill to either the Senate Committee on Rural Communities and Economic Development, chaired by Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chair Senator Arnie Roblan, or the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee, a committee that many see as unfriendly to Oregon sportsmen and women.
If you would like to ensure that House Bill 2624 receives a fair hearing in the Oregon Senate, please contact Senate President Peter Courtney and request that he assign this legislation to the Senate Committee on Rural Communities and Economic Development. For more information about the Oregon Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus or House Bill 2624, contact CSF Western States Manager Andy Treharne at andy@sportsmenslink.org.
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
