During last week’s 14th Annual National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses (NASC) Annual Sportsman-Legislator Summit, the Oregon Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus was honored with the NASC Heritage Award for the Western Region.
Presented by the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF), the award was bestowed on the Oregon Sportsmen’s Caucus for their efforts on behalf of Oregon’s sportsmen and women during the 2017 Oregon legislative session. The NASC Heritage Award is presented annually to one individual or group in each of CSF’s four regions who significantly furthers sportsmen’s interests in their state. During the 2017 session, the Oregon Caucus was the driving force behind numerous sportsmen’s policy successes – eight bills supported by the Caucus passed, including legislation to expand Oregon’s mentored hunting program and to address poaching by increasing penalties for wildlife law violations and providing incentives for those who report them. Oregon also became the first state to hire a dedicated staff member to assist the Caucus during the legislative session.
“The Oregon Sportsmen’s Caucus is deeply honored to receive the NASC Heritage Award. This is a tremendous testament to all the hard work put forth by both Caucus Members and our sportsmen’s partners during the 2017 session, and we are just getting started in our work to protect and advance policy benefiting Oregon’s hunters and anglers,” noted Caucus Co-Chair and recently elected NASC Executive Council Alternate Member Representative Brad Witt.
Oregon Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chair and outgoing NASC Executive Council Member Representative Sal Esquivel further added, “The NASC Heritage Award demonstrates what state sportsmen’s caucuses can achieve by holding strong to their caucus mission, and by working in a bipartisan, bicameral fashion.”
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?
