State: OK

Contact: Kent Keene, Senior Coordinator, Lower Midwestern States and Agriculture Policy Highlights Why it Matters: One of the primary goals of the National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses is to facilitate the exchange of information between state and federal fish and wildlife management agencies, the sporting-conservation community, and our elected officials who serve as members of their…

Contact: Kent Keene; Senior Coordinator, Lower Midwestern States and Agriculture Policy Why it Matters: Granting license and fee authority to the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission would allow the agency charged with managing Oklahoma’s fish and wildlife resources the ability to simplify the current complicated system of licenses and permits to best suit the needs of…

Contact: Kent Keene; Senior Coordinator, Lower Midwestern States and Agriculture Policy On March 1, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) welcomed Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt as the newest member of the Governors Sportsmen’s Caucus (GSC) bringing the  GSC membership to 29 governors. The GSC is a bipartisan group of governors from across the country dedicated to…

Contact: Kent Keene, Senior Coordinator, Lower Midwestern States and Agriculture Policy On Wednesday, February 24, members of the Oklahoma Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus gathered to elect Co-Chairs to serve as leaders during Oklahoma’s 58th Legislature. The bipartisan leadership consists of a mix of familiar faces and newcomers to the leadership bench. Returning Co-Chairs include National Assembly of…

Contact: Kent Keene, Senior Coordinator, Lower Midwestern States and Agriculture Policy After working closely with the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF), Oklahoma Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chair and NASC Executive Council Member Senator Mark Allen recently introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution 5 (SCR 5) in the Oklahoma Senate. This resolution, coauthored by Caucus Co-Chair Senator J.J. Dossett, would…

Contact: Kent Keene, Lower Midwestern States Coordinator On Monday, February 8, the Oklahoma Senate Agriculture and Wildlife Committee held its first committee meeting of the 2021 legislative session. Among the several bills discussed during this meeting was Senate Bill 774 (SB 774), a bill that would grant authority over Oklahoma’s hunting and fishing licenses, permits,…

Contacts: Nick Buggia, Upper Midwestern States Manager; Kent Keene, Lower Midwestern States Coordinator Since many Midwestern states have either wrapped up their 2020 legislative sessions or remain suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, members of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation’s States Program Team will be providing brief regional legislative updates over the next few weeks. Below…

Contact: Kent Keene, Lower Midwestern States Coordinator During their May meeting, the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission discussed proposed changes to the state’s white-tailed deer and waterfowl bag limits and seasons. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, this commission meeting was held virtually via videoconferencing. During the meeting, the Wildlife Conservation Commission approved the proposed changes…

Contact: Kent Keene, Lower Midwestern State Coordinator On Monday, March 2, the Oklahoma House of Representatives voted unanimously to pass House Bill 3496 (HB 3496). Authored by Oklahoma Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus Members, Representative John Talley in the House and National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses Executive Committee Alternate Member Senator Mark Allen in the Senate, HB…

Contact: Kent Keene, Lower Midwestern States Coordinator The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) and the Oklahoma Wildlife Commission are currently seeking public comments on a series of 34 rule changes that have been proposed for 2020. These proposed changes include, among other things, amendments to: sport fish length requirements and bag limits, permitted activities on…

Contact: Kent Keene, Lower Midwestern States Coordinator On May 7, the Oklahoma Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus hosted the Whitewater Rafting Adventure at Riversport Adventures OKC in Oklahoma City. The event brought together members of the Sportsmen’s Caucus, their fellow legislators, representatives from the state’s sportsmen and conservation community, Director J.D. Strong and staff from the Oklahoma…

By Chris Horton, Midwestern States Senior Director On February 13, the Oklahoma Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus hosted a Sportsmen’s Day at the Capitol, where representatives of Oklahoma’s fishing, hunting and trapping community set up booths to inform legislators about the work that their organizations do for conservation and Oklahoma’s outdoor heritage. Following the informative discussion, Oklahoma…