Cougar Bills in State Legislature

[Arne K]

It would be a good time to send some emails, if you're interested in the subject. From OHA email:


Cougar Bills Are Up For A Hearing!
Tuesday February 17th 2015 at 8am

Hearing Room D

Oregon State Capitol

900 Court Street NE, <broken link removed>

Here are two ways you can comment

• Attend and testify
• Send emails to committee members

This coming Tuesday, February 17th, 2015 there will be two cougar bills up before the House Agriculture and Natural Resource Committee in Hearing Room D at 8am in the State Capitol in Salem located at 900 Court Street NE.

These two identical cougar bills will be heard:

<broken link removed> - this bill provides that a county is exempt from applicability of the statute banning use of dogs to hunt or pursue cougars if voters approve a county measure proposed by initiative petition or referred to people by governing body of county.

<broken link removed> provides that a county is exempt from applicability of statute banning use of dogs to hunt or pursue cougars if voters approve a county measure proposed by initiative petition or referred to people by governing body of county.


If You Would Like To Email the Committee Members in Support Of These Two Bills

• In the subject line of the email use the words: "Please support HB 2050 and HB 2181".
• State that you are a member of OHA.
• Make your email original and stress just one or two points.
• Do Not Use A Form Email. Please Make It Your Own.

DO NOT SEND EMAILS TO COMMITTEE MEMBERS AFTER 5PM MONDAY FEBRUARY 16TH.



Below is a list of the committee members and their email addresses.

House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee Membership

Chair - Rep. Brad Witt - Democrat - District 31 – Clatskanie - [email protected]

Co-Vice Chair - Rep. Susan McLain - Democrat - District 29 – Hillsboro - [email protected]

Co-Vice Chair –Rep. Wayne Krieger - Republican - District 1 - Gold Beach - [email protected]

Rep. Greg Barreto - Republican - District 58 – Cove -[email protected]

Rep. Sal Esquivel - Republican - District 6 – Medford - [email protected]

Rep. Lew Frederick - Democrat - District 43 – Portland - [email protected]

Rep. Chris Gorsek - Democrat - District 49 – Troutdale - [email protected]

Rep. Caddy McKeown - Democrat - District 09 - Coos Bay - [email protected]

Rep. Gail Whitsett - Republican - District 56 - Klamath Falls - [email protected]





If You Would Like To Testify On These Two Bills please keep your testimony under three minutes and make sure to stress your points clearly. You may want to incorporate some of these points in your testimony:

• Our state's deer and elk harvest has dropped in half since Measure 18 passed, and understandably, license and tags sales are declining due to dwindling opportunity. This is a major detriment to ODFW funding and the economy of communities that depend on the influx of hunters in the fall.
• Cougar attacks on pets and livestock have increased exponentially since Measure 18 passed.
• In the past twenty years since the passage of Measure 18 more cougars are appearing in our local neighborhoods and public safety has become an issue.

Please wear OHA apparel and please be courteous to all in attendance. If you want to attend the hearing but not testify please do so. Wear OHA apparel and remember to be courteous to all in attendance.
OHA THANKS YOU FOR STEPPING UP WHEN YOUR HELP MATTERS MOST!

Read More

 

[Arne K]

Emails should be direct and personalized. This is what I sent.


Representative Witt,
As a native Oregonian who grew up in a rural area, I understand the impacts of having a cougar population that exceeds the capacity of available habitat. Now that I live near and work in the biggest population center of the state, I realize that most of the voting population's perception of this issue is not based on facts and statistics. Therefore, I believe the decisions are best addressed at a local level so that people close to the issue can decide. Thank you for your time. Arne K......

 

[fatamos33]

When will we hear about the outcome of the vote?

 

[coop44]

I owe a lot to nice older ladies, please don't shoot them. The Habitat at the local gin mill seems big enough to me.

 

[156256Hunter]

Having active Cougar/Mountain Lion and Wolf and Lynx populations growing join Oregon, is a really good thing on so many fronts. It is so important that men and boys realize the not only have the right to openly carry a rifle when recreating. More and more they have a cogent reason to do so. Without tools they are on the menu.

On the other side of the same coin, nosediving deer and elk populations are not "a really good thing." Please keep in mind that ODFW uses revenue from deer and elk hunting applications, to establish or rehabilitate habitat for other species. A substantial decrease in elk and deer numbers (from the 1990s) means more and more discouraged hunters, and fewer tag applications (which is required to try and draw a tag--not all applications are successful, and not all hunters who get a tag fill it -- success rates of 9 to 11 percent in some areas), which in turn means less revenue for ODFW to use for other species.

Hopefully these bills will pass so counties can manage their own cougar populations, instead of being controlled by keyboard activists who never hunt (yet may still eat meat), and who've probably never been to those counties (primarily the east side of the state where cougar populations are the largest) more than once or twice in their life.

 

[Member 5605]

I've watched the Alsea Unit go from 600 tags per year to now it's less than 50! (antlerless and 3500 applicants last time I checked)- add to is the number of bucks killed with dwindling doe population and more cat sightings. I won't hesitate to blast the cat that moves towards me or even twitches toward me. The only animal in the forest that scares me. The only animal that can sneak up behind you and you won't ever know it.

(2014 stats were 1100 applicants with 50 tags), of which 37 of the 50 had 9!!!! preference points. Screw that, wait 9 years to draw a tag.

The deer aren't there anymore and there has been less and less hunters out actually harvesting animals. I haven't drawn a tag for any unit in the last 8 years. I buy my combo, apply for an anterless an if that doesn't happen I don't hunt. I refuse to pay for a buck tag.

I'm after the same meat that those cats are, but they don't have to petition ODFW to kill one.

Bring back the dogs for cougars and bring back the bait for bears.