A meeting of a decision making committee of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) was recently held concerning the cougar management plan. There were two anti’s and no hound hunters in attendance. Luckily, making a decision was postponed until early December. Two knowledgeable and well spoken hounds men are now on the agenda to testify. Two small voices is not nearly enough. As the anti’s do, we must unite and flood ODFW with mail supporting hound hunting and disagreeing with their moronic cougar plan.

Here is the plan, and a little history, in a nutshell:
Measure 18 made hound hunting bears and cougars illegal in the mid-1990’s. The cougar population has gotten terribly out of hand since because the only effective way to hunt cougar is with hounds. The cougars are now causing big problems with the deer and elk populations and so fewer tags/licenses for them can be sold. ODFW plans on using money collected from all hunter’s licenses to pay someone they hire to hunt and kill cougars. These hunters will of course have to use hounds, because that is the only way to hunt them effectively.

Why in the world would ODFW pay someone to do something that many would pay for to be able to do!?

Politics of course. Oregon is under an incredibly ineffective governor right now and he hired his cronies, limo-liberals, to fill government positions with clout, ODFW positions too. Kowtowing to Portland, Salem and Eugene area high density and very liberal populations is the rule.

A spokeswoman from ODFW was quoted in The Oregonian (Portland’s newspaper) last week about how many letters against hunting they get and said, “think of how you would triple that problem” if more hunting was allowed. ODFW is not concerned with managing wildlife, it is concerned with how many letters it gets. So lets all write letters!

Most important is to let the commission how we feel. A very brief e-mail just supporting hound hunting is fine. The one I sent is 3 short paragraphs. They are having the meeting in about a month, so send an e-mail today, please.

DonWhitaker@state.or.us

Thank you and I hope you find it in your hearts to shoot out a quick e-mail.

Sincerely,
Libby Wentz

PLEASE REPOST ON ANY SITES THERE MIGHT BE INTEREST AND SUPPORT

_________________
~Libby

Oregon http://www.bayingbriars.com/

Join the forum today and remove this ad!

http://www.governor.state.or.us/Gov/contact_us.shtml

This is the link to the page to send an e-mail to Oregon's governor. I can't find the actual address. You can send it from there though.

DonWhitaker@state.or.us
is the e-mail for comments to ODFW Commission. Mr. Whitaker isn't the commission, just the contact within ODFW.

The meeting has been moved back to the January meeting. I am not suggesting people plan to attend, just send an e-mail:

Subject line: Cougar Agent Issue

and a short note that you do not agree with it.

This is what I sent, which you can copy and paste if you'd like:

Dear ODFW Commission,

Re Cougar Agent Issue

I think it is a waste of money and poor management to use money from hunter’s licenses to pay someone to go hunt the game Oregonians and out of state hunters would gladly pay to be able to hunt.

Measure 18 was obviously a poorly reasoned ballot resolution, a reaction to propaganda without clear thinking into the reality of controlling the bear and cougar population. The consequences are now becoming apparent, namely that the only effective way to control cougars is by hound hunting, ODFW is scrambling to keep vocal urban dwellers happy at the expense of true game management and the safety of rural crops, livestock and lives.

This blatant political pandering is irresponsible. If ODFW is charged with managing Oregon’s wildlife, then manage it effectively. Behave like grown-ups and quit acting like children squandering money that isn’t yours, trying to make the most friends…do the right thing: Sell tags for hunters to hunt with the best known method, and manage the cougar population while making revenue.

Sincerely,
My Name
My Address
My Phone number

I agree if this goes through we will never have to chance again to hunt Cougar with hounds in Oregon. Please write to them even if you just paste what libby wrote.

And thank you libby for be proactive about this subject i wish more people would take a stand on this subject and the future for hound hunting cougar in oregon. Thank you

Every method of hunting taken away makes it that much easier to take another. That is why I am surprised other hunters (duck, deer, elk, etc) are all being so quiet about this.

Taken further, fishing seasons are being whittled away in our area...it sounds crazy, but I see groups eventually trying to make fishing as bad as hunting once game/fowl hunting is taken away. The salmon must be protected.

I don't think this is simple paranoia...they are out to get us!

The cougar Plan has PASSED. we are not fighting if ODF&W will use the cougar plan because they will. This hearing is about the application prosses. I dont get why we are saying if this passes. It has already passed.

I am not saying if anything passes, Nora. Neither did BlueCrossHunting.
Banning hounds on cougar was voted for 1994.

Paying agents to kill cougar will most likely pass, these are the final hearings which are more formality than anything..but it is formality and thusly we ought to formally voice our concerns for the record.

Our lack of any letter, electronic or paper, indicates lack of concern or worse that we agree.

ODFW sure does pay attention to what people are saying, whether they can/will do anything is another story. They are politically motivated and politicians pay attention to numbers so they can get re-elected. If 90% of Oregonians suddenly were stuck by the notion hunting was good and we all should do it, old Kulongoski would hang up his bowling ball and go hunting.

This is won't happen of course, unless the bio-bomb I'm tweaking from the one making opposing armies become sweet on each other does in fact make vegitarians crave elk, bear, lion, coon and possum. A little humor, I can't even follow directions well enough to make bread rise.

I am not kidding when I say I think they should make a Snoball submarine sandwich to feed the homeless in Portland. That creature should have and would have been put to sleep right away if ODFW was not being politically swayed. I think it is sheer madness how ODFW is behaving, how they are not managing wildlife.

Libby, We had stacks and stacks of Papers and, Emails comments, and letters to the ODFW commission. You can probably go down to ODFW head quarters and request them.. I think you will be surprized. If you look at the stacks it if VERY clear that Many people wrote in on this subject. I was there, I seen the stacks, and we asked them about the how they were taken, IN THE MEETING THEY told us that the don't really care how many comments are pro or con...

THousands of Comments, There were probably close to 50-100 letters Against the cougar Plan for EACH letter for the cougar plan... We handed them some 10,000 Sportsman Signatures against the cougar plan. ANTI hunters Sent in THOUSANDs of Letters against the cougar plan.

Yet they still went with the less than ~2% of opinions supporting the plan.

MORE LETTERS ISN'T going to change their minds...I don't care if you make that 2% 1% or 1/2% that isn't going to magically change anything... You/WE will need to get more creative than that. Secondly ODFW isn't where the letters need to go.. they need to go to Oregon Hunters Association, The Board of OHA is the few that were Supporting this plan. They are the ones that are and were pushing this. Let them know that you aren't going to volunteer for this plan and they need to find a amend their bill, so that Volunteering doesn't mean you have to waste the animals you kill.

Like Nora said, this is about the rules for selecting agents.. Here are the proposed rules from the commssion.. Any productive comments at this point should be about these rules...
http://www.biggamehoundsmen.com/buddyw/Exhibit%20D%20Agent.pdf

It's time to get smart about it and Find another way...

So I ask people to stop writing them don't show up and don't volunteer to support this plan..

I can tell you OUSDA is getting far more response right now because we aren't talking and not showing up and they are asking for our opinions... Makes you think about it.. Then You remember.. oh yea this is about Money right now.. They don't want to spend their money.. so they want us to make this plan work for them by volunteering to be a government agent....

I'll make them an unofficial offer, HOW ABOUT GIVE THE CONTRACT TO OUSDA for the costs that it takes to kill the cougar.. I think it's 2000/per cougar "I believe" houndsmen will gladly donate our time to manage this contract for the money that We could use to fight and correct the issues right and fighting ourselves out of a government job. That's a sacrifice that I would be willing to volunteer for. They need to manage cougars.. great, we can do it, but why do we have to volunteer at the same time we are losing our rights and giving the government hunters more money.. We should be entitled to make sure that money goes to go to an issue or cause that we want.. Afterall We are the ones saving it for them.. .. NOT saving them money to pay more to wildlife services...

So being quite and not helping them will make a statement.. Is it going to stop this.. No it won't.. But they will have to do something.

But i know it's just my pipe dream.. probably just as much chance of happening as all my "what if I won the lottery dreams.." But one thing for sure is it's creative.. and we need to get creative right now.

So you want to do something, That's great, Best thing right now is we need more of getting a voice into OHA.. We need more hound guys in OHA VOTING.. We need to see some Hound guys on the board of OHA to help protect us from the ill-informed Deer and Elk hunters who are crafting this plan... They are the ones that are pushing for this right now..

I am not saying OUSDA and others have not been doing anything or do not currently have irons in fire.

I never said that.

Regardless of what is being done, more can be done. How freaking hard is it to drop e-mails? If people from outside Oregon drop them, too, then that will be all the more better.

Prehaps something gave me a wild hair to drop an e-mail and post where to send them...so what. If an e-mail address with a request for notes went out and I agreed with whatever...frog eater's rights in North Dakota, nose pickers in Georgia or petticoat empowerment in Maine...I'd drop a note.

Don't get your panties in a knot that your authority as to what is best is being questioned. IT IS NOT.

Why exactly am I getting so much $hit about this? Don't write a note or do. Whatever. I don't even freaking cougar hunt.

I do pay hunting license and I do not want my money spent to pay someone to kill cougars.

I have every right to that opinion, and to try to get others to remind ODFW it is about the dumbest idea ever. Whether they can do it or not. We do not have to bend over and point "here" to them.

Why would they be having any more hearings if it was a done deal??

Boycotting sending ODFW letters is like my kids telling me they aren't going to talk to me any more after I've told them no on something. By that point, I am relieved they are finally seeing I am not going to budge and quit yammering about that which I have no intention of doing. I figure they know I am right and will calm down and be out later to play nicely by my rules.

WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG STICK, THE BIG STICK IS THE NRA, SAFARI CLUB AND ANY OTHER SPORTSMEN ORGONIZATION YOU CAN GET TO COME ON BOARD TO HELP IN THIS FIGHT.......

Sorry I've been out Elk hunting..

Libby, We are not saying that your opinion is wrong.. I fully agree with you..

what we are saying is this meeting is not about the cougar plan.. It's about approving a set of rules to select volunteer agents.

The article you are refering to is a meeting about The rules to Select "VOLUNTEER AGENTS" so If your worried about the money.. This "will" fix your worries, They won't have to pay them.. As long as some Hound guys are willing to "Volunteer" Which I"m positive there will be.. Not me!

Now if your worried about them shooting and wasting your wildlife instead of Letting Sportsman Hunt and manage wildlife.. this won't fix that!.

If your going to send in comments either tell them your more than happy to volunteer and save them money or tell them you don't want to volunteer for this plan? Those comments would at least be inline with the agenda... and they could include the for thought?

I'm definatley not the authority.. Nor do I claim to be, But I've had enough Face to Face time with the Commision to know that what your are asking or your letter will not phase them. It's not on there agenda as a "topic".

We are simply asking that you read what the commsiion is asking for and what comment they areactually seeking, You letter does not adress what they are asking for.. It's basically a disruptive letter, they asked for those letters last year..

So we hound hunters can show up, and write leters that are disrupting to their proccess. But they still have the agenda, and the only topic on that agenda, is about the Rules... So basically every part of your comments ignores the agenda topic "rule making process" and they will decide that the commend don't apply to the agenda, and make the rules them selves..

I'm simply asking that people think of a more productive way to address this topic. I'm sorry that you feel that we are giving you "sh@$" about this, we are just trying to explain what is happening and 'our opiinon' that having thousands of Hound hunters send in disruptive comments will not change the Law in Oregon.

We need to Change the "law" first! And ODFW can't do that!!

trust me if I though for a second that sending in my comments were even a slight possiblity, I would send them in again, everyday.

Let me ask you a question.. If you were ODFW.. What would you do about this situation. I think they are giving us the Ammo we drastically need to fight BM18 in the Oregon Cougar Plan. Have you Read the Plan front to back? there is allot of information in there that has never been said before. ODFW Clearly States that Hound hunting is the Best method.. So we can sit and write comments about it or we can take that information and do something productive with it...

Buddy