[ODFW-News] Commission amends wildlife disease, grass carp rules

[ODFW News]

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 	
Contact: 	Anne Pressentin Young (503) 872-5264 x5356	
Internet: www.dfw.state.or.us  Fax: (503) 872-5700
	

For Immediate Release	Friday, July 11, 2003

Commission amends wildlife disease protection,
grass carp rules at final Portland headquarters meeting

PORTLAND - The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission met today to amend rules to protect deer and elk from disease, and to allow an exception process for the use of grass carp. The meeting was the last one scheduled to take place at the Portland headquarters building. The September 12 meeting will occur at the new headquarters building at 3406 Cherry Avenue NE in Salem.

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission is the rule-making body for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The seven-member panel meets monthly to adopt rules and set policy for ODFW to implement.

Rules amended for disposal of deer and elk carcasses
Responding to concerns about the disposal of illegally imported game parts, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission today voted to require specific disposal processes for certain parts of deer and elk carcasses imported from states with chronic wasting disease. The amendments require the parts to be disposed of at lined landfills that accept animal carcasses and are certified by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, or at facilities that can incinerate the parts at temperatures above 800 degrees Fahrenheit. The cost of disposal will be born by the person importing the carcass.

Rules adopted in 2002 prevent the importation of parts that could harbor CWD. Hunters bringing back meat from states with CWD cannot import any portion of the animal's head or spinal column unless it has been cleaned of all meat and brain tissue. The rule amendment adopted today provides an instate disposal method for any illegal parts that are brought to Oregon in violation of the import ban. 

CWD is a fatal disease that affects privately held and/or wild herds in Alberta, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Saskatchewan, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming. The untreatable disease leads to progressive loss of body condition, behavioral changes, excessive salivation and death. In the later stages, small holes in the brain tissue of affected animals are visible with a microscope, producing a spongy look characteristic of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE). Similar TSE diseases exist in domestic sheep (scrapie), cattle (bovine TSE or mad cow disease), cats, minks and humans (Crueutzfeldt-Jakob disease). There is no known connection between CWD and brain diseases in people.

Researchers believe an abnormal type of prion protein serves as the disease agent, but the origin and transmission of CWD are not clearly defined. 

Grass carp stocking rules amended
The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission took action today to allow exceptions to the grass carp stocking rules, provided measures are taken that guarantee the non-native fish will not enter local waterways. As a result of the change, residents surrounding Laurel Lake near Bandon may apply to use grass carp to address problematic weed growth.

Prior to today's amendment grass carp could be stocked with a permit from ODFW, provided the water body is on private land, is less than 10 acres, has screen inlets and outlets to contain the carp, and is not in the 100-year flood plain. The grass carp must be sterile, longer than 12 inches, implanted with tags to identify the owner, and stocked at rates fewer than 22 per acre. 

The new rules allow the Commission to grant exceptions to the water body size limit and floodplain requirement, provided the applicant can ensure that the carp will not leave the private pond or ditch. Each exception must be approved by the Commission on a site-by-site basis.

Grass carp eat aquatic vegetation. They are placed in small ponds or ditches to control nuisance aquatic plant growth. Grass carp that enter local waterways can disrupt aquatic plant communities and compete with native fishes and shellfish for food.

Laurel Lake residents, who initiated the request for the change in the grass carp rules, said they would be bringing forth a proposal to receive an exception to the rules and obtain a stocking permit. 

Oakridge trooper presented with Wildlife Officer of the Year Award

A nine-year veteran of the Oregon State Police in Oakridge received the Wildlife Officer of the Year Award from Shikar Safari Club International during today's Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting.

Senior Trooper Marshall Maher received the award for his dedication to his work as a fish and wildlife trooper, ability to enforce big game cases, efforts to prevent the illegal take of game animals, and volunteer work in the Oakridge community to teach hunter safety and boater safety. 

Maher began working with OSP as a cadet in 1991 in Roseburg. He held several positions in the Roseburg and Springfield areas before transferring to Oakridge, where he has worked since 1996. 

Maher has gained the respect and admiration of his peers and supervisors, and has been the recipient of several recent awards, including the 2003 Pogue Elms Wildlife Officer of the Year Award and the 2002 Eugene Delta Rotary Vocational Law Enforcement Service Award.

Shikar Safari Club International was founded in 1952 by a group of international hunters and conservationists. The organization, which is limited to a membership of 200 people internationally, raises funds to support wildlife conservation projects worldwide.

Fish sale pilot program receives approval

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission today approved a plan to allow Columbia River commercial gillnetters to sell their catch at a location away from their fishing boats as a way to establish new markets and obtain better prices.

The pilot project was made possible through passage of House Bill 3094, which was signed into law in June by Governor Ted Kulongoski. 

Commercial fishers currently may sell their catch from their boats. However, many commercial boat docks have limited public access. This pilot program will allow commercial fishermen with a valid Columbia River gillnet permit to sell their catch away from their vessel either directly or through officially designated agents. All sales must meet Oregon Department of Agriculture licensing and food safety rules. 

In other business, the Commission: 
·	Adopted rules to allow the sale of 10 raffle tags and 10 auction tags by the Access and Habitat Program through 2004;
·	Received a briefing on furbearer trends, market conditions, and trapping and hunting success for the 2002-03 furbearer seasons;
·	Heard recommendations from the Best Management Practices Task Force on potential rule changes related to trapping;
·	Heard a briefing on the continuing efforts to reclaim the ecology of Diamond Lake; 
·	Received a summary of the results of the Willamette Falls lamprey fishery;
·	Heard a report on recent decisions by the Pacific Fisheries Management Council related to nearshore fisheries; and
·	Received notice of the expected delisting of Columbia white-tailed deer from the federal endangered species list.

###


Information and Education Division
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
(503) 872-5264 ext 5528