[ODFW-News] Commission hears sage grouse conservation proposal Committee to form next month to review permit program for disabled hunters

[ODFW News]

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 	
Contact: Information and Education 503-947-6002	
Internet: www.dfw.state.or.us  Fax: (503) 947-6009
	

For Immediate Release	Friday, Jan. 7, 2005

Commission hears sage grouse conservation proposal Committee to form next month to review permit program for disabled hunters

SALEM - The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission today heard a draft plan to conserve sage grouse through local improvement projects and voluntary landowner efforts. The Commission plans to vote on the draft plan later this year.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service earlier today announced that sage grouse do not warrant inclusion on the federal Endangered Species List. However, biologists report that sage grouse are now limited to 10 percent of their historic levels for habitat. Oregon is home to nearly 20 percent of the nation's sage grouse habitat, and is one of many states working to improve habitat and grouse numbers. 
 
Greater sage grouse require sagebrush ecosystems, and presently inhabit nearly 100 million acres in 11 western states. Oregon is home to 18 million acres of sagebrush habitat. 

State wildlife officials earlier this week released the draft plan to manage both sage grouse and sagebrush habitat. ODFW staff have scheduled a series of meetings for January and February to provide the public an opportunity to review the plan and offer comments. 

Key elements of the plan include:
*	assessing population and habitat conditions; 
*	identifying population and habitat objectives, including a target of 70 percent sagebrush to 30 percent grassland on managed lands; and,
*	developing regional teams to help review and implement local plans. 

ODFW officials said they plan to work with the federal Bureau of Land Management and private landowners to help ensure effective implementation of the plan.

Interested individuals can view the draft plan on the agency Web site at www.dfw.state.or.us/ODFWhtml/InfoCntrWild/sage-grouse.pdf or send a request for a copy to the ODFW Wildlife Division, 3406 Cherry Avenue NE, Salem, OR  97303-4924. Written comments on the plan can be mailed to the same address or e-mailed by May 13 to sage.grouse at state.or.us.

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission, which meets monthly, is the policymaking body for fish and wildlife issues in the state.
 
**Disabled hunter committee begins work next month

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife officials today announced the formation of a committee to review the current definitions for "disabled hunters," "hunting from a road," and administration of the state's program for disabled hunters. 

ODFW works to meet the goals of the state's Persons with Disability Act by allowing permit holders to hunt deer, elk and pronghorn from a parked vehicle, and in some cases allows disabled hunters to be assisted by able-bodied companions.

ODFW officials today provided an informational update to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission including formation of the Permanent Disability Permit Review Committee and finalization of a timeline for implementing changes to the program. The PDP review committee will begin meeting next month and expects to have draft recommendations ready by June. Public review will begin in August, and the final report is expected to be presented to the Commission in December. The final report could recommend changes that would require legislative action in 2007.

The Oregon Legislature in 1999 broadened the state's Persons with Disability Act to allow a broader range of hunters to qualify for ODFW Permanent Disability Permits. Since then, the program has grown from 600 permit holders to more than 17,000 hunters, who receive either-sex permits for general and controlled hunts.

PDP hunters now represent at least 10 percent of the antlerless harvest in 72 percent of wildlife management units statewide, a threshold which triggered ODFW review of the program to help ensure the department meets its management objectives for game species. 

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