Oregon cougar bill

[Humptulips]

Cougar Bill Needs Your Help

Call the Senators listed below today!

The Oregon Outdoor Council's cougar management bill, HB 2624A, has been assigned to the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources Chaired by Senator Jackie Dingfelder. So far this session Senator Dingfelder has ignored Oregon's sportsmen and women by not inviting us to key discussions on wolf and cougar management. We hope she will break this pattern and give our cougar bill a hearing and work session instead of killing it in her committee. That is where you come in.

In order for us to get a hearing and work session on the bill we need you to call and email the Senators listed below and ask them to support allowing local voters to have a voice when it comes to cougar management and support HB 2624A. Ask them if they plan to support it and make sure you get an answer. Calling AND emailing is absolutely necessary. In the next week the Oregon Outdoor Council will be sending almost 30,000 mailers to hunters in Oregon asking them to do the same. Together we will show Senator Dingfelder and the entire Senate that Oregonian's overwhelmingly support giving local control to voters on how they want to live with cougars.

Please CALL and EMAIL the following Senators:

Click on their name for a ready to send email that only needs you to sign it at the bottom or if that doesn't work on your system (email these Senators by using our "Contact Your Legislator" tool on our website) .

Senator Jackie Dingfelder 503-986-1723

Senator Alan Bates 503-986-1703

Senator Lee Beyer 503-986-1706

Senator Peter Courtney 503-986-1600

Senator Chris Edwards 503-986-1707

Senator Floyd Prozanski 503-986-1704

Thank you for your continued support!!!

Sincerely,

Stan Steele, President

[huntrights]

Here is the website to go to:

http://oregonoutdoorcouncil.org/contact-your-legislator/

Let's help our neighbors.  I believe there are many people from Oregon that help us.

Here is the text message that is already set up for you to send.  All you need to do is fill in your information, select the Senators named above, and press the "SUBMIT" button.  It's fast and easy.

"Dear Senator,

I respectfully request your support for HB 2624A. The House of Representatives passed this bi-partisan bill with 40 yes votes on April 23, 2013.

HB 2624A will allow individual counties to determine if they want ODFW to utilize dogs for cougar management. Voting yes on HB 2624 does NOT change the current ban on the use of dogs for cougar management.

Quota's for cougar harvest is closely monitored by ODFW and if met the season is immediately closed, ensuring no over harvest.

HB 2624A ensures that ODFW will retain all authority over cougar harvest, management, quotas and regulations. The ODFW and its Commission will be able to set regulations for using dogs and set season dates that comply with Oregon's Cougar Management Plan.

The use of dogs will allow ODFW to use hunters and collect genetic samples that are critical to more accurately and responsibly managing their population. Instead of paying federal agents to do this ODFW will be able to raise money that can further fund cougar management.

Using dogs to manage cougars will teach cougars to be fearful of humans and dogs which will help keep them out of our neighborhoods.

When pursued by dogs cougars tree quickly, there are rarely long pursuits. Being so close to a treed cougar allows hunters and game managers a better opportunity to identify the gender of the animal and tell if it has kittens or not. Without dogs it is extremely hard to tell if the cougar is male, female or if it has kittens.

On April 16th, 2013 the Oregonian Editorial Board endorsed HB2624A;

Is it [HB2624] a thumb in the eye of the statewide initiative process? Or does it honor the fact that some of Oregon's rural counties, where ranching and game hunting are mainstays of the local economy, might have another view of how cougars and humans should get on? The latter.

On April 2, 2013 the Oregon Department Fish of Wildlife provided studies to the Agriculture and Natural Resources committee which shows that our burgeoning cougar population is the main cause for a continued decline in ungulate populations.

From the 68 cougars radio collared; It was determined that cougars killed 73% of the 232 [deer and elk] carcasses examined during the study. Biologists were unable to identify and link between the nutritional condition of cow elk and the survival of their calves. This further proves that recruitment rates for deer and elk are directly tied to our predator populations. During this study it was determined that the annual elk calf survival was only 41%.

Passing HB 2624 will go a long way in repairing the urban/rural divide in Oregon. The time has come to let us vote and let those most affected by these predators to have a voice."

[KopperBuck]

Done. Thanks for putting this up.

[Windwalker]

 Done - thanks again for putting the info up.