Oregon OTC Elk Non Resident Question

[WapitiBob]

There are more controlled hunt tags in 2021 than they sold otc in 2020, per their estimates for OTC E. Oregon units.

Going to controlled hunts is a money loser for the dept because of the loss of NR license/tag fees at a 5% cap vs the increase in app fees at $8.

 

[HighCountryCommando]

So this is the last year for eastern Oregon general archery elk tags? But deer archery in eastern Oregon is now all draw starting this year? I’m asking because I would think rifle hunt odds would improve for both species if folks have to apply for the controlled archery hunts now.

Not necessarily. There are significant portion of archers in Oregon that prefer to hunt Eastern Oregon mule deer with a rifle. These folks put in for points in the controlled rifle draw and the years they don’t draw they hunt archery. This group will have to now choose between rifle and archery. ODFW is expecting an average across the board increase in the number of people putting in for controlled rifle hunts. Some rifle hunts that aren’t that popular may not see an increase in rifle applications, but in general I also expect to see an increase in rifle applications. which means it will take longer to draw rifle hunts not less. It should also be noted that in the more popular archery units the number of tags that are now available in the control archery draw represent a significant reduction in archers. Some units will see a reduction in archery hunters by as much as 30%. It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out.

 

[MarvB]

^^^^exactly what I (used) to do
Going to have to put a little more thought in the home state now that archery isn’t a slam dunk. Oh well, what doesn’t change anymore?

 

[elkocd]

I was an OR resident for 46 years and thought I understood the draw well until I moved from OR a few years ago. The 25% random tags really don't end up applying for NRs anymore, at least in units that guys really want to draw. If you read through the OR draw link someone posted you'll get an explanation why. I thought before I started putting in as NR that if there were 25 NR tags available I would at least have a chance to draw 6 of those. That is not the case.

I continued to hunt OR the first couple years after I moved because my teenage son was still and OR resident and I wanted to hunt with him. Now I have 4 elk points, 11 deer and 13 antelope points and have not hunted OR in a couple years. I'm looking to burn all of those in the next couple years and then I will most likely just get out of the OR points game all together. The cost is not worth the reward. It makes more sense to just hunt OTC elk on years when you want. With that said the new elk archery draw may change things. We'll see. Even with the draw, I hunt units that I'm sure I could draw every year even without points. The only thing that would change my approach is if the new elk draw spreads out the NR points and allows drawing units that I would be interested in and would not have to wait 12+ years for a tag. I'd say a 2-3 year wait for a few units would be worth it. Beyond that, I'm out.

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

There are more controlled hunt tags in 2021 than they sold otc in 2020, per their estimates for OTC E. Oregon units.

Going to controlled hunts is a money loser for the dept because of the loss of NR license/tag fees at a 5% cap vs the increase in app fees at $8.

Odds hunting improves in a few years?

 

[WapitiBob]

Odds hunting improves in a few years?

Zero.
They issue too many tags because they're dependent on the revenue; only about 8% coming from the general fund, and they have a sustained yield" management practice where they shoot everything above what is needed to sustain the minimum population.
We have no effective predator management because of legislation and the Wolf Management plan. That Wolf plan doesn't list hunting or trapping as a means of control and even worse, there is no upper population limit where management would begin; ie we have no upper limit on the number of wolves allowed. We can't bait for Bears and can't use dogs for Bear or Cougar.
In my opinion, with all that in place the game populations can only go in one direction, down.

Regarding the nr side of the draw. Outfitters have the opportunity to draw up to 50% of the prior years nr quota, per unit, in the outfitter draw. This effects the 3 N.E. units that get the most press and to a lesser extent a few other units. That kills the odds when the cap is only 5% to begin with.
If you are thinking of applying in a mixed party, res and nr, the computer applies the 5% cap "test" to the entire party when trying to fill. If there are sufficient tags to pass that test, the computer then issues resident tags to the residents and nr tags to the nr members of that party. A part of 2/2 would see a tag quota decrement of 2 from the resident side and 2 from the nr side. That initial "nr test" is the killer for a mixed party.

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

Zero.
They issue too many tags because they're dependent on the revenue; only about 8% coming from the general fund, and they have a sustained yield" management practice where they shoot everything above what is needed to sustain the minimum population.
We have no effective predator management because of legislation and the Wolf Management plan. That Wolf plan doesn't list hunting or trapping as a means of control and even worse, there is no upper population limit where management would begin; ie we have no upper limit on the number of wolves allowed. We can't bait for Bears and can't use dogs for Bear or Cougar.
In my opinion, with all that in place the game populations can only go in one direction, down.

Regarding the nr side of the draw. Outfitters have the opportunity to draw up to 50% of the prior years nr quota, per unit, in the outfitter draw. This effects the 3 N.E. units that get the most press and to a lesser extent a few other units. That kills the odds when the cap is only 5% to begin with.
If you are thinking of applying in a mixed party, res and nr, the computer applies the 5% cap "test" to the entire party when trying to fill. If there are sufficient tags to pass that test, the computer then issues resident tags to the residents and nr tags to the nr members of that party. A part of 2/2 would see a tag quota decrement of 2 from the resident side and 2 from the nr side. That initial "nr test" is the killer for a mixed pa

My conclusion was the same - ZERO. You were nice enough to break it down for us.

Oregon's leftist politics hate hunting and have done pretty much everything possible to make it garbage.

 

[rtraverdavis]

Zero.
They issue too many tags because they're dependent on the revenue; only about 8% coming from the general fund, and they have a sustained yield" management practice where they shoot everything above what is needed to sustain the minimum population.
We have no effective predator management because of legislation and the Wolf Management plan. That Wolf plan doesn't list hunting or trapping as a means of control and even worse, there is no upper population limit where management would begin; ie we have no upper limit on the number of wolves allowed. We can't bait for Bears and can't use dogs for Bear or Cougar.
In my opinion, with all that in place the game populations can only go in one direction, down.

Regarding the nr side of the draw. Outfitters have the opportunity to draw up to 50% of the prior years nr quota, per unit, in the outfitter draw. This effects the 3 N.E. units that get the most press and to a lesser extent a few other units. That kills the odds when the cap is only 5% to begin with.
If you are thinking of applying in a mixed party, res and nr, the computer applies the 5% cap "test" to the entire party when trying to fill. If there are sufficient tags to pass that test, the computer then issues resident tags to the residents and nr tags to the nr members of that party. A part of 2/2 would see a tag quota decrement of 2 from the resident side and 2 from the nr side. That initial "nr test" is the killer for a mixed party.

Do you think a comprehensive overhaul is possible? If not, why? And if not, what would be some positive, actionable steps forward to improve our deer and elk herds in your opinion?

I appreciate your thoughts and experience.