Last Chance to Comment on Proposed Hunter Orange Mandate in Oregon: Thursday, September 30, in Bend!

There are now three different options under the proposed hunter orange rule currently being considered by the Oregon Fish & Wildlife Commission.  They range from maintaining the status quo of no hunter orange requirement, to requiring a hunter orange upper garment or hat for hunters 17 years of age or younger, or for sportsmen of all ages, while hunting big game and upland birds (except turkey) with a centerfire firearm or shotgun.

The Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife issued a Hunter Orange Report to the Commission back on June 4, and after reviewing the report and hearing public testimony, the Commission narrowed its consideration to these three options.  The staff report, with its creative statistics supporting some sort of mandate, can be found at this link below:

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/resources/hunting/safety/hunter_orange.asp

Oregon is already a safe state for hunters, especially when compared with its neighbor Washington, which has imposed a hunter orange mandate.  Washington has a rate of 4.65 incidents per 100,000 license sales compared with Oregon's rate of 1.56.  The record shows that Oregon's hunters can be trusted to make decisions about hunter orange that best fit their personal circumstances.  Even in this era of ever-expanding government mandates, the decision to wear hunter orange should be voluntary and left up to the individual.

If the Commission decides to proceed with rulemaking on a hunter orange mandate, they would do so at their Thursday, September 30th meeting in Bend.  Members of the public may testify at that meeting and it's possible that testimony may carry over into October 1st.  Written comments can also be emailed to odfw.comments@state.or.us but those must be received by Tuesday, September 28th.

Please make your voice heard on this important issue!

Oregon Fish & Wildlife Commission Meeting
Thursday, September 30^th
10:00am
Deschutes Co. Services Building
Board of Commissioners Room
1300 NW Wall Street, Suite 200
Bend, OR  97701-1960

Testimony may carry over into the Friday, October 1st, meeting at the same location beginning at 8:00am