OREGON STATE GAME COMMISSION ULLETIN MAY 1961

Transcription

1 OREGON STATE GAME COMMISSION ULLETIN MAY 1961

2 GAME OREGON S T A TE COMMISSION ULLETIN MAY, 1961 Number 5, Volume 16 Published Monthly by the OREGON STATE GAME COMMISSION 1634 S.W. Alder StreetP. 0. Box 4136 Portland 8, Oregon MIRIAM KAUTTU SUHL, Editor H. C. SMITH, Staff Artist MEMBERS OF COMMISSION John P. Amacher, Chairman Winchester Rollin E. Bowles Portland Max Wilson Joseph Joseph W. Smith Klamath Falls J. H. Van Winkle Oregon City ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF P. W. Schneider Director C. B. Walsh Assistant Director John McKean Chief of Oper., Game Div. C. J. Campbell Chief of Oper., Fishery Div. R. C. Holloway Chief, Inf. and Educ. H. J. Rayner Chief, Research Division W. D. DeCew. Controller John B. Dimick.. Chief, Supply and Property William E. Pitney Chief, Basin Investigations A. V. Meyers Chief, Lands Section George Kernan Engineer H. R. Newcomb Personnel Officer Roy C. Atchison Attorney REGIONAL SUPERVISORS Leslie Zumwalt, Region I, Route 1, Box 325, Corvallis J. W. Vaughn, Region II Box 577, Roseburg L. M. Mathisen, Region III Parrell Road, Bend W. H. Brown, Region IV Box 742, La Grande W. V. Masson, Region V Box 8, Hines Entered as second-class matter September 30, 1947, at the post office at Portland, Oregon, under the act of August 24, Please report promptly any change of address. Send in address label from a recent issue with notice of change. At the present time the Bulletin is circulated free of charge to anyone forwarding a written request. APRIL MEETING OF THE GAME COMMISSION The Game Commission at its meeting on April 12 considered the following matters: Bids: Accepted bid of Jannsen Drilling Company of $830 for drilling at the Lint Slough project. Capital Outlay: Authorized expenditure of $10,000 for 68 automatic pellet feeding machines for use at the fish hatcheries; purchase of a heavy duty and a back pack fish shocker for survey work; installation of an electronic fish counter in Hood River fish ladder to tally salmon and steelhead; call for bids for construction of boat ramp at Floras Lake (contingent upon agreement with county for maintenance); construction of a fishway at Wallowa Hatchery; construction of additional fencing at Wenaha and White River management areas. Access: Authorized purchase of an easement providing for 114 mile of angling access and recreational use of an area of about 3 acres on Sherman County side of Deschutes River. Also accepted ease- BIG GAME REGULATIONS HEARING ON MAY 18 The annual hearing to consider big game regulations will start at 10 a.m., Thursday, May 18, at the Portland office of the Game Commission. At this time the Commission will hear recommendations in regard to hunting regulations for deer, elk, and antelope. Final regulations will be adopted at the second half of the hearing on June 1. Regulations for small game species will be considered later in the year, probably sometime in August. ment from Clackamas County providing access to Tualatin River. Keep Oregon Green: Authorized contribution of $250 to Keep Oregon Green Association. Seal control: Decided to initiate a seal control project in Alsea Bay and invite participation by the Fish Commission. Films: Authorized sale of film prints with restrictions on commercial use. Bullfrogs: Authorized hearing on May 18 to amend regulations permitting spearing of bullfrogs. Seeding Elk and Deer Range the cover Fisherman on Owyhee Reservoir in southeastern Oregon. Photo by Vic Masson. BULLETIN HUNTER SAFETY TRAINING PROGRAM Instructors Approved Month of March 95 Total to Date 1,503 Students Trained Month of March 811 Total to Date 7,862 Firearms Accidents Reported 1961 Fatal 1 Nonfatal 5 Page 2 Sportsmen seeding big game areas in Clatsop County, an annual function of the Astoria Rod and Gun Club for the last ten years. This year's event took place on March 19 when nearly three quarters of a ton of lotus major, burnet and clover seed were broadcast by hand on logged-off sites by twenty-nine club members and three Game Commission employees. Sites on Mail creek, the 300 line road, and one adjacent to the Astoria watershed were selected for seeding this year. The main purpose is to provide a winter food source in logged-off country to hold elk and deer away from the lowland agricultural areas. May, 1961

3 1960 BIG By I. D. Luman, Chief Biologist, Big Game THROUGH THE COOPERATION of Oregon hunters, the Game Commission secures an annual measure of the quantity of recreation enjoyed and number of game animals harvested by Oregon citizens. Hunter reports for the 1960 seasons indicate that the big game resources provided about 1,760,000 man days of healthy outdoor recreation and that approximately 168,800 big game animals were harvested. The 1960 deer and elk seasons exceeded all previous records in terms of number of persons participating and number of animals taken. Deer Season: A total of 259,738 deer hunters reported a harvest of 157,504 deer in The number of deer hunters increased by 11,038 or 4 per cent in The general deer season extended from October 1 through October 23, with antlerless permits becoming valid on October 15. A total of 126,900 antlerless permits was issued for 62 units and 11 controlled deer seasons offered 8,490 citizens an opportunity to take an extra deer. The 1960 deer season opened under generally poor conditions with hot and dry weather prevailing over most of the state. Portions of northeastern Oregon and the coastal areas reported good success on opening week end, but the harvest appeared only fair elsewhere until GAME BULLETIN the advent of fall storms during the second week of the season. The 1960 deer harvest was determined by mailing a hunting questionnaire to 20,000 randomly selected hunting license holders. The hunters reported their experience by game management units. This gives the Commission a direct measure of the influence of unit regulations. Harvest information is shown in Table I by unit. This year the extended season harvest (Table II) is separate from general season data to show the effect of late seasons in western Oregon. The total of 153,031 deer killed during the general and extended seasons shows the high hunter success of 58.9 per cent. Year TABLE The October general season harvest was 140,413 deer to which was added the extended season kill of 12,618 deer, giving the total of 153,031. The remote Lookout Mountain and Snake River units provided the highest success ratios with over 90 per cent of the participating hunters taking a deer. Additional information obtained from the questionnaire survey, and presented in Table I, shows the average amount of time expended per unit to bag a deer. This is shown under the heading of "Days Hunted Per Deer ed," and includes both successful and unsuccessful hunters. The buck harvest amounted to 69 per (Continued on Page 4) SUMMARY OF GENERAL DEER SEASONS Tags Issued III Mule Deer Black-tailed Deer Bucks Antler less Bucks Antler less Total Per Cent of Hunters Successful ,618 23,141 16,644 39, ,628 36,865 20,395 57, ,429 26,471 17,580 44, ,252 37,850 19,312 57, ,250 32,366 20,426 19,657 5,210 77, ,808 39,916 24,652 27,623 13, , ,047 54,357 22,384 27,702 8, , ,585 51,933 35,570 30,203 13, , ,842 47,155 32,309 26,937 13, , ,960 54,829 26,044 25,282 8, , ,885 51,715 18,863 29,566 15, , ,701 65,179 22,190 36,562 20, , * ,739 67,569 24,445 41,117 19, , *Data includes extended seasons in all cases. Page 3

4 Units by Region TABLE DEER SEASONS Antler less Permits Total Hunters Bucks Antlerless Total Days Hunted* Per Cent per Hunters Deer ed Successful Alsea 11,000 9,509 3,162 1,651 4, Clatsop 1,500 4,293 1, , McKenzie 12,000 12,122 4,451 1,980 6, Nestucca 2,000 1, Polk 4,000 4,470 1, , Santiam 10,000 12,536 3,513 1,668 5, Siuslaw 4,000 4,298 1, , Trask 1,500 6,390 2, , Willamette 7,000 3, , Wilson 2,000 4,014 1, , Northwest _ 55,000 62,937 20,189 10,377 30, Applegate 400 2,440 1, , Butte Falls _ 500 2,157 1, , Chetco 300 1, Coquille 700 1, , Douglas 2,500 6,222 3,297 1,000 4, Evans Creek _ 600 1, Green Spr. 1,000 4,656 1, , Powers 1,000 2,307 1, , Sixes 1,000 2,111 1, , Tenmile Umpqua 1,500 2,597 1, , Southwest 9,900 27,465 12,866 3,493 16, Deschutes 1,200 7,080 2, , Fort Rock 2,500 5,056 2,108 1,107 3, Grizzly 1,000 3,386 1, , Hood River 400 1, Klamath 1,500 6,445 3, , Maupin Maury 800 2, , Metolius 1,200 3, , Ochoco 1,000 8,601 3, , Pau lina 1,800 6,676 2,738 1,194 3, Sherman 500 1, Wasco 500 2, , Central 12,800 49,867 20,211 7,030 27, Baker 1,500 5,298 3, , Catherine Cr. 1,000 1,836 1, , Chesnimnus 500 1, Columbia Basin _ Desolation 500 1, , Heppner 2,500 5,902 2,179 1,528 3, Imnaha 1,500 2,361 1, , Keating 1,500 2,856 1, , Lookout Mtn. 1,000 1, , Minam 1,500 1,594 1, , Murderer's Cr. 3,000 5,704 2,635 1,423 4, Northside 4,500 6,128 2,635 1,493 4, Sled Springs 1,200 1,786 1, , Snake River 1,500 1,455 1, , Starkey 700 1,878 1, , Ukiah 800 2, , Umatilla 1,000 2,441 1, , Walla Walla Wenaha Wheeler 3,000 6,839 3,262 1,596 4, Northeast _ 28,900 53,517 28,042 10,417 38, Beulah 3,500 5,655 2,986 1,423 4, Interstate 5,000 10,445 5,008 2,574 7, Juniper Malheur R. 4,000 5,130 2,490 1,105 3, Owyhee Silver Lake - 5,056 2,963-2, Silvies 3,000 4,977 2, , Steens Mtn. 2,000 3,454 2, , Wagontire _ Warner 1,500 3,094 1, , Whitehorse Southeast 20,300 39,628 20,561 7,227 27, General Season 126, , ,869 38, , Extended Season - 26,325 6,817 5,801 12, Controlled Seasons (8,487) 431 4,042 4, Grand Totals 259, ,117 48, , * Includes all hunters. ( ) Not included in Grand Total. Page 4 Big Game Harvest (Continued from Page 3) cent of the general season total, which is similar to the 1959 figure of 70 per cent. Black-tailed deer contributed 39 per cent of the kill, which is an increase of 3 per cent over the 1959 season. Table III is a summary of general deer seasons since 1948 when the first return cards made such information available. Antlerless deer have been harvested each year since Since 1953, the total kill has averaged 124,000 deer, with an average hunter success of 54 per cent. In addition to the general season, 4,473 deer were taken on 11 controlled hunts held last fall and results are shown in Table IV. Silver Lake: Four thousand antlerless tags were made available for the Silver Lake controlled deer season. They were valid for October 1 through 23 and November 19 and 20. In addition, the Silver Lake unit was open during the general season for buck hunting. Intensive field checks supplemented by a hunter questionnaire gave the following information: 1. The general season and extended week end kill amounted to a total of 4,395 deer by 8,841 hunters for a success of 50 per cent. The 8,179 hunters checking out reported seeing an average of 17 deer and shooting at 1.2. Hunter success was 58 per cent in Hunter success for the two-day November extended season for antlerless permits was 91 per cent, with 604 antlerless deer harvested. 3. During the general season, 57 per cent of the deer harvested were antlerless, the same percentages for 1959 when buck hunting was restricted. 4. In 1960, 38 per cent of the total general season kill was taken during the first week end as compared to 41 per cent in Elk Season: Elk hunters also set a new record with 48,992 tag holders reporting a harvest of 10,865 elk. The general elk season extended from October 29 through November 9 on the coast and ended November 27 in the rest of the state. This (Continued on Page 5) May, 1961

5 Units by Region Alsea McKenzie Polk Santiam Siuslaw Trask - Willamette TABLE II EXTENDED DEER SEASONS Total Hunters 3,507 5,196 2,464 4,723 1, ,837 Bucks Does Total 1,085 1, , , , ,865 3, , ,069 Total Days Hunted Per Deer ed Per Cent Hunter Success Northwest 21,155 5,528 4,663 10, Applegate 1, Douglas Evans Creek Powers Umpqua Southwest 3,826 1, , Hood River Wasco Central 1, Extended Season Totals 26,325 6,817 5,801 12, Areas by Region TABLE IV 1960 CONTROLLED DEER SEASONS Tags Issued Bag Limit Reporting Hunters Bucks Antlerless Total ti x- 0 S 7To u, =4 ZA re 7 a."a *Corvallis Watershed _ 300 deer *North Fk. Siletz deer Waldport- Mapleton deer Northwest 1, Alfalfa doe Bly Area doe Central Canyon Creek _ deer Snake River Pk. 500 deer Wallowa Pack _1,200 2 deer Northeast _2,000 1, *Hart Mtn deer *Silver Lake _4,000 2 deer 4,000 2,772 2, Steens Mtn deer Southeast 4,800 4, ,947 3, Controlled Total 8,490 6, ,042 4, Grand Total 109,117 48, ,504 * Checking Station data. (1) Includes deer taken with general tag in area. Big Game Harvest (Continued from Page 4) longer season in eastern Oregon carried through the Thanksgiving holiday, allowing more opportunity to take advantage of late November hunting conditions. Bag limit for the north coast specified one bull elk with three points two inches or more in length on one antler. Spikes were legal on the south coast, Cascade and northeastern areas, and elk of either sex could be taken during the general season in southeastern Oregon. The Clatsop County area opened at noon. In spite of the noon opening and an aggressive enforcement program, the GAME BULLETIN illegal kill was high with 40 known illegal elk killed in the Clatsop unit. Twenty-six arrests were made during the Clatsop season. The harvest data for elk was determined by combining the information obtained from hunter report cards and the questionnaire survey. Results of the general season are shown in Table V. Returns show that 48,992 hunters took 9,300 elk during the general season for a hunter success of 19 per cent. Management units and controlled hunts brought this total to 10,865, with a total hunter success of 22 per cent for all seasons. Hunting pressure increased. The 48,- 992 tags sold in 1960 are almost 5,000 more than the 1959 total. In western Oregon, Clatsop, Coos, and Douglas were the counties of highest kill in that order. Wallowa, Umatilla, and Union Counties produced the largest harvest in the eastern part of the state, with over 2,000 elk taken in Wallowa County. by date is shown in Figure 1. During the general season, 36 per cent of all bulls taken were spikes. This is under the 44 per cent indicated for Spikes taken in eastern Oregon amounted to 49 per cent, slightly below the 51 per cent for West side areas permitting spike kills averaged 45 per cent spikes, which is slightly above the 1959 average. Spike bulls have been taken in Coos County since A summary of kill data for Coos County since 1955 is shown below. COOS COUNTY HARVEST Three-Point Spikes Year Hunters Plus Spikes Per Cent Total , , , , , , The above data indicates that the addition of spike bulls has more than doubled the annual harvest. The number of mature bulls harvested has declined but the ratio of 55 per cent spikes is no higher than indicated for some eastern Oregon counties, such as Wallowa, Morrow, Union, and Umatilla, where spikes have been legal for many years. In spite of heavy hunting pressure on bulls in Coos County, the calf crop has been as high as for other western counties where the shooting of spikes has been prohibited. Controlled and unit elk seasons are shown in Table VI. A total of 2,500 unit permit holders bagged 873 antlerless elk on 10 management units for an average of 35 per cent hunter success. Controlled seasons, with 1,870 permits issued, resulted in the harvest of 692 elk for a hunter success of 37 per cent. The number of elk taken by archers is not known; however, only 8 elk were reported in Antelope Season: The 1960 antelope season extended from August 20 through August 24, with a total of 900 tags available for six areas. Bag limit was one buck antelope having horns longer than the ears. Hunting was good on most areas, with a total of 845 reporting hunters harvesting 459 antelope for a success ratio of 54 per cent. Area III, which includes the Klamath, Interstate, and Warner units, had the (Continued on Page 7) Page 5

6 TABLE V-1960 ELK SEASONS TABLE VII ANTELOPE SEASON Area E,7,1 xu.7 a I I gr. I Ochoco, Maury, Silvies II Paulina, Wagontire, Fort Rock, Silver Lake III Klamath, Interstate, Warner IV Juniper, Hart Mountain, Steens V Beulah, Malheur, Owyhee VI Whitehorse TOTALS Number of County Hunters Bulls Antlerless Total Per Cent of Hunters Successful Per Cent Spike Bulls Clackamas Clatsop 6, Columbia Coos 3, Curry Deschutes Douglas 2, Jackson Lane 1, Lincoln Marion Wasco Western Oregon Subtotals 14,765 1,955 1, Baker 3, Crook Grant 5, , Harney Malheur Morrow 1, Umatilla 8,088 1,606 1, Union 5,927 1,236 1, Wallowa 7,838 2,076 2, Wheeler Eastern Oregon Subtotals 34,227 6, , General Season 48,992 8, , Management Unit (2,500 Permits) Controlled Hunt (1,870 Permits) Grand Totals 48,992 8,501 2,364 10, DAILY PERCENTAGES 1960 ELK KILL Bulls a OF Antler less i S I Oc t Nov.l II Date of Season Page 6 May, ==-.-_-_ =- a RE s±1 I M

7 Big Game Harvest (Continued from Page 5) highest hunter success, with 70.1 per cent of the hunters bagging an antelope. Results are shown on Table VII. A total of 4,164 applications was received for the possible 900 permits, or approximately five applications for each permit. It is felt that the regulation requiring successful applicants to wait two years before reapplying will assure better tag distribution. Chances to obtain a tag were the best on Areas I and VI, and the lowest on Areas III and IV. Summary: The 1960 big game season provided Oregon hunters with approximately 1,- 760,000 man days of recreation in the pursuit of deer, elk, and antelope and nearly twenty million pounds of palatable game meat. That more persons are taking advantage of this recreational opportunity is shown by the increase in hunting license sales, from 295,474 in 1959 to 304, 568 in An all-time high of 157,504 deer, 10,- 865 elk, and 459 antelope was harvested in 1960 without jeopardizing the big game resources. Big game population trends have shown relatively little change in the past ten-year period in spite of continued heavy hunting pressures. TABLE VI 1960 UNIT AND CONTROLLED ELK SEASONS Unit Season Dates No. Permits Bulls Antler less Total Per Cent Success Unit Seasons: Chesnimnus Nov Desolation Nov Heppner Nov Imnaha Nov Minam Sled Sprs. Nov Starkey Nov Ukiah _Nov Umatilla _Nov Walla Walla Nov General Season Unit Hunt Subtotals _ 2, Controlled Seasons: Clatsop Dec *Lake Creek Dec *Loon Lake Sept *Mill Creek Nov Shaw Mtn. Dec Troy Area Dec Wilson Unit Oct. 29-Nov Unit A Unit B Unit C Unit D Wilson Totals Special Area Subtotals 1, Totals and Averages 4, ,433 1, *Checking station data Small Game Harvest The 1960 small game hunting season results, obtained from a questionnaire sampling of hunters, indicate an approximate harvest of 635,000 upland game birds, 260,000 pigeons and doves, and 533,000 waterfowl. Upland game and waterfowl hunters declined in number and the harvest of most species of game birds was less than in The 54,673 waterfowl hunters, comprising 18 per cent of the total number of hunters, bagged a total of 454,257 ducks and 78,669 geese. Upland game hunters took fewer pheasants, quail, and doves than in 1959 but their harvest of other species was GAME BULLETIN comparable. Following is a summary of the 1960 upland game seasons based on the hunter survey: Birds per Species Hunters Hunter Pheasants 94, , Quail 30, , Chukar Partridge 9,442 37, Hungarian Partridge 5,543 16, Blue and Ruffed Grouse 17,208 36, Doves 14, , Pigeons 13,096 86, The Game Commission's Bulletin of the Air with Ron Shay as host has gone to a weekly program now on the state's educational channels. The program may be seen at 6:45 p.m. on Fridays on both KOAC-TV, channel 7, in Corvallis and KOAP-TV, channel 10, in Portland. Ron tells of Game Commission activities and gives the latest fishing reports from field agents of the Commission. He also may be seen on KOIN- TV on the Red Dunning show on Saturdays. * * Hunters and anglers will benefit from the new policy announced by the Bureau of Land Management for a multiple use program on public domain, which will include hunting, angling and other forms of recreation as one of the principal uses. Of immediate interest to anglers is the declaration of recreation as the primary use on some 25,000 acres of public domain bordering the Deschutes River from Bend downstream. Since access to large blocks of public domain is still blocked by private holdings, the Game Commission under an agreement with BLM will continue its policy of acquiring and developing access points wherever possible. One such access project underway is the improvement of one mile of an old railroad bed on the east bank of the river downstream from Sherar's bridge. Further aiding in the retention of the lower Deschutes as a fishing stream is the policy of the State Water Resources Board reserving the water in the lower 100 miles of the river for recreational use. * * * The 41st annual conference of the Western Association of State Game and Fish Commissioners is scheduled for June 13, 14 and 15 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. * * * Deer trapping program at Silver Lake, concluded in March, resulted in 250 more deer being tagged and released. Page 7

8 LICENSE SALES INCREASED IN 1960 Hunting and fishing are increasing in popularity as revealed by the all-time high license sales for Sportsmen purchased a total of 643,724 general hunting and fishing licenses last year compared to 625,465 in The number of anglers licensed to fish in Oregon, including 111,898 combination license holders, totalled 346,400 compared to 337,000 in Not included in this figure are the purchasers of 104,500 daily angling permits since some anglers may have purchased more than one of these permits. The special license required of steelhead and salmon anglers for the first time in 1960 was issued to 172,270 fishermen. The number of hunters licensed totalled 304,600 (including combination licensees) compared to 295,000 the year before. Resident hunting license sales increased from 177,000 in 1959 to 185,000. Deer hunting attracted more interest than ever before as shown by the sale of deer tags, which rose by 15,000 to a total of 268,420. Elk tag holders also were higher by 5,000, climbing to a total of 49,116 for LIGHTNING STRIKES GEESE Snow geese face many hazards during their annual spring and fall migrations to and from their arctic breeding grounds. But the oddest tragedy to befall a flock of migrating geese occurred on March 27, high in the sky over the Frank Whipple farm, four miles south of Nyssa. Twenty-six snow geese were found scattered over a one-half mile area, apparently the victims of a lightning bolt. Most of the geese had singed strips along their wings and neck, and a few had lost their lower mandible or other portions of their heads. One of the geese wore a numbered federal band, evidence it had been captured previously on its breeding ground in the arctic or on its wintering ground in California. According to climatologists, lightning frequently passes between clouds, attracted by masses containing opposite electrical charges. It is conceivable, then, that this flight of birds contained an electrical charge that attracted the destructive bolt. Oregon State Game Commission Bulletin 1634 S.W. ALDER STREET P. 0. BOX 4136 PORTLAND 8, OREGON Cri 14ec RING contrisutioils Or.WILSON ILVALLIS DAIMON LFARS or III Ana ite3ourcils ATE or OREGON *MO MUM HMO At dedication ceremony of the E. E. Wilson Game Management Area in Game Commission members and personnel who knew E. E. "Ed" Wilson, former member and chairman of the Commission, felt a deep personal loss when they learned of his passing at Corvallis on April 3 at the age of 91. He served on the Commission from 1935 to 1949, acting as chairman the last 10 years. Back in the early '30s the Game Commission was still a small organization and had financial problems aggravated by the depression. As an attorney, banker, and owner of an abstract company, Ed Wilson brought with him a wealth of business experience with which to cope with the Commission's problems as well as a deep interest in the fish and wildlife resources of the state. A new system of budgetary control stabilized the financial situation and made it possible to gradually expand the activities of the department as more funds became available. In 1935 the Commission also entered into a cooperative arrangement with the State College, Wildlife Management Institute, and U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which resulted in the beginning of a program for wildlife research in Oregon. As the years passed E. E. Wilson by the Commission's management program expanded in many directions. Ever concerned with the welfare of fish and wildlife resources as a whole, he still had some particular interests, such as the improvement of the status of the coastal cutthroat trout and the ring-necked pheasant. He was a young boy when the ring-necked pheasant was first introduced in Oregon in the Willamette Valley. When the Game Commission in 1953 acquired some of the Camp Adair lands for development as a game management area, it was considered fitting to name it after someone who had devoted so freely of his time for the benefit of the state's wildlife resources. So on April 29, 1954, the E. E. Wilson Game Management Area was dedicated. Development of the area, located near Corvallis, his birthplace and home, was a continuing source of interest for the remainder of his lifetime. Retirement from the Commission did not lessen his interest in its other problems. He was always ready and willing to help in any way he could and there were many ways he could. By his many friends in the game department he will always be remembered with deep respect and affection. oito 0 N STATE GAME COMMISSION