What changes to Oregon Elk hunting means for bow hunters

Elk hunting season started late last month and with it came new changes for bow hunters in Oregon. These changes were proposed last year by the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife.

Before the changes, bow hunters operated on a general system, meaning they could purchase tags anytime during the season and were guaranteed a chance to hunt. Now, archers wanting to hunt elk in the Northeast part of the state will be operating on a controlled hunt, where hunters apply for a limited number of hunting spots in an area. While some areas in Oregon were already under a controlled hunt system, these changes expanded to neighboring regions. Jeremy Thompson is the wildlife biologist for the Mid-Columbia District at ODFW. Mike Slinkard is a bow hunter in John Day. They both join us to share what these changes mean for Oregon bow hunters.

Note: The following transcript was created by a computer and edited by a volunteer.

Dave Miller: From the Gert Boyle Studio at OPB, this is Think Out Loud. I’m Dave Miller. Archery elk hunting season is underway in Oregon right now. It goes for 30 days until late September, the way it has for decades. But there is one big difference this year. In Northeastern Oregon, down into the Blue Mountains, bowhunters needed to apply for a tag through the state’s hunting lottery system. Jeremy Thompson is a district wildlife biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. He’s based in the Dalles. We talked earlier this morning about this change in state rules. I started by asking him how his agency, in general, decides how many animals of any species can be killed by hunters in Oregon.

Jeremy Thompson: It really starts with species management plans. For all – most of the major species that we hunt in the state of Oregon, we have a management plan that really lays out the sideboards for how we will target specific populations in different units. And we have – we have different wildlife management units around the state that we manage – deer and elk.

Miller: A unit is just a geographical area?

Thompson: It is. It’s an area that was set up back in the 50s that roughly corresponds to an area of wildlife use. But really, it’s a – it’s a political border that helps us define an area for a hunt boundary as well as a management boundary for those species. So, the plan tells us what ratios we should shoot for. That’s – in the case of elk, like we’re talking about today, we have specific targets that we shoot for, in terms of percentage of bulls in the population and recruitment of young on a given year. The plan lays that out. Then, on an annual basis, our districts around the state go out and conduct surveys – both in the fall and the spring – to look at how the populations within those specific units meet those guidelines laid out in the plan.

Miller: What do elk numbers look like right now, broadly?

Thompson: Broadly across the state, elk populations are healthy. Most of our populations throughout Eastern Oregon are at or above the population management objectives. So, overall elk densities are good in the state.

Miller: If that’s the case, then why has there been a change in management to add restrictions for bowhunters that didn’t exist in the past?

Thompson: A lot of the impetus for the change came down to – while elk populations are healthy, in many of these units we’re seeing bull – the percentage of bulls in the population not meet our targets. We’ve got different target levels in those units that we look for bull escapement – that’s a number of bulls per 100 cows. And in a lot of those units, we were struggling to attain that goal. Given the social dynamics of elk – a very few number of bulls do most of the breeding in the next year. We have a 10-bull-per-100-cows as a base minimum we feel we need biologically to have successful breeding of cows in the coming season. Seeing some units we manage higher for that, just to try to increase the age diversity within those bulls.

Under the previous system, the only avenue we had for reducing harvest was on controlled rifle tags. So we continued, in a lot of those units, to cut rifle tags and still allow the general season archery opportunity. And that created kind of a lopsided scenario, where in many of those units we saw bull harvest that was at or near even between archers and rifle. It got down to where we were only controlling a portion of our harvest and still not meeting our goals. So, the goal was to be able to look at all components of harvest to meet those plan objectives that we have laid out.

Miller: Why was it that, until this year for elk, bowhunting wasn’t controlled? You could – an archer hunting for elk could take as many animals as they wanted. But if you had a rifle instead, for the slightly later season, you were limited.

Thompson: I think a lot of that comes down to the fact that anytime we talk about changing regulations, it’s a difficult conversation. The first time we talked about looking at changing or modifying those archery regulations – the general season through Eastern Oregon, especially – was back in 2003. We had concerns at the district level about the increasing participation, in the increasing harvest in archery, that we didn’t have that management control on. The agency initiated an archery review group back in 2003 to have some conversations about this increase and try to look at ways to modify regulations at that point – nearly 20 years ago – to stop what we could see coming and what really forced us to to step forward and try to initiate that change last year.

Miller: And then the reason it took 20 years is because of the level of pushback you got from archers?

Thompson: I think change is hard, right? We created a general season opportunity back in the 80s. As we controlled rifle hunting – controlled rifle hunting really started to kick off in the early 90s. Up until that point, our rifle hunting opportunities for elk were general through most of the state as well. As we started to put control mechanisms in place for rifle hunters in the 90s, with the adoption of our first elk management plan, that’s when we saw this shift of a lot of our hunters into archery. We created the monster a little bit, if you will, by having that change in regulation for rifle hunters.

Miller: And could you actually – you could chart it – it was people who previously had solely hunted elk with rifles. But then, when that hunt was more controlled, and there wasn’t a guarantee you could get a tag, you saw some of those rifle hunters deciding to actually switch to become bowhunters.

Thompson: You can’t directly chart it, but it correlates pretty well. We look at – between 1995 and current day, we’ve seen a reduction of about 57% of the total rifle opportunities that were out there and total hunters in a given year. And in that same period we saw an increase of archery participation by about 60%, so it’s not a direct replacement. But, as we’ve seen rifle opportunities decline, we’ve definitely seen an increase in archery participation. They kind of go hand in hand.

Miller: Can you explain the basics of how the system is going to work, or does work, right now, for bowhunters in particular parts of Oregon, especially Northeastern Oregon and I guess closer to where you are, too – the Columbia Plateau?

Thompson: Within the area that recently went controlled hunt – now all of our elk hunting essentially within that Blue Mountain, Wallowa Mountain Range was under a controlled hunt scenario. We’ve had the controlled hunts in place in Oregon for the past 30 years. It’s a scenario most hunters are familiar with. If you have a specific unit you want to hunt, you have to apply for that unit. Depending on how popular that unit is, it may take a couple of years to draw. Some of our rifle hunts in that area for just a regular rifle hunt may take four to eight years to draw a tag. We don’t expect that on the archery side but time will tell how that plays out.

Miller: You don’t expect that because you’re assuming that even if it’s gotten more popular, still the numbers are low enough that you don’t imagine it’ll take that long for the average bowhunter to be able to lottery into a tag.

Thompson: Yeah. Well, I think it couples with the fact that three quarters of the state is still general season for bowhunting as well. So, as we step into the area that I manage here in the Columbia Plateau in the East Cascades, it is still general season archery. There’s still a general season opportunity for archers in a large geographic area of the state.

Miller: I’m imagining that, as you described the switch – which you can’t exactly pinpoint – but in terms of the numbers, it seems like restricting rifle hunting for elk could have led to an increase in bowhunting. In the same way, if you restrict bowhunting for elk in certain regions, are you expecting the other regions that are still general to see an increase in hunting?

Thompson: There’s potential for that, for sure. That’s one of the things that we’re gonna pretty heavily monitor as we move forward. It’s only a small number of units – it’s 13 units and a couple of subunit hunts that went controlled for archery this year. But those were extremely popular areas with archers. We still expect a lot of archers will want to hunt those areas just because they’re the most conducive to bowhunting in Eastern Oregon. People love the kind of the iconic scenery that comes with the Blue Mountains during the elk rut, during that season. But there is that potential for some shift back to the general season areas that could create a lot of the same issues that has driven this process to move the Blue Mountains into controlled hunts.

Miller: Am I right that ODFW made a similar change to controlled hunts for archery for deer last year?

Thompson: So, it was a little bit different. We actually put all of Eastern Oregon into controlled hunts for deer last year. All of the archery hunts east of the crest of the Cascades – and for our management units, that’s basically the Pacific Crest Trail. All of those management units east of the PCT are now controlled hunting for archery deer.

Miller: I ask this because it seems like you now have some kind of a comparison. Elk happened this year, but an even wider swath of Oregon happened last year in terms of being added to the control list. What kinds of effects did you see in population?

Thompson: It’s too soon to tell. We – as we go through and make regulation changes, as we work with our partners, work with interested constituents, we really kind of lay out that we don’t want to make any inference from a change for at least three years, so that we can see how hunter participation changes, how the application rate changes. The deer hunt is a prime example. In year one of that being controlled hunt, every single one of those tags was available as a leftover. So they weren’t applied for at a rate that they were all drawn last year. That changed a lot this year. There was a lot more applications for archery deer tags in year two. Even in the second year, we’ve seen a change in the draw hunt participation in those archery hunts.

Miller: Are you an archer yourself?

Thompson: At times. I find any opportunity I can to get out and recreate in the woods and I’ve definitely hunted with a bow at times.

Miller: Jeremy Thompson, thanks for joining us.

Thompson: Thank you.

Miller: For another perspective on this rule change for elk hunting in Eastern Oregon, I’m joined by Mike Slinkard, He is an entrepreneur and bowhunter who lives in John Day. Welcome to Think Out Loud.

Mike Slinkard: Hi Dave, how are you?

Miller: Doing very well. Thanks for joining us. Before we get to this change, I’m just curious, how did you become a bowhunter?

Slinkard: I’ve been shooting a bow my whole life. My dad got me into it when I was very young. I started at age 12 as a bowhunter and been a bowhunter ever since. I live here in John Day, so we’re right in the heart of this area that was changed. I definitely have some different perspectives for you, for sure.

Miller: Well, that’s why we’ve called you up. What first went through your mind when you heard about this rule change?

Slinkard: It’s – the sad part about the rule change – and something that the ODFW doesn’t seem to want to put out very often – is that the bull-cow ratios, according to the ODFW, were only below management objectives in a very few units – I think four or five. Yet, they changed 13. Like in my area here in John Day, all of our units are way over bull-cow ratio objectives – way over. To us, it was – they did it for political reasons. It really wasn’t for a management objective. I know about my units here locally. I don’t normally hunt the very Northeast corner, maybe there was an issue there. I can’t really speak to that.

I do know that we are – our units here have been inundated by nonresident hunters for years. Very important to know that Oregon was the only state – an elk state – that actually did not have any kind of a cap on nonresident hunters. Idaho, Montana, you name it. Every place that has elk hunting, nonresidents are capped because they are trying to give an advantage to the residents. I totally support that because we’re here paying the taxes. We live in this state. Residents should get an advantage. The legislature has acted on that quite a few years ago with draw hunt, that they can’t allow any more than 5% on resident. What needed to happen, in my opinion, was that we needed a nonresident quota. That would have eliminated, I’m gonna say probably 40% of our hunters in these units to start with.

Miller: Because that many hunters – bowhunters for elk in Oregon – are from out of state?

Slinkard: At least in our area, yeah. We are located in about the first really good elk habitat that you hit from California and our area here is just inundated with Californians. As a positive, that is – in a way, that’s a positive, that now they’re under the 5% limit. I know that our – the hunters that are in the woods right now – I happen to actually be sitting in elk camp right now by coincidence. Our hunter pressure is far down, and it’s because in this unit – the Murderers Creek unit – there were only 52 non-resident tags that were available. And so it cut out a vast majority of the hunters. What should have happened – and I was involved in a lot of these discussions with ODFW when they were discussing all this – and the ODFW would not even acknowledge a non-resident problem. It’s my opinion the biggest problem, at least in our part of the state. All they really should have done is implement some sort of a non-resident quota and it would have completely solved the problems here.

They changed the whole entire – basically the elk country in Eastern Oregon. The stuff that’s general right now in Eastern Oregon is mostly private ground or ground that doesn’t hold elk, I mean – or not in any big numbers. You got the desert – the sagebrush desert country doesn’t hold a lot of elk and then of course a lot of private ground in the central part of the state. So, while there is definitely open areas still, what’s happening now – from what I understand from friends – those areas are being inundated with the non-residents again, and even the west side. Jeremy kind of alluded to it in his comments that they’re watching the crowding issues. It’s just a matter of time before the whole state will be a draw as well – [inaudible as Miller starts speaking]

Miller: If you’re in elk camp right now, I assume so you were hunting this morning?

Slinkard: I was, yeah.

Miller: So that means that you were able to get a tag through the new system.

Slinkard: I was. Oregon has a preference point system. I had been putting in for some of the real lucrative units up in the Northeast corner. There’s some up there that are managed more for trophy quality. I’ve been putting in for 17 years. But rather than taking the chance of not drawing a tag, I ended up burning all 17 of my points to get a Murderers Creek tag. I probably could have drawn it with one, but I – the thing is, you can’t – you know, if you put in for first choice, you’re gonna burn all your points. And so that’s another issue that was very, very controversial with the archery thing. A lot of people have a lot of points they’ve been saving and now we’re burning them on stuff that we really shouldn’t have to do that with. Again, it comes back to –

Miller: And just to understand for non-hunters, that this gets to the relatively complicated way that the preference – where it’s not a straight lottery – that the more you put in year after year, the higher chance you get of your first choice? Is that basically the way it works?

Slinkard: Yeah, so Oregon – like a lot of states – has a preference point system. So if you put in as your first choice hunt and you do not draw it, you’ll get a preference point. The more preference points that you have going into a particular draw the better your chances of drawing that hunt are. And so there’s a lot of these units that are very difficult to get – they’re trophy-type units – and people put in for those and in the past we were able to still – we didn’t have to not put in for those or burn our points in order to draw a tag because it was general season, you could just go buy one. Like I said, the real problem was ignored by ODFW – [inaudbible as Miller starts speaking]

Miller: As you said, you see the real problem as being out-of-staters. We just have about two minutes left. I’m just curious, what about conflicts or tensions between bowhunters and rifle hunters? Is that an issue?

Slinkard: Well, it is. I mean, a lot of this change was done because of jealousy, I believe. Gun hunters were jealous of archers that didn’t have to draw a tag. And I get that, I really kind of do. But the fact of the matter is, is that archery is still a primitive weapon. And you know, our success rate is a fraction of the rifle hunters – a small fraction. Also, a lot of our guys – at least in our areas – were able to still shoot cows and majority of them kill their cows, not bulls. Like I said, ODFW, I think, have this agenda in mind. I think they have a lot to do with jealousy and – amongst the rifle crowd and – when they set out to do what they set out to do, they really didn’t care what we thought. But anyway, and then they got it done. It’ll be expanded without doubt.

Miller: How many days have you been hunting so far this year? This season?

Slinkard: I’ve hunted every day, every day of the season. I’m one of the lucky few that get to do that.

Miller: And you’ll do it until you get your elk.

Slinkard: Yep. Yeah, absolutely. And then I’ve got family members that will be helping as well, that kind of thing. But, actually, we put in as a party. I burnt my points to get my tag but it kind of goes all together so they’re allowed to – we know that all of my family are going to get tags this year. Next year, it’s complete crap shoot. We don’t know if anybody will get anything or not.

Miller: Mike Slinkard, thanks very much.

Slinkard: Thank you.

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