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JOHN DAY — Deer and elk hunters are being asked to comment on a proposal to reinstate a historic archery hunt in a portion of eastern Oregon^s Strawberry Mountain Wilderness.
The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission will make a decision at its June meeting in Portland whether to adopt a proposal by the Canyon Creek Bow Hunters, an archery group headquartered in John Day. The proposal would reinstate the former Canyon Creek Archery Area, an area of some 35 square miles within the 1,150 square-mile Murderers Creek wildlife management unit. The proposal would not allow rifle hunting for deer within the Canyon Creek Archery Area; deer hunting would be permitted for archers only. In addition, a 10-day extended archery season for both deer and elk would be added at the end of the normal archery season, but weapons would be limited to traditional bows (long bow or recurve) only during this season. Tags would be drawn for these hunts through the controlled hunt process. Elk hunting by rifle and muzzleloader would not be affected.
The Canyon Creek Archery Area was established by the Oregon Legislature in 1935. At that time, Canyon Creek was the only designated archery hunting area west of the Mississippi River. Many early day archery hunting pioneers hunted in the area, including Fred Bear and Howard Hill. The area was opened to rifle deer hunting in 1990.
In 1999 the Commission was asked to reestablish the area and the archery-only deer hunt by the Canyon Creek Bow Hunters. The Commission directed ODFW to publicize the proposal and bring the results to the June 2000 Commission meeting, where the matter will be decided.
"So far we^ve only had four comments," said John Day District Biologist Craig Foster. "I think the Commission would like to hear from a larger cross-section of the interested public before making their decision."
For additional information about the proposal, interested persons should contact Shaun Robertson, at PO Box 242, John Day, OR 97845; (541) 575-2211.
Comments intended for the Commission should be sent to Craig Foster, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, PO Box 9, John Day, OR 97845; (541) 575-1167. Comments should reach Foster by June 7. The Commission meeting is June 9 and 10, at ODFW headquarters, 2501 SW First Avenue in Portland.
Uploaded: 5/23/2000
Uploaded: 5/23/2000