Hunters: Report your tags or face a $25 fine
PORTLAND, Ore. - Oregon hunters have just a few days to report last year's tags to avoid a $25 fine.
Hunters are required to report on their hunts by Jan. 31, whether they were successful or not and even if they did not go hunting at all.
This is something that hunters have done for several years, but this is the first time a penalty has been put into place for those who don't report. If you don't meet the deadline, you will get hit with the $25 fee when you go to purchase your 2014 hunting tags (the penalty is one per person, even if you have several tags).
According to Michelle Dennehy with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), the fee isn't something they are all that interested in collecting, but rather an incentive to get more people to report.
What's the big deal about reporting? ODFW uses the data to set tags and the better numbers they have, the more they can maximize hunting opportunities for folks.
Dennehy said only 41 percent of hunters reported on time in 2011 but this time around, with the penalty in place, she said 78 percent had reported as of Sunday, Jan. 27.
If you are one of the last remaining hunters who still need to report your tags, you can file a report online or by calling 1-866-947-6339. And if you report on time, you will be entered to win a special tag that allows for a longer hunting season and expanded area.
I'd say ditch the penalty and give people who did report their tags priority for the next year. Never hunted in my life, but have zero trouble with hunting. The deer and elk populations have to be limited to prevent the destruction of the habitat.
No need to worry about the guy in the picture harvesting anything. His tree stand isn't high enough.
This is not only taxation, but invasion of privacy as well!
The taxes (fee is a euphemism) for hunting in this state are outlandish.
This is just the latest taxation without representation.
The point system is also a travesty.
This is just more of the same.
Everyone should call the 800 number and overwhelm the system so that they stop this foolishness.
Good idea. We need to keep a much closer eye on people who think it's fun to shoot animals.
 @correct Yes Correct, hunting is fun. There, I said it. I hunt deer, elk, pheasant, quail, and occasionally a goose. We eat everything we kill, and, we enjoy it.
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Am I supposed to feel bad for participating in an activity that dates back to the beginning of the human race? Your insinuation that hunters are somehow deranged, or doing something that should be tracked because it's wrong is disturbing to me.
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Do you feel the same way about fisherman? How about commercial meat companies? You seem to not like anyone who owns a firearm in general, is that safe to assume?
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Regards.
 @correct So you're a control freak and a troll? Wow a double major. Too bad that you can't let others enjoy the freedoms they are entitled to. Typical Portland leftist.
 @correct Hunting is far more humane than the slaughter houses where everyone else gets their meat, and healthier for you as well.Â
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@Mike Smith
You're comparing a functional sport with a crime against an animal designed to be a pet?Â
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Did your recruiter add a dozen or so IQ points to make the entrance minimum? Weird
 @Mike Smith Do you eat the dog after you stab it, troll?
If 41% reported in 2011, and 78% in 2012, why is there a penalty attached now when it seems the reporting percentage is increasing all by itself without any threat of a penalty? And if they are not interested in collecting the penalty/fee, then why even ask for it? Screwy logic!Â
@jpk Personally, I think if they offered a free hunt application to a controlled hunt, they would get a huge response.
 @flyroy They won't, which, is further proof it is about the money. It always is with ODFW. A fee, fine, permit, is nothing more than a tax.
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Incidentally, the ODFW receives 30% of their budget from license fees. The number of both hunters and fishermen have dropped every year since 1980. They will continue to raise fees, more people will stop buying licenses, and fees will continue to go up. Sad, Oregon used to be a wonderful place for sportsmen.
A controlled hunt for what type of animal?
Just another BS fee.Â
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License fee
Hunt application fee
Tag fee
Reporting fee
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All to hunt on public land. They should not have to ask why there are so many poachers.
@2012 Hope and Change The beatings will cotinue until morale improves...
 @2012 Hope and Change There is no reporting fee. The $25 is a penalty if you DON'T report your tags. Please go back and re-read the story.
Don't report fee...........feel better now? It is just another BS government requirement.
 @2012 Hope and Change That's not public land, it's government land.
Twenty fve dollars is not a fine. It is a fee. Fines should be punitive.
 @Mechanic They are punishing those that don't report, are they not?
"According to Michelle Dennehy with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), the fee isn't something they are all that interested in collecting, but rather an incentive to get more people to report."
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Forgive me for this Michelle Dennehy, but, you're full of bull droppings ma'am. If ODFW isn't interested in the fee, then where is the money collected going? Will you reduce the ODFW operations budget by the amount collected from the fees?
 @Torino_v2Â
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Well...reporting is part of the agreement that a hunter makes with the state when they purchase the license. Sadly, many neglect that agreement and need reminding and it seems that $25 is a sufficient reminder. Many hunters will just say they never went out simply to avoid the fee since there is no penalty for inaccurate reports.
 @Icarus Yes Icarus, the data they glean from hunters' reports will be of little use due to it's inaccuracy. My comment was more to the point of an outright lie in my opinion by ODFW. There is no question though, people will find a way around it.
ODFW doesn't manage fish or wildlife, just cold hard green backs.