B4
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2021
Hunting and fi shing license
sales surge during pandemic
By TOM BANSE
Northwest News Network
Fishing and hunting
license sales jumped in 2020
across the Pacifi c Northwest
as more people fl ocked to
outdoor activities during the
COVID-19 pandemic. Total
license purchases rose even
though part of last spring
was crimped by stay-home
orders and in some states by
the suspension of non-resi-
dent permits.
Sport fi shing license issu-
ances increased by double
digit percentages in Idaho,
Washington state, Ore-
gon and California since
the onset of the pandemic.
Hunting wasn’t far behind.
The California Department
of Fish and Wildlife said not
since 2008 had it issued as
many sport fi shing licenses
as it did last year.
Oregon sold 18% more
angling licenses and 6%
more hunting licenses of all
categories in 2020 versus
2019. Washington’s Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife
tracks its annual statistics on
an April to March cycle, but
with three months still to go
for its 2020 tally, total hunt-
ing and fi shing license pur-
chases were already 5% to
7% ahead of the full year
2019.
“People were looking for
something they could do
socially distanced and out-
doors,” said Peter Vernie, a
licensing division manager
for the Department of Fish
and Wildlife in Washington.
“We saw a very big infl ux in
new customers coming to us
and old customers wanting
to get back outside.”
Idaho’s Department of
Fish & Game saw an 11%
increase in annual fi shing
and hunting license pur-
chases in 2020 compared to
the year before. The increase
was most pronounced in
fi shing license sales, which
surged 65% during the fi rst
six months of the pandemic
versus the same period in
2019, according to Paul
Kline, deputy director for
policy and programs at
Idaho Fish & Game.
“Cases of coronavirus
pale in comparison to cases
of cabin fever,” Kline told
a legislative budget com-
mittee last week. “Idahoans
have found much needed
respite in Idaho’s outdoors,
including hunting and fi sh-
ing. Idaho’s great outdoors
provided safe opportunities
for individuals and families
— social distancing, Idaho
style.”
Kline said Idaho reduced
non-resident tag availability
for deer and elk hunters to
reduce crowding during that
hunting season.
California and Washing-
ton state provided fi gures
for the number of fi rst-time
license holders. Both states
recorded tens of thousands
of newcomers and “reacti-
vated” enthusiasts in 2020.
Vernie said it was nice to
see a reversal in the long-
term decline in participa-
tion, especially in hunting,
which translates directly
Salmonella outbreak
spreads among birds
north as British Columbia,
Canada.
Salmonella can spread
to humans and pets. Comp-
ton said you should wear
gloves and remove dead
birds if you come across
them to avoid contact with
other birds or household
pets. Immediately wash
your hands after.
State and federal wild-
life agencies also recom-
mend regularly cleaning
and moving bird feeders
to prevent outbreaks. They
also encourage using feed-
ers from non-porous mate-
rials like ceramic, metal
and plastic rather than
wood, which can harbor
bacteria and other diseases.
Bird watchers can keep
nectar feeders for hum-
mingbirds out, Compton
said, but they also require
regular cleaning.
If you encounter a sick
bird, report it to the Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife at
866-968-2600 or wildlife.
health@state.or.us.
You can also contact
your local wildlife hospital
or rehab center.
By BRADLEY W. PARKS
Oregon Public
Broadcasting
Bureau of Land Management
Fishing and hunting license sales jumped in 2020 as people
took to the woods and water due to the coronavirus pandemic.
into agency budget stability
and draws in federal match-
ing dollars.
“There’s a two pronged
advantage,” Vernie said.
“Number one, we’re get-
ting revenue to support the
agency and the activities we
do to manage and conserve
wildlife and fi sh. And then
we also get federal dollars
that come to us.”
The surge in fi shing and
hunting during the pan-
demic tracks with other
observations about the lure
of the great outdoors during
this pandemic. Hikers and
park rangers have reported
packed parking lots at trail-
heads ever since lockdowns
eased last spring. The enthu-
siasm for socially-distanced
outdoor activities extended
into the cold season this win-
ter with crowds fi lling Sno-
Parks on weekends and ski
and snowshoe rental shops
reporting brisk business.
The jump in annual
license sales is all the more
remarkable considering that
the 2020 sales year began
with pandemic headwinds.
Washington Gov. Jay Ins-
lee’s initial coronavirus con-
tainment strategy included
restrictions on recreational
fi shing, hunting, hiking
and golfi ng. Those restric-
tions generated considerable
static and were lifted in the
fi rst week of May.
Oregon and Idaho did not
shut down fi shing to slow
the spread of the coronavi-
rus. But those states did sus-
pend non-resident hunting
and fi shing licenses for part
of the spring to prevent out-
of-state outdoors enthusiasts
from crossing state lines.
A salmonella outbreak is
sickening and killing birds
in Oregon and elsewhere
along the West Coast.
Cases of salmonella
among pine siskins and
other birds in Oregon have
trended upwards in recent
months, according to the
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife and wildlife
rehabilitators. The Depart-
ment of Fish and Wild-
life urges Oregonians who
encounter sick or dead birds
to take down bird feeders at
least for the next month or
two to slow the spread of
the disease.
California’s state wild-
life agency recently recom-
mended residents temporar-
ily remove bird feeders and
baths for the time being.
Washington state sug-
gested the same in January
for people who cannot rig-
orously clean bird feeders
daily.
Salmonella can grow in
seed feeders when they get
wet, and seed-eating birds
like pine siskins then spread
it through their poop.
When food resources
dwindle in winter, birds
often congregate at feed-
ers. These large gatherings
can quickly become salmo-
Tim Akimoff /Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife
A sick pine siskin bird. A
salmonella outbreak has
sickened and killed birds
across the West Coast.
nella superspreader events,
which is why wildlife
experts are urging backyard
bird watchers to take down
feeders for now.
“Once there’s an out-
break, it starts spreading
pretty rapidly,” said Sally
Compton, executive direc-
tor of the ThinkWild wild-
life hospital in Bend.
Cases
have
been
reported as far south as
San Francisco and as far
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