Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, September 7, 2016
2016 Big Game
Preview
By Jim Yuskavitch; re-
printed with permission
from the Oregon Hunters
Association.
Last year’s big game
preview noted that a mild
winter went easy on deer
and elk, resulting in in-
creased overwinter sur-
vival of fawns and calves,
producing better hunting
opportunities for the fall.
The winter of 2015-16 was
a bit harder, not enough
to knock down big game
numbers in any significant
way, but it did have impacts
on overwinter survival that
will translate into some lim-
ited hunting opportunities
for younger bucks in some
areas. The usual challenges
for big game managers
remain including cougar
predation in some parts of
Northeastern Oregon and
diminished logging levels
in the Cascade Mountains
that are limiting elk num-
bers. And the Oregon De-
partment of Fish and Wild-
life is continuing its Mule
Deer Initiative to bring
those animals’ numbers
back up to speed. Neverthe-
less, the big game outlook
is still pretty good for the
most part, and even in areas
where opportunities might
be on the thin side, there
are things that hunters can
do to increase their odds of
success. Here’s a rundown
on what ODFW wildlife
biologists around the state
have to say about the cur-
rent state of big game popu-
lations and prospects for the
fall hunting seasons.
Deer
“Deer-wise it’s been
fairly productive over the
past couple of years,” says
Dave Nuzum, Assistant
District Wildlife Biologist
in Tillamook, of the North
Coast region. “Our buck
ratios are around bench-
mark,” he continues. He
also notes that they are not
seeing much in the way of
diseases lately, especially
hair loss syndrome that was
a major concern to wildlife
managers a few years ago.
Based on what he’s seen
so far, Nuzum predicts
pretty good black-tailed
deer hunting on the North
Coast this year.
“We’ve been meeting
our buck-doe ratio bench-
marks,” says Springfield-
based District Wildlife Bi-
ologist Brian Wolfer, of his
black-tailed deer popula-
tions, with 25 to 30 bucks
per 100 does. Fawn ratios
are also very good, with 30
per 100 does in the north
Indigo Wildlife Manage-
ment Unit and 56 to 100 in
the McKenzie Unit.
“In general, we have
pretty decent buck car-
ryovers from last year so
there will be some big,
mature bucks around for
those hunters who can find
them,” says Wolfer.
Unlike other parts
of the state, last winter
in Southwestern Oregon
wasn’t especially harsh ac-
cording to District Wildlife
Biologist Tod Lum in Rose-
burg. “Deer are doing about
as well as last year and are
in good shape. Two years
ago there was an outbreak
of Epizootic Hemorrhagic
Disease, a major wildlife
disease that killed at least
300 deer in Lum’s district,
and probably more, but
seems to have since sub-
sided.
According to Tom Col-
lom, District Wildlife Biol-
ogist in Klamath Falls, deer
number there are at about
status quo. “However,” he
says, “we had a little lower
overwinter fawn survival
that will impact the number
of juvenile bucks. We’re
still below our population
Management Objective
but because we can control
hunter numbers we can
maintain good buck ratios.”
In the Ochoco Moun-
tains region, District Wild-
life Biologist Greg Jackle
reports that, due to a harder
winter, the fawn survival
rate was down from the
previous two years. “I will
expect fewer yearling bucks
on the landscape,” he says.
“Overall, deer are stable to
slightly down this year.
“Deer are doing okay,”
reports Autumn Larkins,
Assistant District Wildlife
Biologist in Hines. “We had
better than expected fawn
survival except for the Sil-
vies Unit, probably because
of heavy winter weather.”
Buck ratios are down a little
from past years, but still at
MO. The bottom line for
the High Desert country
is that deer numbers are
stable and, except for the
Silvies Unit, hunting should
be good.
Leonard Erickson, Dis-
trict Wildlife Biologist in
Pendleton reports that buck
ratios are around MO for
his districts, although due
to a harder winter parts
of Northeastern Oregon
also experienced reduced
fawn survival resulting in
fewer juvenile bucks. There
are still good hunting op-
portunities but with fewer
juvenile bucks available,
hunters may have to work
a little harder to find the
bigger, older, more wary
NOW
HIRING
DRIVERS
- FIVE
Ione falls to Triad in Opener 42-14
Eli Builta, Triad’s speedy
junior quarterback, scored
twice on long runs in the first
quarter last Saturday in Du-
fur. The Cardinal’s defense
tightened up in the second, but
Builta found a seam and ran in
another touchdown with 6:37
to go in the second. The Chris-
tian school from Klamath Falls
would lead Ione 22-0 at half.
The Cardinals found the
going tough against Triad’s
nimble defense.
“Triad’s team speed was
as good as we’ll see all year,”
Coach Todd Knop said.
Ione would enter the red
zone twice in the first half,
only to have the drives fall
short. Triad would open the
scoring in the third with a 40-
yard touchdown run by senior
tailback James Homfeldt. The
Timberwolves would add two
more scores through the air be-
fore the quarter would finish.
The Cardinals scored
twice in the fourth on runs by
bucks.
Elk
Elk numbers remain
pretty good throughout
Northeast Oregon, with
populations at or above MO
in many, but not all units.
“Overall elk numbers in
the Catherine Creek and
Starkey units are good and
above MO,” says Erickson.
However, in some areas,
cougar predation is the
likely culprit in keeping calf
to cow ratios below target
levels.
Elk are doing great in
the Silvies, Malheur and
High Desert units of South-
eastern Oregon, in part
due to the increase in the
number of alfalfa pivots
going in that attracts elk
like kids to ice cream, and
Autumn Larkins and other
ODFW staff in Hines spend
lots of their time managing
damage issues. That will
translate into good elk hunt-
ing opportunities come fall.
“Elk are doing pretty
good this year,” says Greg
Jackle of the Ochoco re-
gion. Even though they are
a bit below their bench-
marks for bull and calf
ratios there are still a lot of
elk in the Ochocos — about
4,150 in the Ochoco Unit —
just a few hundred below
MO — making this part of
the state a top destination
for elk hunters.
Even though the Klam-
ath Falls area isn’t known
for elk, there are decent
numbers that are currently
about at MO. “We’ve seen
some good-size bulls in the
Keno Unit this year,” com-
ments Collom.
Brian Wolfer reports
that the elk situation in the
Ione sophomore Aaron Smythe (#27) looks for running room against Triad. -Contributed photo
Cord Flynn. Flynn would fin-
ish the game with 111 yards
rushing to lead the Cardinals.
“Cord plays with a lot of
heart,” Knop said.
A 35-yard pass from Fly-
nn to Hector Aguilar set up
Flynn’s second touchdown.
Flynn would rush in from 18
yards out to make the score
42-14.
Knop was encouraged
by the line play of sophomore
Tyler Carter, saying, “He got
better as the game went on.”
“ O u r g o a l s h a v e n ’t
changed,” Knop said. “We’ll
get back to work on Monday.”
Ione will face Echo Fri-
day, Sept. 9, at 7 p.m. in Echo
in a non-league matchup.
western Cascades is largely
the same as it has been for a
number of years now. With
less logging on national
forest lands, elk are tending
to move onto private indus-
trial timberlands where reg-
ular cutting produces more
desirable habitat and forage
conditions. Despite lower
elk numbers and shifts in
land use, bull ratios remain
good. Wolfer emphasizes
that advance scouting and
research is paramount for
elk hunting success in the
Cascades now. Some sug-
gestions include checking
Google maps and aerials to
scope out burns that are at
least a couple of years old
that will have the vegeta-
tion mix attractive to elk.
The Forest Service also
maintains good fire maps
that will give you leads on
where to concentrate your
efforts.
The situation is similar
in Southwest Oregon. “The
biggest gripe among folks
who have been hunting elk
for years is that they have
seen a big decline in elk
numbers,” says Lum. But
there are elk available in
southeast, including some
nice bulls. Like Wolfer,
Lum also emphasizes that
hunters who do their home-
work will be the ones who
have a successful hunt.
With more logging go-
ing on in the Coast Range
Dave Nuzum says that habi-
tat isn’t as big an issue in
his region, although “elk
populations are a little be-
low MO,” he explains. But
he thinks those numbers
will come back up in a few
years, noting that bull ratios
remain good.
Bighorn Sheep
While Oregon’s overall
bighorn sheep population
is stable, the situation can
vary between herds. Some
herds in the Hells Canyon
area are still recovering
from past disease outbreaks
while others may be having
predation issues. Autumn
Larkins has just under 1,000
bighorns in her district that
are doing okay. They are
still keeping a close eye on
the Riverside herd, which is
not faring as well as ODFW
would like, possibly due
to cougar predation, so it
may be awhile yet before
any tags are offered for
that herd. ODFW recently
relocated the last of the
Branson herd to the Klam-
ath River canyon where
they are doing well. The
Branson herd was a band
of bighorns released near
the John Day Fossil Beds
National Monument a few
years ago in an attempt to
reintroduce the animals to
that region but failed due
to contact with domestic
sheep that increased the
threat of disease transmis-
sion. Despite the ups and
downs of bighorn sheep
management, overall, lucky
hunters who draw “once
in a lifetime” bighorn tags
generally have a very high
success rate.
Rocky Mountain Goats
Rocky Mountain goats
are an Oregon wildlife suc-
cess story and are doing
well with a total population
in excess of 400. While the
Elkhorns in Northeast Or-
egon have Oregon’s largest
goat population, herds have
been established in other
parts of the state includ-
ing the Strawberry Moun-
tains, and more recently,
the Mount Jefferson area
in the Cascades. There are
even a couple roaming the
Newberry Crater National
Volcanic National Monu-
ment south of Bend. Over-
all, Rocky Mountain goats
are doing very well.
Pronghorn
Pronghorns are one of
Oregon’s more reliable,
steady big game species
with populations that tend
to be mostly stable, and
ODFW manages them con-
servatively to provide good
quality hunts with high suc-
cess rates.
Tom Collom reports
a slight increase in prong-
horns in the Klamath re-
gion over the past four or
five years along with high
buck ratios. Larkins says
that pronghorns are doing
similarly well in the High
Desert country, with the
Juniper Unit providing the
best hunting opportuni-
ties. There are even some
“woodland” pronghorns
in the Ochocos that Greg
Jackle confirms are stable
with decent buck ratios.
Bear and Cougar
Bear and cougar num-
bers are generally strong
throughout the state, with
cougar numbers lowest on
the North Coast and highest
in Northeast and Southwest
Oregon. You’ll find bears in
just about any forested parts
of Oregon, with the highest
populations on the south
coast. With the exception of
spring bear hunting, hunt-
ers mostly take bear and
cougars incidentally while
hunting other game species.
Sheriff’s Report
July 12: -A Heppner
resident advised Morrow
County Sheriff ’s Office
there was constant traffic
near her residence, and that
vehicles speed through and
tear into the gravel at the
park. She requested extra
patrol and advised she was
going to attend the city
council meetings. A deputy
was advised.
-MCSO was advised
of a bunch of wood just
north of the golf course
in the middle of Hwy. 74,
Heppner, that looked like
something fell out of the
back of a pickup.
-MCSO was contacted
about a mental facility resi-
dent who walked off during
an outing in Hermiston. The
caller advised they have
guardianship but the resi-
dent refused to get back in
the van. The caller request-
ed information and options
how to get the resident back
to the facility.
-MCSO received report
of a motorcycle versus car
hit-and-run in Irrigon. The
caller advised he was on his
way to work and the vehicle
left the scene while he was
standing up from his bike.
-MCSO was notified of
a non-blocking rollover ac-
cident in the mill zone, Hwy
74, Heppner. The subjects
appeared to be okay and
were out of the vehicle and
walking. MCSO, Heppner
fire and Heppner ambulance
responded. Christopher Lee
Fritz, 36, was cited for driv-
ing outside restrictions – no
ID as required, and was
scheduled to appear at Hep-
pner Justice Court. Patient
refused medical transport.
-Law enforcement
was advised of dogs that
attacked someone riding
horseback in Boardman.
The rider was thrown but
it didn’t appear anyone
was injured. Boardman
ambulance responded and
transported a patient.
-A subject in Boardman
advised of a fire that started
due to a transformer that
exploded. Boardman fire,
Boardman PD and Umatilla
Electric responded.
-An MCSO officer re-
ported stopping to check
on a possibly disabled ve-
hicle on Hwy. 207, Lexing-
ton, Echo. The family had
stopped to clean up after a
dog that got sick in the car.
-The City of Irrigon
reported receiving multiple
code complaints.
July 14: -A driver on
I-84, Boardman advised
there was a person lying
on the ground alongside
the freeway with a piece of
cardboard over his body.
The caller did not see him
move, but was just passing
by; thought he might be
sleeping but wasn’t sure.
Oregon State Police was
advised.
-A Morrow County
Sheriff’s deputy was ad-
vised of ATVs going up and
down the street in Lexing-
ton at odd hours.
-MCSO received re-
port of a dog that needed
to be picked up in the city
park play area in Heppner.
The caller advised it was
wearing a collar but they
couldn’t get close to it and
would like a deputy to re-
spond. MCSO reported that
a citation was issued.
-MCSO received report
of an office that was broken
into in Heppner; the caller
advised they believed it
was juveniles who did it. A
deputy responded and took
a report.
-MCSO was advised
that Jason Michael Fran-
cisco Garza, 26, was lodged
at Umatilla County Jail on
an Oregon State Parole
Board warrant for probation
violation with a Morrow
County hold placed. The
subject was also lodged on
a Umatilla County warrant.
-An MCSO officer
reported being out with
several goats in the road
in Irrigon. A deputy made
contact with the owner and
he was advised to keep the
goats in.
-A driver on Hwy. 74,
Heppner advised MCSO
that a red station wagon
passed them and then was
pacing them, and that it
would go over the white
line and then into the other
lane. They advised they
caught up with it at Lex-
ington, and it went 45 mph
through Lexington and then
stopped at the gas station,
but didn’t see where it went
after than as they went in
the store. MCSO was un-
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