Possible New legislation on hunttin and fishing READ.. VOTE!!

[swampratt]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wildlife Bills Face Senate Deadline Votes This Week; Measures Include SB 703 That Halts Further Public Hunting, Fishing Land Purchases
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation along with many statewide conservation partner groups are very concerned about several pieces of wildlife-related legislation moving through the Oklahoma Senate over the next three days. This Thursday, March 14, is the deadline for these legislative proposals to be approved or they will be rendered dormant for this session.

Some of the bills, if passed, will affect the Department’s ability to fulfill its constitutionally mandated mission to conserve and manage Oklahoma’s fish and wildlife resources for the benefit of hunters, anglers and all Oklahomans, including its mandate to acquire land to improve habitat for such purposes. Many statewide conservation organizations are urging their membership to look at the bills and be part of the legislative process.

Among the bills are proposals that would:

• Essentially freeze the Wildlife Department’s ability to buy additional lands for public hunting and fishing access (Senate Bill 703, Sen. Casey Murdock and Rep. Kevin McDugle).
• Dramatically reduce the ability of state Game Wardens to stop poaching and trespassing on private land (SB 567, Sen. Nathan Dahm, and SB 927, Murdock).
• Enable nonresident landowners to buy Oklahoma hunting/fishing combination licenses for $25, which is less than resident combination licenses ($42), and hand them out to relatives. (SB 984, Murdock, and HB 2324, McDugle).
• Would allow commercial hunting guides to operate on Oklahoma’s public hunting areas, although a proposed amendment would authorize the Department to regulate and assess fees (SB 566, Murdock and McDugle).

Public participation is a key factor in the legislative process. This week, these and other bills that could dramatically affect hunting, fishing and wildlife conservation in Oklahoma will either be passed or defeated by voting over the next three days in the full Senate. Voting on wildlife bills in the House concluded last week with passage of HB 2324 (McDugle), which as mentioned above provides much cheaper $25 hunting/fishing combination licenses to nonresident landowners and their families.

To learn which bills are scheduled for a vote on a daily basis, go to www.oksenate.gov/schedule/agenda.aspx. The list of bills scheduled for a vote is posted the afternoon before or the morning of the day when the vote is scheduled to occur.

To see a complete list of all bills affecting Wildlife Department operations, go to www.tinyurl.com/ODWCbillTracker.

Anyone with an opinion on these bills and their impact on the Wildlife Department’s ability to serve Oklahoma’s hunters, anglers, landowners and outdoor enthusiasts, along with the Department’s ability to conduct its mandated mission to protect the state’s wildlife resources, is urged to share their opinions with their senators and representatives at the state Capitol.

Not only are hunting and fishing important to Oklahoma’s culture, they are also big business, generating nearly $2 billion in economic benefit to the state. The Wildlife Department receives no state tax appropriations. It is a constitutional agency based on the user-pay, user-benefit principle. It is funded by sportsmen and sportswomen through their purchases of hunting and fishing licenses.

Anyone who does not know who represents his or her district may find out by going to www.oklegislature.gov and using the “Find My Legislator” tool at the bottom right of the page.

NEWS CONTACTS:

Don P. Brown ([email protected])
or Micah Holmes ([email protected])
Website: wildlifedepartment.com Telephone: (405) 521-4632

CLICK HERE to subscribe to Outdoor Oklahoma magazine. Only $10 per year!

Stay Connected with ODWC


WHO WE ARE: The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) with its 350 employees is responsible for managing Oklahoma's fish and wildlife resources and habitat. WHAT WE BELIEVE: The state's fish and wildlife belong to all Oklahomans and should be managed so their populations will be sustained forever. HOW WE ARE FUNDED: ODWC does not receive general state tax appropriations. License sales and federal Wildlife and Sportfish Restoration Program grant revenues are the main funding sources. Every license dollar spent by sportsmen and women in Oklahoma is used to fund ODWC's user pay/public benefit conservation efforts.

ODWC Disclaimer Policy

 

[Ethan N]

Not completely sure yet what I think about the others because I haven’t researched them enough, but I’m 100% in favor of SB 567 and SB 927.

SB 567: There’s nothing suspicious in itself about hearing gunfire on private property, and game wardens should not be mandated by law to enter private property to investigate whether the gunfire is hunting-related, which is how game wardens are interpreting the current wording of the law. This bill is needed to protect the trespass property rights and privacy rights of gun owners.

SB 927: Ferral swine are a nuisance. You shouldn’t need government permission to remove dangerous, damaging animals from your own property. This bill would just make Oklahoma law similar to Texas law on this issue, and this law hasn’t caused any problems in Texas.

EDIT: It’s also worth noting that OK2A requested both of these bills. And most every bill I’ve ever seen introduced by Senator Dahm has been a good thing IMO.

 

[dennishoddy]

All of this is negative to the public that hunts and fishes.
It’s all cronyism to the legislators that introduced these bills for personal financial gain from lobbies.

The vote is tomorrow. Contact now!!

 

[Ethan N]

All of this is negative to the public that hunts and fishes.
It’s all cronyism to the legislators that introduced these bills for personal financial gain from lobbies.

The vote is tomorrow. Contact now!!

What about SB567 and SB927 is negative for hunters and fishers? And are you suggesting that the authors of those two bills realized some sort of financial gain from OK2A, which lobbied for them? Or were you referring to other bills?

 

[rifleman 1981]

I’m not sure I agree with the license fees, but I’m all for the rest of the bill, I feel that there is a big problem with constitutional overreach on behalf of the odwc. A gunshot is not probable cause to enter private property, searching without a warrant, is unconstitutional. The department of wildlife is an organization within itself and does not answer, nor is it held accountable to the citizens of Oklahoma. In no way shape of form should a game warden have more authority than the sheriff, who is an elected official, put in office by the citizens of his own county. I am also tired of this if it pleases the crown mentality about killing an invasive species that is destroying my crops and grass.