ODFW release – SALEM, Ore.—Oregon’s Fish and Wildlife Commission will meet Friday, Aug. 4 in Salem. See the meeting agenda and watch a livestream of the meeting at https://www.dfw.state.or.us/agency/commission/minutes/23/08_Aug/index.asp To testify on one of the agenda items remotely, register at least 48 hours in advance (by Wednesday, Aug. 2 at 8 a.m.) at https://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_O0fn0Cl6TyGrWAJDLIuamg To testify in person, sign up at the meeting using the paper forms provided. Comments can also be emailed to ODFW.Commission@odfw.oregon.gov. The Commission’s decision-making agenda items are: Private Forest Accord Mitigation Fund Rules: Private Forest Accord legislation passed by the 2022 Oregon State Legislature directed the Commission to establish a PFA mitigation grant program and adopt rules to solicit, review and award funding. Grants will fund projects that mitigate the impacts of forest practices on aquatic species and habitat covered by Oregon Department of Forestry’s anticipated Habitat Conservation Plan. MOU with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde: The Commission will be asked to consider an agreement with Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde to advance the government-to-government relationship between the state of Oregon and Grand Ronde. The agreement is similar to agreements adopted with four other Tribes in western Oregon. If adopted, tribal members would be able to participate in subsistence and ceremonial hunting, fishing, shellfishing, and trapping licensed by Grand Ronde, within a limited geographic area, in partnership with ODFW and the Oregon State Police. Annual harvest limits and areas for harvest by tribal members would be set by mutual consent between the Tribe and ODFW. Consideration of an agreement with Grand Ronde was originally scheduled for the June Commission meeting and delayed to allow for additional coordination with the Grand Ronde and other Tribes. Adopt 2024-25 Sport Fishing Regulations: To see proposed changes to regulations for 2024-25, visit https://myodfw.com/articles/2024-fishing-regulations. ODFW staff are also proposing to start adopting regulations every other year rather than annually. There are fewer regulation changes each year since the ODFW completed a regulation simplification process several years ago, and in-season regulation changes are posted online at MyODFW.com. Commercial crab fishery rulemaking to reduce whale entanglement: The Commission will be asked to adopt rules for the ocean commercial Dungeness crab fishery. Those rules include existing whale entanglement risk reduction measures that are scheduled to sunset after the 2022-2023 season; new risk-reduction regulations pertaining to the amount of surface gear allowed and retention of crab from derelict pots; and industry-requested efficiency measures allowing buoy tags to be changed at sea and exceptions to the late-season tags requirement.
