RANCHING Wildlife
Rule Changes From Oklahoma Wildlife Commission
I
N EARLY FEBRUARY, THE OKLAHOMA Wildlife Conservation Commis- sion (OWCC) approved a slate of
hunting- and fi shing-related rule changes to go into effect this year. Some of the commission’s most
notable actions were unanimously withdrawing a proposal to change the structure of the antlered deer harvest limit, rejecting a proposal to lower the age limit on youth deer and turkey season participation, creating a new fall turkey hunting opportunity for youth and amend- ing a proposal to change rules re- garding the transportation of bait. The actions taken by the com-
mission come after a wave of feed- back received during a public com- ment period held by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conserva- tion (ODWC) from Dec. 3 to Jan. 11. The ODWC received thousands of comments on the list of law change proposals up for consideration this year. Offi cials confi rmed that input from the public always plays an im- portant role in the decision-making process, but this year sportsmen were especially vocal on certain issues. “People in Oklahoma take their
hunting and fi shing very seriously,” said Alan Peoples, chief of wildlife for the ODWC. “And they’re passion- ate, and we heard them.” This year, one proposal was
withdrawn that, had it been ap- proved, would have restricted hunt- ers’ annual antlered deer limit to 1 buck during muzzleloader and gun seasons combined. With no changes made to the current rules, hunters will continue to be allowed 2 bucks as part of their combined season
54 The Cattleman April 2013
limit that spans archery, muzzle- loader and gun seasons. By rejecting the proposal to low-
er the age requirements for youth deer and turkey seasons, youth seasons will remain open to those under 18 years of age. Additionally, youth will now be able to harvest a turkey during the youth deer gun season if hunting in a county that is open to rifl e hunting during the fall turkey gun season. Turkeys harvested during this season are not “bonus” turkeys and do count toward the youth hunters’ fall tur- key season harvest limit. Another proposal that would
have prohibited the transport of live bait from any body of water was amended to specify no trans- port of bait only from reservoirs known to have silver and bighead carp. These non-native, invasive fi sh can be diffi cult to distinguish from shad when cast-netting for bait, and they can out-compete native species for resources and wreak havoc on fi sheries when established in a body of water. The revised language will allow them to modify and update the list of applicable lakes each year in the Oklahoma Fishing Guide. The rule only applies to “waters of the state” and does not include private waters and farm ponds. “In so doing, we can make it
possible for anglers to transport bait from lakes where there cur- rently aren’t any known infesta- tions of bighead or silver carp, but if we discover any then we can update the list of lakes from which transporting bait is prohibited,” said Barry Bolton, chief of fi sheries for the ODWC.
thecattlemanmagazine.com
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