Oregon Cougars at Risk!
Oregon Cougar Management Plan Means Slaughter for Thousands of Cougars
YOUR HELP NEEDED IMMEDIATELY!
Constant attention must be paid to the actions of Oregon’s government when it comes to protecting cougars. Thanks in part to your diligent calls and letters, Oregonians managed to protect cougars during the previous legislative session from a well-funded assault to reinstate hound hunting.
Unfortunately, OREGON COUGARS ARE NOW IN EVEN GREATER DANGER AS A RESULT OF THE STATE’S NEW AND REVISED COUGAR MANAGEMENT PLAN.
A MASSIVE STATEWIDE SLAUGHTER IS PLANNED UNLIKE ANYTHING WE'VE EVER SEEN OR HEARD OF IN OREGON OR THE NATION.
Public hearing are scheduled statewide during AUGUST ONLY
Please try to attend a meeting in your area and speak out for the big cats!
Please refer to the “What you can do” section below.
What the plan does:
The Cougar Management Plan (CMP) has 4 objectives, all of which should
be opposed:
1. REDUCE the entire statewide population of cougars to 1994 levels by a minimum of over 40%, from a pre-Measure 18 population of over 5,000 cats down to 3,000.
2. REDUCE the number of safety and pet-related complaints to 1994 levels; in 2003, there were approximately 900 in 2003 down to 500 in 1993.
3. Bring livestock complaint numbers down to 1994 complaint levels
4. Bring prey (elk and deer) populations back up to 1994 management levels --'managing' cougars to keep prey at high levels so hunters have more to kill
An estimated 780 COUGARS WILL BE KILLED ANNUALLY FOR THE NEXT 5 YEARS.
They will TARGET FEMALE COUGARS to ensure the killing will have the MOST LONG TERM EFFECTF ON THE COUGAR POPULATION. GOVERNMENT HUNTERS will use TRAPS, SNARES, POISON and PACKS OF DOGS until 45% OF THE DEAD CATS ARE FEMALES.
What you can do:
1. Make your voice heard. Attend your local meeting about the Plan and speak out, write comments, and spread the word that the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife intends to slaughter cougars.
Public Hearings will be held at the following locations,
MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW:
Corvallis: Thursday, August 18, 7 – 9 p.m., OSU LaSells Center, Construction & Engineering Hall, (541)737-8947
Portland: Monday, August 22, World Forestry Center, Miller Hall 4033 SW Canyon Rd, (503)488-2102
La Grande: Tuesday, August 23, Blue Mountain Conference Center , 404 Twelfth St, (541)963-2949
Burns: Wednesday, August 24, Burns Senior Center, 17 S. Alder Ave, (541)573-6024
Bend: Thursday, August 25, National Guard Armory 875 SW Simpson, (541)312-4309
Roseburg: Monday, August 29, Umpqua Community College, Jacoby Auditorium - College Rd,
(541)440-4600
Medford: Tuesday, August 30, Jackson Co. Courthouse Auditorium, 10 S. Oakdale Ave, (541)774-6116
Klamath Falls: Wednesday, August 31,OSU Extension Auditorium, 3328 Vandenberg Rd, (541)883-7137
2. Immediately contact the governor's office. Be sure to thank Governor Kulongoski for his opposition to reinstating hounding during the previous legislative session, and ask him to stop the slaughter of cougars in the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Cougar Management Plan. The Governor can be reached at (503)378-5482 or online at
THIS IS THE BIGGEST THREAT THAT HAS EVER BEEN AIMED AT COUGARS IN THE STATE.
YOU ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO CAN DO ANYTHING ABOUT THIS! PLEASE PASS
THIS ALERT ALONG TO EVERYONE AND ANYONE YOU KNOW!
http://www.cougarfund.org/
Information provided by: Sally Mackler, Sierra Club
YOUR HELP NEEDED IMMEDIATELY!
Constant attention must be paid to the actions of Oregon’s government when it comes to protecting cougars. Thanks in part to your diligent calls and letters, Oregonians managed to protect cougars during the previous legislative session from a well-funded assault to reinstate hound hunting.
Unfortunately, OREGON COUGARS ARE NOW IN EVEN GREATER DANGER AS A RESULT OF THE STATE’S NEW AND REVISED COUGAR MANAGEMENT PLAN.
A MASSIVE STATEWIDE SLAUGHTER IS PLANNED UNLIKE ANYTHING WE'VE EVER SEEN OR HEARD OF IN OREGON OR THE NATION.
Public hearing are scheduled statewide during AUGUST ONLY
Please try to attend a meeting in your area and speak out for the big cats!
Please refer to the “What you can do” section below.
What the plan does:
The Cougar Management Plan (CMP) has 4 objectives, all of which should
be opposed:
1. REDUCE the entire statewide population of cougars to 1994 levels by a minimum of over 40%, from a pre-Measure 18 population of over 5,000 cats down to 3,000.
2. REDUCE the number of safety and pet-related complaints to 1994 levels; in 2003, there were approximately 900 in 2003 down to 500 in 1993.
3. Bring livestock complaint numbers down to 1994 complaint levels
4. Bring prey (elk and deer) populations back up to 1994 management levels --'managing' cougars to keep prey at high levels so hunters have more to kill
An estimated 780 COUGARS WILL BE KILLED ANNUALLY FOR THE NEXT 5 YEARS.
They will TARGET FEMALE COUGARS to ensure the killing will have the MOST LONG TERM EFFECTF ON THE COUGAR POPULATION. GOVERNMENT HUNTERS will use TRAPS, SNARES, POISON and PACKS OF DOGS until 45% OF THE DEAD CATS ARE FEMALES.
What you can do:
1. Make your voice heard. Attend your local meeting about the Plan and speak out, write comments, and spread the word that the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife intends to slaughter cougars.
Public Hearings will be held at the following locations,
MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW:
Corvallis: Thursday, August 18, 7 – 9 p.m., OSU LaSells Center, Construction & Engineering Hall, (541)737-8947
Portland: Monday, August 22, World Forestry Center, Miller Hall 4033 SW Canyon Rd, (503)488-2102
La Grande: Tuesday, August 23, Blue Mountain Conference Center , 404 Twelfth St, (541)963-2949
Burns: Wednesday, August 24, Burns Senior Center, 17 S. Alder Ave, (541)573-6024
Bend: Thursday, August 25, National Guard Armory 875 SW Simpson, (541)312-4309
Roseburg: Monday, August 29, Umpqua Community College, Jacoby Auditorium - College Rd,
(541)440-4600
Medford: Tuesday, August 30, Jackson Co. Courthouse Auditorium, 10 S. Oakdale Ave, (541)774-6116
Klamath Falls: Wednesday, August 31,OSU Extension Auditorium, 3328 Vandenberg Rd, (541)883-7137
2. Immediately contact the governor's office. Be sure to thank Governor Kulongoski for his opposition to reinstating hounding during the previous legislative session, and ask him to stop the slaughter of cougars in the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Cougar Management Plan. The Governor can be reached at (503)378-5482 or online at
THIS IS THE BIGGEST THREAT THAT HAS EVER BEEN AIMED AT COUGARS IN THE STATE.
YOU ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO CAN DO ANYTHING ABOUT THIS! PLEASE PASS
THIS ALERT ALONG TO EVERYONE AND ANYONE YOU KNOW!
http://www.cougarfund.org/
Information provided by: Sally Mackler, Sierra Club
posted by Allie @ 8:57 PM
2 Comments:
At 7:54 PM,
Ann Snyder said…
The following information may be of interest, and may help reassure your readers that there are absolutely NO plans to kill 2,000 cougars in Oregon. We're not sure how that information originated, but it is completely inaccurate, and I hope you can help us avoid unnecessarily alarming folks who care about wildlife. The following information is from our Web site. While not everyone may agree with the contents of the plan, our desire is that everyone at least will have accurate information on which to base their opinions. I would appreciate any help you can give distributing this information.
Ann Snyder
Administrator, Information and Education Division
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
***
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife continues to seek public comments about the proposed update to the Cougar Management Plan. Some key facts about the plan follow.
Cougars are an Oregon success story. After being nearly eliminated by the mid-1960s, today they have a healthy population. The current cougar population in Oregon is estimated to be 5,100.
As both the cougar and human populations have grown, so have the number of conflicts and damage complaints. This draft management plan is designed to address the conflicts between the growing numbers of cougars and humans.
This draft plan establishes a minimum desirable cougar population of at least 3,000. It does not set a targeted cougar population level or a ceiling. The number of cougars in Oregon may exceed 3,000 as they do today, but the draft plan calls for managing no fewer than 3,000 cougars.
Big game regulations for 2006 propose a hunting quota of 668 cougars compared to 580 in 2005. The adaptive resource management proposed in the draft cougar management plan would set the limit for all cougar mortalities regardless of cause at 782.
ODFW works within the framework of the law. Oregonians have twice said through initiative petition that hounds may not be used to hunt cougars, and the Legislature and Governor have agreed with that stance. This draft plan abides by that determination.
However, existing law does allow federal and state employees to use the full range of management tools, including hounds and snares but not including poison, to deal with cougars that are causing human, pet or livestock conflicts. ODFW will continue to respond to safety and damage complaints. Problem cougars that pose a risk to humans, pets or livestock will be humanely euthanized.
This draft plan follows the same prescription as other management plans by incorporating specific actions to deal with conflict while maintaining recreational – hunting and viewing – opportunities.
As is the case with all similar wildlife management plans, the costs of cougar management are funded by the sales of hunting licenses and tags.
###
At 4:44 PM,
Allie said…
Hi Ann,
Thank you for stopping by and relaying this information. But I'm curious about something. You state here:
"Cougars are an Oregon success story. After being nearly eliminated by the mid-1960s, today they have a healthy population. The current cougar population in Oregon is estimated to be 5,100."
Then a couple of paragraphs later you state this:
"This draft plan establishes a minimum desirable cougar population of at least 3,000. It does not set a targeted cougar population level or a ceiling. The number of cougars in Oregon may exceed 3,000 as they do today, but the draft plan calls for managing no fewer than 3,000 cougars."
If you have 5100 and you want no more than 3000 - what happens to the 2100 extra cougars? If you have a hunting cap of 668 for 2006 - compared to 580 for 2005 - that is a rise in cougar deaths. Plus I'm still curious to know what happens to the other extra cougars?
Thank you for your time and information.
Take care,
Allie;)
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