/
LORE G 0 N sTATE
GAME COMMISSION
CAliFORNIA RESOURCES AGENCY LIBRARY
bsoufte\ Building, Room 117
~
ULLETIN
~
December 1972
1416 ·9th Street
SaCramentO. Colifomio
95814
•
•r
Cruelty at Christmasti~ne
OREGON STATE
GAME COMMISSION
ULLETIN
DECEMBER 1972
Volume 2'V, Number 12
RON E. SHAY, Editor
HAROLD CRAMER SMITH, Staff Artist
A. L. MILLER, Photographer
Published Monthly by the
OREGON STATE GAME COMMISSION
1634 S .W. Alder Street- P.O. Box 3503
Portland, Oregon 97208
JOHN W. McKEAN, Director
MEMBERS OF COMMISSION
J . PAT METKE , Chalrman.___ ........................ Bend
JAMES W. WHITTAKER, Vice Chairman
Pilot Rock
DAN CALLAGHAN ............................................ Salem
ALLAN L. KELL Y ............................_ ......... Portland
FRANK A. MOORE ............................... Idleyld Park
Permission to reprint is granted provided
proper credit Is given .
Second-class postage paid at Portland, Oregon .
Please report promptly any change of a_d·
dress. Send in address label from a recent lS·
sue with notice of change. Include zip code
number. Bulletin is circulated free of charge.
The Cover
A high-skirted juniper, sy mptomati c of the
former ills of the Murderer's Creek winter
range See fea ture story.
Photo by Ed Cliff
U .S. Forest Service
HUNTER SAFETY
TRAINING PROGRAM
Instructors Approved
Month of October ........................
Total to D ate ............. ............ .......
32
2,919
Students Trained
Month of October ........................ 4,535
Total to Date ................................ 189,998
Firearms Hunting Casualties Reported
in 1972
Fatal ..............................................
Nonfatal
Page 2
5
32
The impulse buying of pets as Christmas presents for children is nothing
short of cruel. Often the puppies in the window lead the buyer into the store
where he becomes intrigued by some exotic animal that is the latest fad in
" far out" pets. Most legitimate pet dealers agree there are precious few exotic
animals that make good pets, the definition of a good pet being one which
remains tame and can safely be handled throughout its life.
Demand for exotics has almost spelled the demise of some species in the
world, the most recent of which is the Golden Lion Marmoset of Brazil. This
appealing little monkey-like creature has a very limited habitat which is
gradually being destroyed by urbanization and deforestation , but the annual
take of 200 or so animals per year recorded in 1966 by the pet trade was
even more devastating. Laws have been passed to stop such trade but as long
as there is a market for such animals and enough money involved, illegal
activities will persist. VVith the highest standard of living in the world, this
country seems to provide the most people with such money.
Even well-equipped zoos with scientifically trained staffs have trouble
raising and keeping many of these animals, making it virtually impossible
for the private citizen to be successful. The result is often a defanged, declawed
animal being offered to the zoo which doesn 't want it or the same mutilated
animal being turned into the wild with little chance of survival because of
its la ck of early training.
This leads us to the two most accepted animal pets, dogs and cats. Here,
too, little foresight is exercised during the impulse of Christmas spending. If
there were foresight, the larger cities of this country wouldn't have packs of
feral dogs running loose and the problem of perpetual stray cats wouldn't exist
on such places as the Commission's Sauvie Island Wildlife Management Area.
It would seem that as we become more urbanized, the same syndrome that
makes people forget that we cannot have unlimited numbers of plant-eating
animals such as deer and wild horses manifests itself concerning cats and dogs.
Each year there are numerous reports of feral and domestic dogs packing
together to run and tear apart deer in the suburban areas of Portland. In most
of the semi-urbanized areas of Oregon , as well as the rest of the country, the
free-roving domestic house cat and its feral counterpart are top predators on
wild birds.
It is natural for animals to produce offspring. This is where the responsibility of the owner comes in. It is easy to let the pups and kittens multiply,
then dump them along the road somewhere with the mind-easing thought that
"someone will find them and give them a good home." Such is not the
case. Roger Caras, noted naturalist, in the October issue of RANGER RICK'S
NATURE MAGAZINE says that the average life span of domestic pets turned
loose is about one year instead of the normal 14 to 15 years if they are properly
cared for. Starvation, accidents, disease, and various unfamiliar death traps
take their toll of urban wanderers.
Taking excess animals out of town is not the solution. Most farms already
have all of the cats they need and new ones dumped along the road are looked
upon as unwanted stray animals to be disposed of. Those animals that survive,
often by eating their litter mates , are of use to no one. They are suspicious
predators living off the less wary wildlife. Persons who dispose of extra animals
by turning them loose in the city or dumping them in the country while soothing their own mind are perpetrating cruelty to animals of the simplest form.
In his article Caras offers solutions. He states, first , "no dog or cat should
be allowed freedom to wander in or near a city." Secondly, "unwanted pets
should not be abandoned, but taken to an animal shelter like the SPCA." And
lastly, animals not being used for breeding purposes should be "fixed" to
prevent them from having young which might go homeless.
If people looking at the puppies in the window would stop to ponder Caras's
points, it would go far toward eliminating cruelty at Christmastime. RES
DECEMBER 1972
MUilDEilE!rS CREEK • • •
Murderer's Creek received its name when in 1862 three prospectors were killed at the foot of this
bluff. Paiute Indians did the sleeping men in by throwing rocks on them from atop the cl iff.
Something for Everyone
by M. S. CUMMINGS
Lands Supervisor
GAME BULLETIN
In its largest acquisition ever, the
Oregon Game Commission this fall
purchased the 21,116-acre Murderer's
Creek Ranch and adjacent holdings in
Grant County for the benefit of wildlife.
Murderer's Creek first became
widely known by sportsmen in the
winter of 1934-35 when literally
thousands of deer starved to death on
this range. Several factors were responsible for the conditions leading
to these spectacular losses. In 1929
the Oregon State Legislature established the Murderer's Creek Game
Refuge. This was followed by a pronounced increase in the mule deer
(Continued on Page 4)
Page 3
MURDERER S CREEK
1
(Continued)
population. The animal increase occurred during a period of protracted
drought which resulted in a decline
in range forage production. At the
same time t h e r e were continued
heavy demands on the forage by
domestic livestock. Th e combined
effects of the drought, increased demands of game, and the continued
heavy use by livestock resulted in one
of the most dramatically overgrazed
ranges in Oregon.
One of the best descriptions of the
conditions on the Murderer's Creek
range in those days is found in 1935
and 1936 inspection r eports prepared
by Edward P . Cliff, Range Examiner,
U . S. Forest Service, who recently retired as chief of that organization. In
September 1935, Mr. Cliff made trips
into Murderer's Creek to get a fairly
accurate picture of the existing conditions. He examined the range conditions and summer and fall utilization
of the winter forage by deer and livestock and stated, " After examining
the area, I was at a loss to see how a
large number of deer could possibly
survive the winter in the Murderer's
Creek country without further serious
losses." H e and four others made a
horseback trip into Murderer's Creek
basin in early April to count all the
deer observed, note their condition,
feeding habits, losses, and to observe
range conditions. The following statements were taken from his report.
"A total of 2,831 deer were counted in the Murderer's Creek country
and the adjacent breaks of the South
Fork. Several hundred more deer not
included were obser ved at a distance.
The fa ct that our party counted 2,674
deer in the Murderer's Creek drainage alone in three days is indicative
of the large deer population supported
by this area. Using our sample deer
counts as a basis, and utilizing intimate knowledge of the areas not covered, an analysis of this data indicates
approximately 10,000 deer were ranging in the Murderer's Creek and
adjacent Deer Creek range at the time
of our inspection.
" Many of the deer we observed
were in very poor condition, others
were in fair shape and a few seemed
to be in fairly good condition. A large
proportion of the deer appeared ragged, some had lost patches of hair and
presented an extremely poor appearance. On close observation the ribs
and backbon es of many individuals
could be discerned. Judging f r o m
their gait, quite a large number of
deer were very weak. Many of last
year 's fawns in particular were in
extrem ely poor con dition. The consistently puny and emaciated appearance of these young animals was one
of the outstanding features of the deer
herds.
"Regarding losses, we found 55
dead deer. We attributed 23 qf the
deaths to coyotes and 32 to starvation . Seventy-five percent of the deer
which died of starvation were last
year's fawns. The loss from starvation
was n ot as great as that reported in
the spring of 1935. However, the
finding of 32 starved animals on the
small portion of the range observed
indicates that a heavy loss did occur
over the entire range."
Regarding range conditions the
report continues, "The overgrazing
which exists on the Murderer's Creek
range is so critical, it must be reemphasized. The mountain mahogan y, one of the key forage species for
deer on this winter range, was 100 %
utilized. The larger trees were skirted
as high as the deer could reach and
many of the lower branches were
killed. The young mountain mahogany trees have suffered acutely; all
of the foliage has been eaten, and
many are in a dead or dying condition .
(Continued on Page 6)
Murderer's Cree~ Basin where severe competition for scarce forage caused substantial winter losses
of deer in the 1930s.
Page 4
DECEMBER 1972
In addition to giving the Commission control
over imp ortant big game winter ranges, the acquisition at Murderer's Creek will provide some
fine upland bird hunting areas and access to a
number of miles of trout and steelhead fishing .
l
GAME BULLETIN
Page 5
MURDERER'S CREEK
(Continued)
"Bitterbrush has suffered severely
from overgrazing. Many plants have
been killed by excessive browsing, and
practically all bitterbrush shrubs are
in a very critical condition. Many of
the woody twigs were browsed back
to diameters as large as a lead pencil.
To the casual observer all, or practically all, of the bitterbrush on the
range appeared to be dead.
"Practically all of the juniper
trees in the areas of heavy concentrations were heavily utilized by deer.
"1 ne high grazing line was one of the
distinctive features of the landscape.
Trees and shrubs were all defoliated
to a height of about seven feet. Ponderosa pine reprodu ction was very
heavily browsed and numerous instances were observed where the
needles and buds were almost completely utilized.
"Sagebrush, which is generally regarded as a poor forage plant, has
been so severely grazed the bushes are
assuming a compact hedgelike form
and many are dying out. Serviceberry, snowberry, and other palatable
browse had been browsed back until
they were dying and presented the
appearance of a clump of sticks."
Regarding livestock use of the
area, the report continues: "Two
bands of sheep and several hundred
head of cattle were grazing in the
lower range in the Murderer's Creek
and South Fork drainages. Cattle were
utilizing new grass as rapidly as it
became available. Many of these animals were in very poor condition and
several that had died of starvation
were found on the river bars in the
canyon of the South Fork."
The first steps to alleviate these
conditions were initiated in 1935.
The U . S. Forest Service reduced the
time livestock could be on the forest
from May 1 through November 30 to
May 15 through October 15, a reduction of 60 days, and the State Legislature opened the Murderer's Creek
and Deer Creek Game Refuges to
hunting.
Authority to set hunting regulations was eventually shared by the
Game Commission and the State Legislature. In 1938 the Commission
authorized 1,250 antlerless deer tags
for the Murderer's Creek but only 270
sportsmen applied for them. The 1939
Legislature declared an unlimited
open season for deer of either sex with
a two-deer bag limit and the season
extended from September 20 to October 25. In 1941 the Legislature delegated regulatory authority to the
Commission .
A portion of the big game winter range acquired in the recent purchase. This area is also con~i dered
Past efforts to r e sto re Grant
County deer winter ranges have centered around controlled seasons to reduce deer numbers, as the majority
of the winter range is on private land
where the Game Commission could
exercise no other control. Both Game
Commission and Forest Service reports indicate the Murderer's Creek
deer herd, which had reached 10,000
animals in the early 1930s, was stabilized in the mid-1940s at about 2,500
deer.
In the 1960s it became more apparent the Murderer's Creek Ranch
offered a variety of recreational opportunities. Ralph Denney, Grant
County game biologist, in a 1967 report reviewing the potential benefits
attainable stated, "Rapidly increasing
hunting and fishing demands and the
ability of the Murderer's Creek Ranch
to satisfy so many of these demands
justifies employing all haste to acquire these lands for the benefit of
future generations."
The ranch consists of holdings
along the main John Day River, along
the South Fork, John Day River, and
in Murderer's Creek basin. The entire ranch contains important winter
range for the Murderer's Creek, South
Fork, and Southside deer herds. Denney's report states 50 percent of the
deer in the Murderer's Creek Unit use
these winter ranges.
(Con tinued Next Page)
an excellent site for reestablis hm ent of bighorn sheep that were once found here .
Page 6
DECEMBER 1972
Elk are year-round residents on
the national forest adjacent to the
ran ch and utilize ranch property inside the forest boundary .
California bighorn s he e p once
roamed the high peaks along the
South Fork. The lower slopes provide
an excellent sheep wintering area and
plans are n ow being made to reintroduce sheep to this habitat at the earliest opportunity.
If you prefer upland game, pheasant arid valley quail are found along
the John Day River bottoms and in
draws leading into the John D ay
River . Along the South Fork, chukars
and valley quail are abundant in
years of good reproduction . Valley
quail, chukars, and Hungarian partridge are found in low to good numbers in the Murderer's Creek area.
Waterfowl are present, but in
limited numbers. Mallards and cinnamon teal nest along all live strea ms
on the ranch. Migrating w aterfowl
stop in the early fall but presently
leave when flooded fi elds are drained .
If you prefer fishing to hunting,
:\1urderer's Creek Ran ch lands contain a variety of opportunities. Along
the m ain John Day River, fishermen
have both sides of 1.5 miles of strea m
access for excellent steelhea d fishing
from December through Mar ch and
for tr out fishing during the spring
months.
The South Fork, John Day is a
favorite fl y fishing stream for many
anglers. Access to both sides of 4Yz
miles "of this strea m is provided with
the South Fork portion of the Murderer's Creek Ranch . This stream also
provides good steelhead rearing water
and fine fall trout fishing from September 15 to October 31.
Murderer's Creek, Thorn, Cabin,
Duncan, and Todd Creeks provide 10
miles of steelhead spawning and rearing water. With w a t e r control, a
smaller-scale trout fishery similar to
that on the South Fork could be developed in the lower reaches of Murderer's Creek.
Four impoundments totaling 16Yz
acres are located on the n orth side of
Aldrich Mountain. They have produced quality fishing in the past and
can again be put into fish production
with little effort . There are three potential reservoir sites totaling 170 surGAME BULLETIN
face acres that could be developed for
trout production.
Yes, there is something for everyone at the Game Commission's newest wildlife area.
H ave you been wondering about
the present condition of the Murderer's Creek winter ranges? The increasing demands of the public for
more wildlife give the Game Commission cause to increase the productivity
of available game- producing areas.
There are many opportunities here.
However , with the recent emphasis
on planning, much has already been
accomplished on Murderer's Creek.
Ralph Denn ey, in his 1967 report
vvith the cooperation of Bureau of
Land Management and Soil Conserva tion Service, outlined an eight-year
development plan to revegetate the
depleted ranges and regulate the livestock use.
This was followed by a detailed
Murderer's Creek Ranch Conservation Management Plan prepared by
BLM and SCS range personnel in cooper ation w ith the ranch manager.
D evelopment under this nine-year
plan was started in 1970 with con stru ction of fencing to r egulate grazm g.
During the past five yea rs , various
agencies and interested citizens have
intensively inventoried all natural
resources in Grant County . In 1971
a pilot project, Murderer's Creek Reso urce Development Plan, was de-
veloped that established guidelines for
the integrated management of all r esources-timber, range, wildlife, soils,
water, and r ecreation. Problems and
solutions are listed.
State Game Director John McKean, when h e was chief of big game
surveys in 1945, stated in his annual
report, "Grant County ranges originally provided perhaps the most productive mule deer habitat in the
state." ·with the continued cooperation of Grant County citizens and
federal, state, and county resource
agencies, M urderer's Creek ranges
can be restored and perhaps again
become the most productive mule deer
habitat in the state.
Ph oto to the right above shows a portion of the 5 miles of fishing access along the South Fork
of the John Day Riv er included in the land purchase . Be low is part of the 71f2 miles of Murderer's
Creek that wa s acquired, showing some of the excellent trout and steelhead spawning waters.
Page 7
FfJR THE BIRDS
by AI Miller
Bird feeders may be works of art. This feeder took days to build and reflects the skill and artistry of the owner. However, beauty is not essential in
the construction of a bird feeder .
Page 8
DECEMBER 1972
W indow feeders may be purchased or easily
made a nd can a ttract feeding birds to within
in ch es of a pa tie nt observer.
Endless hours of entertainment,
perhaps better than television , can be
just outside y our window - feeding
wintering birds in you r backyard is
both entertaining and educational.
However, feeding birds is more than
just an enjoy able hobby . As soon as
the birds start to flock to the feeder,
they will become a responsibility y our responsibility . Feeding concentrates more birds into an area than
that area can n aturally support. If
the artificial feeding stops, many of
the newly attracted birds must die.
So, if you start a feeding station, be
sure to continue until the winter ends.
You've acquired a group of dependents!
The feeding of birds is considered
an art by many. Much of this art is
learned throu gh years of experience
coupled with astute obser vation. H ere
are some tips that may help the begmner.
Protection is impor tant, if not
vital. Feeders should be placed so that
cats and other predator s can't get into
them and so easy and quick escape
routes are available to th e birds. Also,
some safe type of cover plants should
be near by so the birds can have a
place to perch before goin g to th e
feeder .
D uring periods of freezin g weather, water should be made available.
T his can be accomplished by simply
changing the water regularly or by
constructing some type of device that
will keep the water from freezing .
GAME BULLETIN
This funct ional hanging feeder is simply a piece
of 4 by 4 wit h som e holes dri lled in it t o hold
suet or peanut butter and pegs a t tached .
er t o ma
A noth e r easy
mod el. A piece of th in m_e ta l, e noug h wood t o
ma ke a foot-squa re bo x, so me screws, and a
t hreade d rod ar e a ll it tak es .
CHRISTMAS DINNER
A few po pula r fo o ds for wintering bird s th a t make a gr e at Christmas dinner . Starting at 12 o'clock
a nd g o in g cl oc kwis e are a ppl es, c ra cked co rn, suet, c omm e rc ial bird seed , popco rn , bird see d
mixed wit h pean ut butter , b rea d cru mbs , and su nflow e r seed s.
Page 9
Angling Regulations Set for 1973
Oregon sport fishermen will have
reduced trout bag limits on the Williamson and Sprague Rivers in the
Klamath area and in streams originating in the Steens, Trout Creek, Whitehorse, and Oregon Canyon Mountains
in southeastern Oregon. Extended
deadlines on a number of winter steelhead streams, plus year-round steelheading on several coastal streams
which contain both summer and winter races, will also be in effect in 1973.
These and other measures were
adopted by the Game Commission
Saturday, November 11 , following a
public hearing in Portland. Much of
the public testimony, both pro and
con, centered around reduced bag
limits and gear restrictions to maintain blue-ribbon trout fishing for
native fish. A large group from Shady
Cove on the Rogue criticized the Commission for its preferential treatment
of fly fishermen on that stream and
asked that other methods be used to
protect the sport fishery than discriminatory measures against bait
and lure fishermen . The Commission
turned down another group's request
to open a portion of the fly fishing
area on the North Umpqua to bait
and other methods.
The general trout season will open
on April 28. Lakes and reservoirs
within national forest boundaries in
the Cascades, Paulina, and Siskiyou
Mountains and the coast streams will
open May 26. The general season extends through October 31. The Commission opened Diamond L a k e to
early trout angling April 28, adding
this lake to several other bodies of
water along the Cascade crest such
as Crescent, Odell, and Suttle.
In an effort to maintain wild trout
angling, the Commission set a bag
limit of 5 trout in all waters of the
Steens, Trout Creek, Whitehorse, and
Oregon Canyon Mountains including
Fish and Wildhorse Lakes. The Commission also set a 2 fish over 12 inches
bag limit in the Sprague below the
Chiloquin Dam and in the Williamson below the Chiloquin Bridge. Angling from boats without motors will
be permitted between the Chiloquin
Bridge and Highway 97 Bridge.· AnPage 10
glers will also be restricted to artificial
lures and flies.
, The Commission also adopted a
general trout bag limit for the entire
state, except where special bag limits
apply, of 10 trout, only 5 of which
may be 12 inches or over in length.
This new regulation affects sport fishermen in Zones 7, 8, and 9 in which
the previous limit was 10 trout regardless of size.
On the Deschutes, the Commission
moved the special trout fishing deadline upstream from Mecca to the
Warm Springs Bridge, a distance of
about 1 mile, and removed both the
single hook rule and the fly fishing
only restriction in the Whitehorse
Rapids area.
The Commission opened the North
and South Forks of Little Butte Creek,
tributary of the Rogue, to early trout
fishing and moved the winter angling
deadline on the Rogue upstream to the
power line crossing below the Cole
Rivers Fish Hatchery. Winter angling
on the Applegate was delayed two
months to protect fall chinook, with
this season set January 1 through
March 31.
Crescent, Spring, and Smith Lakes
in Zone 1 and Big Lake in Zone 2
were opened to year-round trout angling. The Nestucca, Wilson, Trask,
and Siletz Rivers were opened to yearround steelhead fishing , with winter
bag limits on these streams extending
through May 26. The Commission
also extended .or removed deadlines
on Little Rock Creek, Siletz, Siuslaw,
Siuslaw North Fork, Necanicum, Nehalem, Nestucca, Lewis and Clark,
and on Herman, Tanner, Deadwood,
and Indian Creeks.
In an effort to accommodate the
disabled, the Commission established
a rule which will permit those permanently disabled from walking to
obtain a permit from the Commission
to angle from an anchored boat in the
Deschutes and Sandy Rivers.
The new regulations go into effect
January 1, 1973. Copies of the booklet with all of the 1973 regulations
will be available at hunting and angling license agencies before the end
of the year.
Heavy Public Use Made of
Wildlife Management Areas
Wildlife management areas administered by the Oregon Game Commission are becoming increasingly
popular with recreationists as evidenced by well over a half-million
visitors recorded on these areas in
1971. This represents a 17 percent increase over recreational use recorded
in 1970.
Management areas include such
wildlife production centers as Sauvie
Island, Jewell Meadows, Summer
Lake, Klamath, White River, Wenaha, and others, but not the Commission's fish hatcheries.
The tally of just over 514,400
visitors is expressed as recreational
days, with outdoorsmen using the
areas for a variety of purposes including hunting, trapping, fishing, wildlife viewing, photography, dog training, and a host of nonwildlife-associated activities.
Of the total use, 29 percent was
by anglers and 16 percent by hunter s
and trappers. Wildlife viewing and
photography were popular, with 17
percent engaged in these pastimes.
About 4 percent of use was by dog
trainers. The remaining 35 percent
of use was for such activities as picnicking, water sports, rock or artifact
hunting, horseback riding, target
shooting, and similar activities that
do not depend on or utilize the wildlife resource.
Angling occurred on 12 of the 18
management areas with the highest
use on Sauvie Island and Prineville
Reservoir. Hunting and trapping occurred on 17 of the areas.
All areas provided opportunities
to view an d photograph wildlife.
Added interest as well as increased
opportunities in these types of recre ation resulted in a 53 percent increase
in user days over 1970. Jewell Meadows in Clatsop C o u n t y received
heavy use by photographers as well
as by persons stopping by just to look
at elk, deer, and other wildlife.
DECEMBER 1972
Seeing Wildlife
Winter provides some of the better opportunities of
the year for seeing and photographing wildlife. To give
you a better chance of success on "looking" trips , we asked
our regional personnel to pass along some suggestions .
Some of these areas are easily reached in a passenger car;
others may take a bit more effort but don't take an expedition. You won't always be successful but these areas
give a better than average chance during wintery weather.
Below, we've presented the ideas from the regions. We
ask one thing, though, if you're going looking. DISTURB
THE WILDLIFE AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE. Winter
is a tough time of year for creatures of the outdoors and
a n y extra expenditure of energy may lead to their death.
The good wildlife watcher imposes himself on the scene
as little as possible so he may see the wildlife in as natural
a state as possible. Feeding the waterfowl at Westmoreland and Mirror Ponds are admitted exceptions to this!
Northwest Reg io n
ROOSEVELT ELK-Jewell M eadow•
BLAC K. TAILED DEER-Jewell
Meadowt
DUSKY CANADA GEESE- Finley
Refuge south of Corvallis ; BaskeH
Slough
WINTERING WAT ERFOWL-
Sauvie Island ; lower Columbia
River ; Westmoreland Park ,
Port ldnd; Youngs River Bay ,
crossing viaduct from Astoria
to Warrenton ; Baskett Slough
SWAN$ - lowe r Columbia River
SALMON - at falls on Fall Creek,
tributary of Alsea
SALMON & STEELH EA D-
Bonneville fish ladder
Central Region
BI RDS- Mirror Pond , Bend
G EE SE - Columbid River edst
of The Dalles
WAT ERFOWL -
ELK- Wenc1ha Wildlife Mc1nc1g emen t Area , Troy ; upper Grande
Ronde River near La Grc1nde
MULE DEE R - upper Catherine Creel, above the state park ;
Keating; Pine Cree~; Camas Creek, below U~iah ; Wallowa
Canyon , above Minam ; Wallowa La~e mora ine
WHITE-TAILED DEER - Wenaha River at Trov
EAGLES - Grande Ronde River above Troy;
Wenaha River at Troy
COYOTE- any big game winter range ;
Murderer 's Cree~ above Dayville; ltee
country ; Waterman Flat
OTTER & MINK - Wenaha and Grande
Ronde Rivers above Troy ; Sna~e River ;
Hells Canyon
COUGAR & BOBCAT - Wenaha or Minam
River drainages
WATERFOWL- McKa y Reservoir,
Pendleton · Cold Springs Reservo ir,
Stanfiel r'
Klamath Ba• in
MULE DEE R - Fremont H ighway
(stay on highway) ; Metol ius
along river
RA BBITS - Chr istmas Valley
Southeast Region
Winchester Dam viewing station.__ _ _ _lllllllil<..
WATERFOW L- Coos Bay; pasture
lands , lower Umpqua Scottsburg
to Reedsport ; Rogue Ri ver estu .
aries; most reservoirs; along river
downstream fro m Umpqua to
Bullock Bridge
SHOREBIRDS - Coo• Ba y
DIVING DUCKS - pasture lands,
lower Umpqua Scottsburg to
Reedsport
WADING BIRDS - along river
downstream from Umpqua to
Bullock Bridge
EL K & DEER - pasture lands , lower
Umpqua Scottsburg to Reedsport
BLACK-TAILED DEER -
G<een
Springs highway east of Ashlc1nd
SEA OTTER. OTHER MARINE BIRDS
& ANIMALS-Cape Arag o; Port
MULE DEE R- Fort Rock . Silver LcJk e, c1nd
Croo~ed Cree~ winter rang es adjacent to
H ighway 31 from Horse Ranch to La~ ev i ew
ANTELOPE- Drakes Flat area southwest of Plus h
in Lake County , adjacent to the county road
from H ighway 140 to Plush ; Harney Valley east
of Bur ns ma inly in the area from H<trney to Buchanan ; the Sagehen
Hiii-P<tlvmino Buttes area along H ighway 20 west of Burns on both
sides of the highway
WAT ERFOWL - Summer la~e; Goose l<t~e Valley ; Malheur RefugemcJinly hon~ers and V<trious species of ducks plus m<tllards, wh istling
swans; Snake River
VALLE Y QUAIL - some 200 to 300 in downtown fields at Burns , being
fed by one of the local citizens
GR EBES - Abert Lc1ke usuc1lly loaded with grebes most of the winter
c1nd early spring
HAWKS -quite a few Am eri c<tn roughlegs winter in the Harney Basi n,
on the Mc1lheur Refuge and the rest of the vcJIIey
Orford; Sunset Bc1y
GAME BULLETIN
Page 11
Bruin in Transit
Earlier this fall Vern Maw, district game biologist at
Prineville, was informed that one of Smoky the Bear's
relatives wa s in trouble with the U . S. Forest Service. The
personnel at the Ochoco Ranger Station didn't appreciate
the automatic garbage can emptying being carr ied on by
the bruin and were beginning to fear their children m ight
incur the wrath of the visitor.
Maw and Gary Cook, conservation aide, set u p the
live trap and in a few nights the cruisin' bruin had been
lured into the converted culvert by the goodies left for
him. A yearling male, the black bear didn 't take too happily to his confinement but was soon released into a semiremote area of the Ochoco National Forest.
The series of pictures above show some of the scenes
from setting the trap to departing bear. Hopefully he has
retained his residence away from human civilization and
the tempting garbage cans.
CAL RESOURCES AGY LIR
1416 9TH ST RM 117
SACRAMENTO CA
95814
1634 S. W. ALDER STREET
P. 0 . BOX 3503
PORTLAND , OREGON 97208