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48 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, January 27, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend October 14, 2004 Temperatures will be rising for bull hunters By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune PROSPECT — Hunters around this high-mountain burg may be in need of a common commodity when they hit the woods Saturday for the start of the general rifle season for Roosevelt bull elk. It won’t be bullets. More like sunscreen. Bull hunters can expect temperatures in the mid-60s around Prospect for the opening day of the seven-day general bull season, where success rates typically rise and fall based on weather conditions. The weather will leave the woods hot and tough for stalking elk, which will be tough to hunt while they remain hunkered in thick brush to beat the heat. "Can you believe it? I really thought the hunters will have a break here," says wildlife biologist Mark Vargas of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Advertisement "I was hoping for a nice storm or even a dusting of snow for opening weekend, but that’s not going to happen," Vargas says. But the hunt will kick off as scheduled Saturday, with general-season tags on sale through Friday evening. The Prospect and Butte Falls areas swell with hunters during the general season, where the Rogue Unit of eastern Jackson County remains one of the most popular public land for elk hunting in the region. The Rogue Unit sports an eye-popping 23 bulls per 100 cows. That’s almost 2½ times the 10-bull ratio for which the Rogue Unit is managed Rogue Unit hunters are heading into this season with the worst four-year skid seen here since the mid-1980s, when the season was shifted from November to October as a way of helping improve bull ratios. With good bull ratios, hunters need decent conditions. Those might come as early as Sunday evening, when a drop in temperatures and a small front moves through the region. Weather service specialist Roger Gerig of the National Weather Service’s Medford station says the front could bring snow to the peaks and a few tenths of an inch of rain to areas around Prospect some time Sunday through Tuesday. "You can feel pretty good these places will get rain on one of those days," Gerig says. Vargas hopes the weather will come early enough that bull harvest creeps upward this year. "Opening weekend may not be very favorable," Vargas says. "But maybe mid-season we’ll get something." Those who do get something are urged to have their bulls’ brain and lymph nodes sampled for chronic wasting disease. "CWD" is not known to be in Oregon nor is it thought to have hit here, but biologist want to sample 2,000 animals statewide to ensure its lack of presence. Samples need to be taken within 48 hours of the animal’s death. Hunters are asked to leave the heads of their animals in blue barrels at ODFW offices in Gold Beach and Central Point. For more information or to arrange for a sampling, telephone 826-8774. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers