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CLEAR Temp: 50 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Thursday, November 21, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend October 12, 2002 No more robo-ducks in Oregon The state wildlife board says motorized decoys are unfair By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune Oregon has taken the robo out of "robo-duck." Declaring that motorized waterfowl decoys unfairly favor hunters over their prey, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission on Friday pulled the plug on so-called "robo-ducks" and other motor-driven decoys. The commission banned all mechanized decoys while hunting for big-game animals including deer, elk, bear and cougar. Motorized and battery-operated decoys were also banned while hunting game birds. The bans are permanent and go into effect next June. They represent the country’s most stringent regulations of mechanized decoys for hunters. States such as Washington and California ban mechanized waterfowl decoys for all or part of their seasons, while others ban mechanized turkey and deer decoys. None to date match the blanket bans the Oregon commission enacted over concern that hunters benefit too much from technological advancement. "The whole concept of sport hunting and fishing involves making value judgments," commissioner Jeff Feldner said. "We need to draw a line somewhere, or we’ll have flying duck decoys." Friday’s action drew quick criticism from John Plane, a Medford duck hunter and sporting-goods wholesaler who dumped the robo-duck line last year when talk of the ban surfaced. Plane said commissioners were better off adjusting hunting seasons and bag limits than banning some forms of technology while letting others remain legal. "Satellite imagery, sonar, radar and airplanes are OK for fishing, but by God, let’s not have a motorized duck," Plane said. "People will always want to ban something because it works. It’s ridiculous." Despite a California study that found robotic decoys helped early-season hunters kill up to six times as many ducks as hunters who do not use them, the issue was largely considered a social one in Oregon — namely, how much technology is too much? The new rules now primarily affect Oregon’s 46,000 duck hunters. The mechanized duck decoys — some of which flap their wings, swim in circles or bob head-first in water — are the most popular and most-used among the genre. No definitive statistics exist in Oregon, but state biologists estimate the number of hunters using robo-ducks is more than 50 percent in some popular hunting areas. Less common decoys includes ear-twitching deer and elk decoys that have yet to make a splash in Oregon. The new rules do not apply to hunting of coyotes, which are not classified as a game animal. The commission Friday also approved another $100,000 to fund an emergency program aimed at providing grass seed to Oregonians whose land burned in this summer’s wildfires. The seed is intended to help landowners regenerate fresh animal forage in burned areas as well as help stabilize burned-over slopes. Six landowners in Jackson County already have received the program’s free seed, which they must scatter themselves. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S