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OVERCAST Temp: 70 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Saturday, October 4, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine Joy Magazine Tempo A & E RogueValleyAutoFinder RogueValleyHomeFinder Real Estate Showcase Wellness Connection 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 Employment Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend October 2, 2003 Put-and-shoot pheasant hunt returns to Denman Wildlife Area By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune The state’s popular put-and-shoot pheasant hunt has returned to the Denman Wildlife Area. Four hundred ring-necked pheasants will be planted in the wildlife area’s fields so hunters who buy a special tag can harvest them during the hunt, which opened Wednesday and runs through Oct. 16. The $11.50 fee-pheasant tag allows a hunter to take two cock pheasants from the state-owned wildlife area off East Gregory Road in White City. Hunters can buy as many of the tags as they choose. Advertisement Last year, about 1,000 hunters bagged about 400 birds for a 40-percent success rate at Denman, says Vince Oredson, the wildlife area’s manager. Hunters who use dogs to flush the birds usually fare very well throughout the hunt, Oredson says. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife turned to the fee-pheasant program in the early 1990s, and it has since spread to several state-run wildlife areas. Statewide, fee-pheasant hunters typically shoot about close to 4,000 birds at the various wildlife areas. The Denman birds are planted on the wildlife area’s Hall and Military Slough tracts, and fresh birds are added to the tracts each evening to seed the following day’s hunt. The fees charged for the harvest cards go toward purchase of the birds and is still an under-used hunting resource in the Rogue Valley. The birds are bought in bulk from an Idaho game-bird farm with a reputation for growing pheasants that flush and fly much like wild pheasants. All participating hunts must not only carry the fee-pheasant tag, license and HIP validation, they must also carry the blue check-in and check-out cards when afield. The cards are available at check-in stations at the wildlife area. Those who do not carry the check-in cards face citations. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has relaxed its new rules requiring evidence of gender for deer and elk. The old rule calls for hunters to keep the scalp with the eyes and antlers attached. The new rules, as described in the regulations booklet, require that the head or reproductive organs must remain attached. The new rule, as written, would mean hunters who pack out their kill in more than one piece would have to leave the sex organs on the animal, including at a meat-packing house. Hunters can use the new or old rules for proper evidence of gender this year. The gender-evidence rules are in place to ensure that hunters with buck-only tags are not taking does. 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 © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Rogue Valley Auto Finder Rogue Valley Job Finder --> Rogue Valley Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times