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Winter weather favors tracking Cascades bull elk By Mark Freeman Nov 04, 2022 12:30 AM A A PROSPECT — General-season hunters will get all the weather they want — and perhaps a little more — when their rifle season for Roosevelt bull elk opens Saturday in the south Cascades. As much as a foot of fresh snow atop snowfall from earlier this week will blanket high-elevation Cascades this weekend, according to the National Weather Service. And that’s just the kind of tracking snow hunters hoped to get when this once-popular general season was moved from October back to early November last year. To participate, hunters need to buy a $34.50 hunting license and $49.50 bull-elk rifle tag before the tag sales end late tonight. Entering into this season, the Rogue Unit is sporting an estimated nine bulls per 100 cows, down from 12 bulls per 100 cows and below the Oregon Department of Fish and wildlife’s benchmark of 10 bulls per 100 cows. The Evans Creek Unit has an estimated 15 bulls per 100 cows heading into this one-week season. The ODFW’s Green Dot Road Closure already has been in place since Wednesday. Hunters and others can only drive on roads sporting green dots in key travel-management areas in Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest lands in Jackson County. The annual closures remain in effect through Nov. 11. A free map of the closure areas can be downloaded on Avenza through the Rogue Forest’s website at fs.usda.gov/detail/rogue-siskiyou/learning/safety-ethics/?cid=fseprd1064777 . The annual closures, which date back to the 1980s, promote higher-quality hunting experiences for elk hunters, minimize wildlife harassment, allow areas for bulls to escape hunters and protect soil and wildlife habitat, according to the Forest Service. C2 Youth Hunt applications open Young guns can register this month for a chance at a three-day black-tailed deer hunt at the C2 Cattle Company ranch off Highway 140 during the Christmas holidays. Two hunters younger than 18 will be chosen in a drawing for the hunts, which in various form for years at the 9,500-acre ranch as part of the state Access and Habitat Program. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will take applications for the hunts through Nov. 14, and the winners will be drawn and notified later this month. Winners will get a guided day on the ranch during the 630T Rogue Unit Youth Deer Hunt, which runs Dec. 15 through Jan. 5. Hunters need to have drawn and purchased their tag by the Dec. 14 deadline. Those who didn’t draw a 630T tag can also qualify for the hunt through the ODFW’s Youth “First Time” program for a 600-series tag. Apply online at odfw.wufoo.com/forms/c2-youth-deer-hunt-drawing-2022/ The youth hunts will be three-day affairs for either a buck or doe. A parent or other family member can attend. Under the program, the ranch receives habitat work, such as herbicide application and brush-clearing programs paid for by the state's Access and Habitat Program, which is funded through surcharges on license sales. In turn, the ranch hosts the annual youth deer hunt, a youth turkey hunt in the spring and an adult archery hunt in the fall. Reach Mail Tribune reporter Mark Freeman at 541-776-4470 or [email protected].