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OUTDOORS Fires won't burn out Southern Oregon hunting season Archery season expected to start as planned on Saturday Comment By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 24, 2015 at 5:03 PM Updated Aug 24, 2015 at 5:22 PM By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 24, 2015 at 5:03 PM Updated Aug 24, 2015 at 5:22 PM » Social News The upcoming hunting season for archers will begin as scheduled Saturday despite land closures and activity restrictions amid the current wildfire season. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has no plans to delay or extend the various deer and elk hunting seasons, which will see hunters herded onto public lands thanks to access banned on virtually all private industrial forest lands in western Oregon due to extreme fire danger and active wildfires. “The department doesn’t close the seasons preemptively,” says Tom Thornton, the ODFW’s game program manager. Also, extending hunting seasons to make up for lost time in the woods isn’t practical because the various deer and elk seasons for rifle and bow hunters run concurrently into December, so increasing one group’s time in the woods would have to come at the expense of others, Thornton says. With land closures in and around fires such as the Crescent fire near Diamond Lake, telephone calls from hunters have flooded agency field offices, including the office at the Denman Wildlife Area in White City, ODFW wildlife biologist Mark Vargas says. Forest Service and federal Bureau of Land Management lands remain open to the public, but with driving, smoking and campfire restrictions designed to reduce potential wildfire starts. Archery hunters often start their seasons amid extreme wildfire conditions and under the watchful eye of Oregon Department of Forestry officials who have jurisdiction over county, state, private and BLM lands here. The last time those lands were closed to hunters was in the early part of the 1992 archery season, but BLM lands were eventually opened to hunters, records show. “Even in the worst fire seasons state (protected) forests lands are open with restrictions,” ODF spokesman Rod Nichols says. Southern Oregon private industrial forest lands historically have granted public access to their lands during hunting seasons, but a closure listing compiled by state foresters show virtually all such private lands have banned even walk-in access until the wildfire danger is reduced. Representatives from several area industrial forestland owners declined to discuss the closures. Under current restrictions, no campfires are allowed in the Umpqua National Forest and in all Oregon State Parks Department campgrounds statewide. Campfires were allowed in fire rings within selected improved campgrounds on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest as of Monday, but that forest could join those other entities by enacting a campfire ban, forest spokeswoman Chamise Kramer says. Smoking also remained banned outside of vehicles. The largest local fire is the Crescent fire burning in about 10,833 acres of Crater Lake National Park and Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest land near Diamond Lake, where the stand-by evacuation notice was lifted and reservations were being accepted Monday at the Forest Service’s Mt. Thielsen and Diamond Lake campgrounds. The Crescent fire is the largest component of the two-fire National Creek Complex, which was listed Monday as 10 percent contained. Highway 230, which provides access to the area from Medford, was conditionally reopened Monday after being closed last week, but could be closed again if fire or smoke conditions change. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 541-776-4470 or [email protected]. Follow him at www.twitter.com/MTwriterFreeman.   By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 24, 2015 at 5:03 PM Updated Aug 24, 2015 at 5:22 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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