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Some anglers won't need license yet Problems with a new computer system prompt the state to waive some requirements temporarily By MARK FREEMAN Persistent glitches in a new computer licensing system have prompted the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to waive some sport license and tag requirements through Jan. 23 while the bugs are worked out. Oregonians will be able to fish without licenses and catch and keep legal limits of steelhead without a harvest tag under an emergency rule meant to curb frustrations caused by the ODFW's on-again, off-again Point of Sale license system. All other hunting and angling rules, such as bag limits, gear restrictions and legal hunting and fishing hours, remain intact. "It's basically like having Free Fishing Day for a month," said Lt. Steve Ross of the Oregon State Police's fish and wildlife enforcement division in Central Point. But some sport-hunters taking part in a handful of big-game hunts sprinkled across the state don't get a similar break. Those hunters still must possess valid licenses and tags, which they can get at ODFW offices in Central Point, Gold Beach and other locales across Oregon. The Point of Sale system hooks up sporting-goods stores to a main-frame ODFW computer in Portland, and it is the main source of license and tag sales for about 1.7 million hunters and anglers. Though in place for several years, the system was revamped last month to comply with a new state law requiring the agency to drop its use of Social Security numbers for tracking hunters and anglers. The new system worked well at first, but it started suffering slowdowns Dec. 28 followed by periodic crashes. ODFW technicians shut it down most of New Year's Eve to fix the bugs and it worked well Tuesday, then failed again Wednesday and Thursday. Though the system now works periodically, ODFW Director Lindsay Ball said he opted for the suspension of the license and tag rules so the agency does not further frustrate hunters and anglers by asking them to make repeated trips to stores in hopes of finding the Point of Sale system operating. "The sporadic technical difficulty is frustrating to the public and the employees trying to provide the best possible service," Ball says. "During this 20-day period, people will be able to pursue their hunting and fishing activities and allow us time to rectify the problems." Stores such as Black Bird Shopping Center in Medford are happy they no longer have to turn angry anglers away. "People were getting pretty hot there until they made the (waiver)," says Mike McMullen of the Black Bird. "Now, everybody's laughing about it. Everything's a freebie." The waivers apply only to recreational hunting and fishing, and they do not affect commercial licenses. Anglers who currently have a 2002 license and the combined harvest tag do not have to carry their license or tally their salmon, steelhead or sturgeon catches through Jan. 23. Hunters will not need a license when targeting western gray squirrels in portions of Jackson County, nor when hunting waterfowl, upland game birds or unprotected mammals statewide. However, waterfowl hunters must still hold a valid federal waterfowl stamp. Hunters wanting to apply for controlled spring bear-hunt tags may mail their applications and fees into the ODFW's main office while the system is getting fixed. Applications are still due by Feb. 10. Hunters or anglers who bought handwritten hunting licenses or one-day fishing licenses Dec. 31, but who still need an annual license later this month, may bring their handwritten licenses to local ODFW offices for a refund. Cougar hunters must get a handwritten 2002 license to hunt now. If the computer system is not working properly by Jan. 24, the agency likely will supply all its vendors with handwritten licenses instead of extending the waiver. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.