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CLEAR Temp: 93 °F Wind: WNW at 3 mph Sunday, September 28, 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 August 28, 2003 J.P. Dibetta hones his skills at a video range Wednesday in preparation for the start of the general archery season this weekend. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Outdoors Hunters asked to be careful and respectful of the land By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune J.P. Dibetta spies through a stand of identical 8-foot-tall fir trees at an enormous Roosevelt bull elk rubbing its antlers on a small fir. He draws his bow, waits until the bull turns slightly sideways and then lets loose an arrow that thumps dully 20 yards away on a picture screen in the DewClaw Archery Supplies video range. "That should do it," says Dibetta, a veteran bowhunter. "That’s a vital. A bull’s-eye." By shooting through a group of fake Christmas trees at the video images of deer and elk, Dibetta is imitating the kind of shot bowhunters hope to take when the fall archery season opens Saturday statewide. Advertisement While more than 16,000 archers like Dibetta will exercise their right to bowhunt in western Oregon’s forests, only a fraction will enjoy the privilege of hunting amid young industrial timber stands like the one DewClaw’s shooting range imitates. Southern Oregon is more the exception than the rule when it comes to commercial timber companies welcoming hunters into their woods during the harsh wildfire conditions of late summer. Huge swaths of private land remained closed to hunters throughout most of western Oregon amid concerns that allowing access to the public creates undue risk for wildfires. Timber giants like Menasha Corp., Weyerhaeuser and Lone Rock now enact closures banning vehicle and walk-in access by the public on thousands of acres of land. But not so locally, where the largest timber companies still buck the lockout trend and allow foot access to hunters who, in turn, are asked to be careful and respectful of the land. It’s a combination of philosophy and practicality that keeps the commercial forests open to the public here, where hunters are simply asked to be polite visitors. "The West, traditionally and culturally, has been open land," says Ken Cummings, Boise Corp.’s chief forester in White City. "We try to have our lands open. All we ask for is mutual respect." Boise’s 144,000 acres of timberlands make it the largest owner of private timberland in Jackson County. Much of that land is patches of forest that intermingle with federal Bureau of Land Management land to form a mosaic of public and private holdings. This mosaic makes enforcing any access closures difficult without miles of fences and dozens of gates. "It’s difficult for us to say, ‘Stay off our property’ when we own every half-mile of land," Cummings says. Areas of the Rogue and South Dixon units, particularly the deer-rich ridges of the Elk Creek basin, are Boise holdings that also sport prime deer and elk habitat. Often, there is nothing to show the boundaries between commercial and public forests, so hunters like Brian Fisher of Central Point often don’t know whose property they’re hunting. "You just can’t tell," says Fisher as he and Dibetta spend their Wednesday lunch hour honing their skills at DewClaw’s video range. "It seems like it’s all (public) land. All you can do is look for fences." Some commercial foresters cringe at the notion of people like Fisher moseying in and out of timber stands worth millions of dollars. Since about 70 percent of all Oregon wildfires are human-caused, keeping people out during times of high or extreme fire danger like now creates insurance against fire loss. "Bowhunters, though, traditionally have been very conscientious of fire danger," says Dan Thorpe, the Medford Unit forester for the Oregon Department of Forestry, which handles firefighting on private and BLM lands. "They have such a good track record that we can justify not going to tighter (access restrictions). They know not to drive off-road, don’t smoke and don’t light a camp fire." Cummings says hunters have become more vigilant at ferreting out the backwoods riffraff and either reporting or dousing small wildfires before they become trouble. "It works both ways," Cummings says. "It probably works more for our benefit than to our detriment. "You won’t believe how many people out there want to be part of the solution," Cummings says. Take DewClaw owner Don Pritchett, for example. While bowhunting two years ago near John Day, he stumbled upon a small lightning-caused fire. Grabbing a Pulaski — the firefighters’ standard pickax-shovel — that he always carries, Pritchett cut a fire line and contained the blaze to tabletop size until BLM crews could arrive. "I’ve always said they need us bowhunters out there," Pritchett says. 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