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Waterfowl season winds down By MARK FREEMAN Waterfowl hunters are facing the last few days of their season as one of Oregon's longest duck and goose-hunting seasons winds down this weekend. The duck-hunting season ends Saturday statewide, while goose-hunting season also ends Saturday in Southwest Oregon. Goose hunting ended last Saturday in Southeast Oregon, including Klamath and Lake counties. Locally, end-of-the-season hunting will be good along the Rogue River as well as ponds and fields around Grants Pass and White City. However, hunters must seek permission before entering private lands. WHITE CITY -- An iron gate will close Friday on a popular access road into the Denman Wildlife Area, opening the next phase of an innovative program for curbing illegal dumping there. The gate will close and be locked on TouVelle Road off Modoc Road, the main access into the lands of the state-owned wildlife area north of the Rogue River in White City. However, free keys allowing round-the-clock passage through the gate will be given to all hunters, anglers, bird-watchers and other legitimate Denman visitors who sign up. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife began a similar program two years ago on another part of the 1,860-acre wildlife area to reduce rampant illegal dumping, graffiti and other riff-raff there. The move has virtually eliminated those problems where the gate blocks unauthorized access, prompting its expansion to the wildlife area's north side. The new gate was installed last October, but it has remained open and unlocked since then to give advance warning to Denman's legitimate users -- who log about 49,000 visitor-days fishing, hunting, bird-watching and other activities. But the gate will be locked Friday, opening what Denman's users and managers hope will be a kinder, cleaner area. Only those with keys -- or those accompanying people with keys -- can legally drive into that part of the wildlife area. Those without keys can be cited for trespassing. Free keys are given out at the ODFW office, 1495 E. Gregory Road, during regular business hours. GRANTS PASS -- Steelhead spawning successes will be the topic of the general meeting of the Middle Rogue Steelhead Chapter of Trout Unlimited Tuesday in Grants Pass. Greg Bennett of the Siskiyou Research Group will give a talk and slide show on steelhead spawning surveys his company performed last spring in several tributaries of the Illinois River. The streams include Briggs, Silver and Indigo Creeks. Bennett used inflatable kayaks to traverse these streams and count spawning nests. The meeting will be at 7 p.m. at the Bethany Presbyterian Church, 748 NW Fifth St., Grants Pass. The chapter will follow up its meeting with a family bowling outing Jan. 23 at the Caveman Bowl in Grants Pass. Members, their families and friends are welcome, with bowling to commence at 3 p.m. For more information, telephone Bill Payne at 474-4364. The Rogue Valley Chapter of the Oregon Hunters Association will meet tonight in Medford to hold its drawing for an African Safari hunt as well as hear a presentation about the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge. The social hour begins at 6 p.m., with dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the program at 7 p.m. The meeting is at J.J. North's Grand Buffet, 1016 N. Riverside Ave., Medford. Jenny Barnett, the refuge manager, will be the featured speaker. Outdoor Journal main page Mail Tribune Copyright � interRogue & The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA