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White City guide named to Access & Habitat Board Friday Jan 26, 2018 at 12:01 AM Mark Freeman Mail Tribune @MTwriterFreeman A White City hunting and fishing guide who is active in wildlife groups is the new hunter representative on the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's Access and Habitat Board. Nathan Bailey was named to the volunteer post Friday by the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission. The board oversees projects funded by the Access and Habitat Program, which funds projects that improve hunter access, wildlife habitat or both on public and private lands. Bailey, 47, is a fifth-generation Oregonian who grew up in Chiloquin and served in the U.S. Coast Guard. He's lived in the Rogue Valley since 1995, working as a hunting and fishing guide, as well as a writer and photographer. Bailey says he guides fly-fishers on the Rogue River as well as Klamath Lake and its two main sources — the Wood and Williamson rivers. He also guides waterfowl hunters in Klamath and Jackson Counties, as well as turkey hunters locally. He is also the Oregon Ambassador of the Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and is president of the Rogue Valley Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation. Bailey says his work through the two organizations has seen him keep tabs on ODFW activities, and that's where he noticed the opening on the board last fall. "I jumped on it because I believe in access and habitat," Bailey says. "I thought it would be important to get my finger on things and help get things done." Bailey was named to the four-year post over four other candidates, including former ODFW fish biologist Charlie Corrarino of Portland. The program is funded primarily by a $4 surcharge on hunting licenses, which generates about $1.35 million annually. Proceeds from the auctioning and raffling of big-game tags generates about $500,000 a year and another $20,000 comes annually from other programs. A similarly funded Restoration & Enhancement Program uses a $4 surcharge on fishing license fees as well as commercial fishing poundage fees to fund fish restoration and angling enhancement programs. Angler instructor class set for White City The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is looking for volunteers in the Rogue Valley to share their passion for fishing as instructors with the state’s Angler Education Program. The agency is hosting a free training for new instructors from 11 a.m. noon to 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 12, at the ODFW office at the Denman Wildlife Area, 1495 E. Gregory Road in White City. Lunch will be provided. Registration is required by Feb. 6. To register, call Jenny Ammon at 503-947-6081 or email her at [email protected]. The training is open to anyone 18 or older and will cover basic fishing skills, stewardship, aquatic resources and water safety. Participants will also learn about events and other volunteer opportunities in their area. Ammon says instructor activities can run the gamut from helping local ODFW STEP biologists with classroom egg-incubation programs to teaching fishing techniques in myriad ways from one-on-one sessions to family outings and possibly even angling clinics. — Reach Mail Tribune reporter Mark Freeman at 541-776-4470 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MTwriterFreeman.