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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend August 14, 2005 Cougar incident highlights need for action plan By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune ASHLAND — During their 3:30 a.m. stroll Wednesday down Granite Street, Ernie Walley watched his dog Tiger bolt down the street barking, then stop at the base of a tree. When Walley reached the tree, he dug a small flashlight out of his pocket and shined it into the branches. "I was expecting a raccoon or a possum," says Walley, 36. To his amazement, eight feet from his head was a cougar, he says. "I was across the street and standing behind a car before I knew it," Walley says. "I watched it for about 20 minutes, then the cat jumped out of the tree and ran through Lithia Park." Advertisement State wildlife biologists hope to curb stories like Walley’s downtown Ashland encounter with the help of a new draft plan to manage cougars. Unveiled Friday in Salem, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s draft Cougar Management Plan calls for killing more cougars around urban "fringes" such as the hills around the Rogue Valley to help reduce public-safety and damage reports to 1994 levels — the year sport-hunting with hounds was banned. The draft does not specify how more cougars would be killed by sport-hunters, and it does not call for any new or expanded hunting seasons. Four cougar studies in Oregon were used in computer models to estimate that the cougar population here has risen from about 3,100 animals in 1994 to 5,101 in 2003. Likewise, the number of reported livestock damage and human-safety complaints has climbed from 36 in 1986 to 853 in 2004, though the agency acknowledges that the vast majority of reports are not verified. As ODFW biologists explained the draft during a meeting in Salem, animal-rights groups across Oregon panned the draft as faux biology and an attempt by agency biologists to kill more cougars. "They’ve been feeding this fire since 1994," said Brooks Fahy from the Eugene-based group Predator Defense and a vocal ODFW critic. "ODFW has created this situation by how they react. "I don’t believe any of the numbers and I don’t believe anything these guys say," Fahy said. Sport-hunting groups, many of whom see cougars as harming deer and elk populations, like the plan’s concepts but are unsure whether the agency can hit its targets. "I don’t know where they’re going to come up with the money to do this," said Don Schaller, an Oregon Hunters Association board member from Salem. "I’m sure the hunting community won’t be accepting an increase in hunting (fees) to do any of this." All of Oregon will have a chance to weigh in on the draft during eight public meetings scheduled to take place throughout the state, including in Medford, to explain and gather input on the draft. The Medford meeting will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. Aug. 30 at the Jackson County Courthouse Auditorium, 10 S. Oakdale Ave. Other meetings are planned for Aug. 29 in Roseburg and Aug. 31 in Klamath Falls. At each meeting, ODFW biologists will present a history of cougars and cougar-management here, as well as various aspects of the draft plan. Questions and comments will be taken, and comments will be summarized. The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission is set to adopt some version of the plan during its December meeting. The draft also is available on the ODFW’s Web site at www.dfw.state.or.us . Walley said the cougar, which he estimated at 125 pounds, hissed a few times in the tree but didn’t growl. After his initial panic, Walley did not feel threatened. "I knew it was probably more scared than I was," he said. "It was pretty cool." Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail Cougar incident highlights need for action plan ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztechmedia Website Hosting Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Online Pharmacy online casino Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Rogue Valley Travel Reservationstogo Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Natto Kinase Nattokinase Casino Gambling Sites Budget Website Templates Advertisement s