• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Bear Legislation is Put on Hold

Posted on: Tuesday, 18 March 2008, 09:00 CDT

A LITTLE BIT about a lot, while wondering how many more lake-record fish will be caught this week.

Put away that big, bad bear gun -- at least for now. The proposed special Oklahoma bear hunting season hit a speed bump last week, as the legislation which would have authorized such a hunt is a dead issue in this session of the Oklahoma Legislature.

As expected, there has been some strong opposition to a hunt for black bears in the rugged, mountainous country of several far-southeastern counties. According to reports from the State Capitol, HB 3077, which would have allowed the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation to stage the hunt, will not be voted on during the session.

Author of the bill is Rep. Joe Dorman, D-Rush Springs, who is expected to request further studies concerning a possible hunt. But research teams from Oklahoma State University have been studying bears in Oklahoma for several years and believe there are at least 450 or so now living on southeastern Oklahoma. OSU wildlife officials have said they believe there is a large enough bear population to sustain a limited hunt.

"I am very disappointed this bill wasn't heard by the leadership this

year," Dorman said. "Of all the states, Oklahoma should be sportsmen friendly. I am certain we will look at it again next year, and push for passage in the legislature."

Bear hunting in Oklahoma isn't a dead issue, but it looks like a controversial battle before any such season becomes a reality.

Heritage Day: In other news from Oklahoma City, the Oklahoma Legislative Sportsmen's Caucus is hosting an Outdoor Sportsmen's Heritage Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday at the State Capitol. The group will be joined by representatives of the Wildlife Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, major outdoor retailers and several conservation organizations.

The event is free and the public is encouraged to bring kids on spring break so they can learn more about Oklahoma's outdoor heritage.

The Oklahoma group was founded in 2005 and joined the National Assembly of Sportsmen's Caucuses the same year. The Oklahoma caucus has supported a number of important wildlife and conservation bills in the past three years, and was a supporter of the bear hunting bill this session.

Crappie Meeting: What's happened to the formerly fabulous crappie fishing on Grand Lake? That's been a major topic of conversation around the historic old lake for the past couple of years, and almost everyone has his own theory about what has caused this situation. Maybe a few answers will be heard Tuesday at a special meeting in Grove.

Representatives of both Grand River Dam Authority and Wildlife Department are slated to give presentations at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Grove Community Center. The interested public, especially the many lakeside residents with crappie fishing docks, are being urged to attend.

Florida success: Although amazing Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., won the latest Bassmaster Elite tournament last weekend in Florida with 59 pounds, 7 ounces, the Sunshine State continues to be a very good start to the fishing season for several Oklahoma anglers.

Kenyon Hill of Norman won $20,000 and was fourth in the field of 109 pros with a four-day catch weighing 54 pounds 2 ounces on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes. He also collected a bonus $2,000 for the best fish of the tournament, a 10 pound, 3 ounce giant. Hill also put together a strong 10th-place finish in the Elite Series meet in that same area the previous week. Flipping heavy jigs into thick cover is one of his specialities, and it's paying off big so far this season.

Several other Oklahomans had good meets. Jay Fuller of Kingston, a rookie in the Elite Series, finished 24th and won $11,250, including a bonus of $1,000 for one of the best single-day catches at 22 pounds, 8 ounces. Jeff Reynolds (Idabel) was 11th with 46-08 and won $12,500.

Other finishes: Fred Roumbanis (Bixby), Terry Butcher (Talala) and Edwin Evers (Talala) finished 31st, 32nd and 35th; all won $10,000. Other state pros finished out of the money, but Johnny Graham of Tulsa was 50th among non-boaters and won $500.

More records: New lake-record fish reportscontinue to pour in as fishing really heats up. More on that story in Thursday's outdoors news.

Source: Tulsa World

More News in this Category