Wow, just recieved this- troubled

[TexasCowPoke]

March 12, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wildlife Bills Face Senate Deadline Votes This Week; Measures Include SB 703 That Halts Further Public Hunting, Fishing Land Purchases
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation along with many statewide conservation partner groups are very concerned about several pieces of wildlife-related legislation moving through the Oklahoma Senate over the next three days. This Thursday, March 14, is the deadline for these legislative proposals to be approved or they will be rendered dormant for this session.

Some of the bills, if passed, will affect the Department’s ability to fulfill its constitutionally mandated mission to conserve and manage Oklahoma’s fish and wildlife resources for the benefit of hunters, anglers and all Oklahomans, including its mandate to acquire land to improve habitat for such purposes. Many statewide conservation organizations are urging their membership to look at the bills and be part of the legislative process.

Among the bills are proposals that would:

• Essentially freeze the Wildlife Department’s ability to buy additional lands for public hunting and fishing access (Senate Bill 703, Sen. Casey Murdock and Rep. Kevin McDugle).
• Dramatically reduce the ability of state Game Wardens to stop poaching and trespassing on private land (SB 567, Sen. Nathan Dahm, and SB 927, Murdock).
• Enable nonresident landowners to buy Oklahoma hunting/fishing combination licenses for $25, which is less than resident combination licenses ($42), and hand them out to relatives. (SB 984, Murdock, and HB 2324, McDugle).
• Would allow commercial hunting guides to operate on Oklahoma’s public hunting areas, although a proposed amendment would authorize the Department to regulate and assess fees (SB 566, Murdock and McDugle).

Public participation is a key factor in the legislative process. This week, these and other bills that could dramatically affect hunting, fishing and wildlife conservation in Oklahoma will either be passed or defeated by voting over the next three days in the full Senate. Voting on wildlife bills in the House concluded last week with passage of HB 2324 (McDugle), which as mentioned above provides much cheaper $25 hunting/fishing combination licenses to nonresident landowners and their families.

To learn which bills are scheduled for a vote on a daily basis, go to www.oksenate.gov/schedule/agenda.aspx. The list of bills scheduled for a vote is posted the afternoon before or the morning of the day when the vote is scheduled to occur.

To see a complete list of all bills affecting Wildlife Department operations, go to www.tinyurl.com/ODWCbillTracker.

Anyone with an opinion on these bills and their impact on the Wildlife Department’s ability to serve Oklahoma’s hunters, anglers, landowners and outdoor enthusiasts, along with the Department’s ability to conduct its mandated mission to protect the state’s wildlife resources, is urged to share their opinions with their senators and representatives at the state Capitol.

Not only are hunting and fishing important to Oklahoma’s culture, they are also big business, generating nearly $2 billion in economic benefit to the state. The Wildlife Department receives no state tax appropriations. It is a constitutional agency based on the user-pay, user-benefit principle. It is funded by sportsmen and sportswomen through their purchases of hunting and fishing licenses.

Anyone who does not know who represents his or her district may find out by going to www.oklegislature.gov and using the “Find My Legislator” tool at the bottom right of the page.

 

[TexasCowPoke]

All bills sponsored by same two legistators: Clearly the department is concerned and it seems rightly so. This benefits a very very small specific group/individuals who stand to capitalize on this legislation, but hurts most others in the state, the way I read it. I love the part about a bill letting out of state landowners pay 25 for hunting/fishing combo while all other instate residents pay more than double that....That is to benefit a very select set of wealthy individuals and makes no other sense.

 

[Rdcldad]

thanks for posting

you would think the bill sponsors would be embarrassed to have their name on such garbage

 

[Rdcldad]

casey murdock


http://www.oksenate.gov/senators/biographies/murdock_bio.aspx

 

[panhndlpoke]

Casey Murdock is my senator, lives out near me, and is a cattle rancher. Reading the descriptions posted paints a pretty negative picture on the bills. The whole story was not presented by the wildlife department regarding these bills.

I do know land has been condemned and forced to be sold in the past. People who make a living off the land tend to find it offensive when the government comes in and diminishes our ability to make a living by forcing us to sell land to them. Is the first bill in reaction to that? Maybe, but I don’t know for certain. It has several parts and the point the Wildlife is contesting is the part where they have to sell land in equal amounts if they purchase land.

Under the second bullet Murdock is sponsoring just makes it legal to hunt feral swine any time and by any means. In other words, I can spotlight pigs at night and shoot them. The other bill just limits game wardens’ rights to go anywhere anytime.

The third bullet only allows non-residents to hunt on the landowner’s land that gets them the license. It’s not really a full license and is priced accordingly due to its restrictions.

The fourth bullet point I don’t care about.