revision to oregon herping laws

Dedicated exclusively to field herping.

Moderator: Scott Waters

Post Reply
User avatar
technoendo
Posts: 112
Joined: December 13th, 2014, 5:27 pm

revision to oregon herping laws

Post by technoendo »

Delete this post.
User avatar
technoendo
Posts: 112
Joined: December 13th, 2014, 5:27 pm

Re: call to action: major revision to oregon herping laws

Post by technoendo »

Here is a link for a guy's blog called "The Farm Garden" where he does a good job outlining the ramifications for this ruling if the proposal becomes law.

http://thefarmgardenblog.com/2016/02/11 ... -wildlife/
User avatar
technoendo
Posts: 112
Joined: December 13th, 2014, 5:27 pm

Re: call to action: major revision to oregon herping laws

Post by technoendo »

delete this post
User avatar
technoendo
Posts: 112
Joined: December 13th, 2014, 5:27 pm

Re: call to action: major revision to oregon herping laws

Post by technoendo »

So these OARs as we know are hard to read legalese. Here are some details I wanted to highlight for you guys. Pardon me for focusing on the reptiles and ignoring amphibs (they are also subject to similar changes). Please help make sure I'm not spreading misinformation and that the details are being presented accurately as I am all kinds of cranky and hopefully not making mistakes.

This is basically how I am understanding the differences between the old law and the new:

1) A few more reptile species have been added to a protected wildlife list.

(already on the protected wildlife list)
Western painted turtle (Chrysemys picta bellii)
Western pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata)
Great Basin collared lizard (Crotaphytus bicinctores)
Long-nosed leopard lizard (Gambelia wislizenii)
Pygmy short-horned lizard (Phyrnosoma douglassi)
Desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos)
Sharp-tailed snake (Contia tenuis)
Common kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula)
California mountain kingsnake (Lampropeltis zonata)
Western ground snake (Sonora semiannulata)

(new reptile additions to the protected wildlife list)
Racer (Coluber constrictor)
Rubber boa (Charina bottae)
Night snake (Hypsiglena chlorophaea)
Striped Whip snake (Coluber taeniatus)
Ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus)

2) Its illegal to handle any reptiles on the protected wildlife list above. It is still legal to handle reptiles on the non-game wildlife list below up to a limit of 2 animals at a time. More animals would require a wildlife holding permit. $264 fine if you are in violation of either list.

3) Here are just the reptiles on the non-game wildlife list:

Great Basin Whiptail (Aspidoscelis tigris tigris)
Northern Alligator Lizard (Elgaria coerulea)
Southern Alligator Lizard (Elgaria multicarinata)
Western Skink (Plestiodon skiltonianus)
Northern Sagebrush Lizard (Sceloporus graciosus graciosus)
Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis)
Common Side-Blotched Lizard (Uta stansburiana)
Western Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus): excluding Willamette Valley populations
Pacific Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer)
Western Terrestrial Garter Snake (Thamnophis elegans)
Northwestern Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)

I am relieved that my March 13th trip to Alvord Desert isn't as impacted by this change as I feared. I can still capture/release garter and gopher snakes, however I cannot actively search for desert striped whipsnakes as planned. Oddly I don't see great basin rattlesnakes on the non-game/protected list, but I didn't have plans to handle venomous snakes anyway (am totally fine with photos at a distance for these chaps).

-ian
User avatar
Hadar
Posts: 251
Joined: October 12th, 2011, 6:39 pm
Location: Delray Beach, Florida
Contact:

Re: call to action: major revision to oregon herping laws

Post by Hadar »

technoendo wrote:So these OARs as we know are hard to read legalese. I AM NOT A LAWYER, however here are some details I wanted to highlight for you guys. Pardon me for focusing on the reptiles and ignoring amphibs (they are also subject to similar changes). Please help make sure I'm not spreading misinformation and that the details are being presented accurately as I am all kinds of cranky and hopefully not making mistakes.

This is basically how I am understanding the differences between the old law and the new:

1) A few more reptile species have been added to a protected wildlife list.

(already on the protected wildlife list)
Western painted turtle (Chrysemys picta bellii)
Western pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata)
Great Basin collared lizard (Crotaphytus bicinctores)
Long-nosed leopard lizard (Gambelia wislizenii)
Pygmy short-horned lizard (Phyrnosoma douglassi)
Desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos)
Sharp-tailed snake (Contia tenuis)
Common kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula)
California mountain kingsnake (Lampropeltis zonata)
Western ground snake (Sonora semiannulata)

(new reptile additions to the protected wildlife list)
Racer (Coluber constrictor)
Rubber boa (Charina bottae)
Night snake (Hypsiglena chlorophaea)
Striped Whip snake (Coluber taeniatus)
Ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus)

C.constrictor, really? Really. I also wonder if C.taeniatus is really dwindling or if its just elusive and in parts of the state that not many people go so reports are low. Maybe you guys have opinions on that.

2) The protected wildlife law has changed to specifically forbid any "capture, hold" of animals on the protected wildlife list. I don't think this is news, just a tweak in wording. I just saw Hadar's nice link on the Oregon herping laws from December which is probably handy reference too.

3) There is now a list for Non-game wildlife which you could handle with a wildlife holding permit, which requires a letter of justification, a limited list of species, that gets signed for approval by an ODFW director. Here are just the reptiles:

Great Basin Whiptail (Aspidoscelis tigris tigris)
Northern Alligator Lizard (Elgaria coerulea)
Southern Alligator Lizard (Elgaria multicarinata)
Western Skink (Plestiodon skiltonianus)
Northern Sagebrush Lizard (Sceloporus graciosus graciosus)
Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis)
Common Side-Blotched Lizard (Uta stansburiana)
Western Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus): excluding Willamette Valley populations
Pacific Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer)
Western Terrestrial Garter Snake (Thamnophis elegans)
Northwestern Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)

4) If you don't have a wildlife holding permit for a particular species you are handling that is against the law and there is a fine for it.
This is why I have switched to visual encounters only in Oregon. Makes herping much more difficult and the diversity of species limited but it is legal.
User avatar
technoendo
Posts: 112
Joined: December 13th, 2014, 5:27 pm

Re: call to action: major revision to oregon herping laws

Post by technoendo »

@Hadar @TravisK could either one of you delete this entire post? Yesterday I posted thinking I had a clear understanding of the proposed revision but today I learned that myself and my friends may have missed some important details on this update. We can make another post to discuss the revision, but with the severity of this issue lessened this is no longer a "call to action".

My wife reached out to ODFW and got this response today:

https://twitter.com/ODFW/status/701834267370754048

I was confused by their response but went back to re-read the farmgardenblog:

"Under the proposed regulations, you will only be allowed to hold in your possession two animals of any given species unless it is on their list of protected species. And they propose to make the list of protected species much larger."

So then I went back to the OAR:

"1) Captured and held nongame wildlife species listed in 635-044-0030 require a Wildlife Holding Permit when more than two (2) animals per species are held or unless authorized under a permit listed in 635-044-0010."

And I immediately calmed down. I apologize to anyone who read my incorrect analysis. Those OAR documents are legally dense and I clearly glossed right over this part and I am sorry to be spreading misinformation.

Handling will still be legal for some snakes, but the protected species list is hands-off and it is some news that its being expanded to include new species.
User avatar
technoendo
Posts: 112
Joined: December 13th, 2014, 5:27 pm

Re: revision to oregon herping laws

Post by technoendo »

I got a response from the ODFW Director, Curt Melcher:
"Thanks for the follow-up message. I have asked staff to get back to you to answer your questions. At this time, we are fielding a lot of questions about the Division 44 rules and will not be changing any rules in March. We plan to take some more time to consider public feedback and address the concerns we have been hearing. Thanks for your input."
Basically this entire post of mine is no longer accurate. The threat of restrictions is off the table for now but parts of it could return in a future revision.

We all should be keeping an eye for ODFW revisions to Division 44. They posted this update in January 2016 -- I don't know if they will submit another proposal this year or if we would see it in January of 2017. It would be a shame to miss the opportunity to provide feedback before further restrictions are carved into stony law.

I'm happy that at least for now my trip to Alvord Desert in May to find desert striped whipsnakes won't be illegal due to them being on the protected species list.
Post Reply