Dieoff Hurts Permit Value

Sun., March 10, 1996

The winter dieoff of bighorn sheep along the Snake and Grande Ronde rivers reduced the value of the auction hunting permits offered by Oregon and Washington to raise funds for bighorn management.

Stan Boots of Baldwinville, N.Y., bid $55,000 for the Washington permit auctioned recently at the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep convention in Reno. Last year, the tag sold for $67,500. The permit entitles Boots to hunt bighorns south of Interstate 90 before the regular season opens.

The Oregon permit sold for $50,000 this year, down from $73,000 in 1995 and $100,000 in 1994.

Oregon officials say the dieoff, plus excessive access fees charged by a private landowner, are partly responsible for the declining bids.

Idaho bucked the trend with a $101,000 bid for its bighorn tag, up from $70,000 last year.

“The disease didn’t affect Idaho herds,” explained Rolf Johnson, Washington state’s bighorn manager. “And a hunter took a record ram in Idaho last year, creating interest.”

Boots will be able to hunt the disease-ravaged Grande Ronde herd this fall. But it’s unlikely that any additional permits will be offered there in the traditional drawing. The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will set big game permit quotas on April 22.

, DataTimes

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