Keep Oregon Green Association, Inc.

P.O. Box 12365, Salem, OR 97309-0365

(PH) 503-945-7499  (FAX) 503-945-7319

www.keeporegongreen.org

 

Governor Ted Kulongoski, Honorary Chair

Gary Marshall, Chair

Mary Ellen Holly, President, CEO

 

Date:     August 2006

To:        All Oregon Hunters

From:    Mary Ellen Holly

Subject: Wildfire Prevention

Well, it’s almost that time of year again – where you’re going hunting after the big one, and I’m writing a letter to ask you to be concerned about wildfires and do your part to prevent them.

I remember back when I was a teenager (quite a few years ago) when I lived in Montana.  I couldn’t wait until hunting season. While I was pretty good at getting my deer and antelope each year, I never got a chance to get an elk.  Once it got daylight and the game had passed through, and we either did or didn’t bag the big one, my dad would build a big campfire and my mom would haul out the spuds and onions, eggs, and sausage to cook over the campfire.  But we were always very careful about putting the fire out.  We lived in the country where fire protection was unheard of. And, because we knew the value of grazing land, we didn’t want ours to burn up!

Hunter-related fires are a concern because of the time of year they typically occur (fall) and the relatively remote locations in which they start.  Over the past 10 years, the Oregon Department of Forestry has responded to 1,035 fires.  Seventy-one percent of fires suppressed were human caused.  Three percent of the human-caused fires were related to hunting activity (an average of 24 fires per year).  Most fires occurred in the vicinity of Fossil.  Numerous fires also occurred in Douglas, Jackson, and Josephine counties.

Over the past 10 years, fires on ODF-protected lands have burned across an average of 22,908 acres; One percent of the acres were related to hunting activity (an average of 237 acres per year). 

Forty-three percent of fires related to hunting resulted from warming fires not being fully extinguished.  Twenty-nine percent resulted from smoking activities.  Twelve percent resulted from campfires being built improperly or not being fully extinguished. 

Please, call the local fire protection district before you go.  If you can’t find a number, call us; we’ll find it for you.  This way you can determine what restrictions are in effect and whether or not you can even enter the lands.  Private and industrial land owner closures can be found at

www.odf.state.or.us

 Fire Updates

Forest Restrictions and Closures

Landowner/Corporate Closure Information

Remember, drown, stir, drown your camp and warming fires, and use your ashtrays if you smoke.  Let’s go for a new statistic this year - 0 fires as a result of hunting.  Have a fun, safe, and successful season.