Commission comes to consensus on use of motorized decoys.

Byline: Mike Stahlberg / The Register-Guard

IN A SURPRISING move last week, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted unanimously to ban motorized decoys in hunting.

The surprising part isn't that the commission took a stand against "Robo Ducks" and similar robot "birds" that flap their mechanical wings and wiggle imitation tailfeathers to help draw real live birds within shotgun range.

The surprise is that all the commissioners voted the same way.

After all, this is an issue that has sharply divided the commission's constituents. The Oregon hunting community appears to be split down the middle over the use of mechanical decoys in waterfowl hunting.

The commission received about 250 written comments on the issue. Those were equally divided between people who want to see only traditional methods used and those who favor allowing high-tech decoys. An Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife telephone survey of 550 hunters produced another nearly equal split in opinion. And the Oregon Hunters Association found its 9,600 members were also pretty evenly divided on the question of mechanized waterfowl decoys.

But the seven-member commission that sets Oregon's hunting and fishing rules and regulations was unanimous: Effective June 1, 2003, the use of battery-powered decoys will be illegal in Oregon.

However, stationary decoys and those that are moved by the wind or by human power (such as pulling on a string) are still legal.

But the newer high-tech duck decoys - some of which flap their wings, settle into the water and then fold their wings into the resting position - are not.

Nor are the turkey decoys that move along a track. Or the deer decoys that shake their tails. All will be banned by the new regulations.

Interestingly, the commission took a stronger stance against the use of decoys in big game hunting than in bird hunting, even though there is little indication that decoys are widely used by Oregon game hunters. Decoys that employ movement of any sort will be banned in big game hunting.

"We need to draw a line somewhere or we'll have flying duck decoys," commissioner Jeff Feldner of Newport said before the vote.

"We don't hunt anymore because we need to hunt to survive - we do it for other values."

Among those values is the tradition of the "fair chase." And some people view the new decoys as being so effective that they're unfair.

Commissioner John Esler said there is precedent for gear restrictions designed to help assure that there will be enough hunting and fishing opportunities for everyone.

For example, Esler said, automatic shotguns are prohibited and anglers are limited to a single rod.

Both those things, if allowed, would result in increased harvest rates. Which is apparently what was happening with waterfowlers hunting with mechanized decoys. Some studies showed those hunters bagged many more birds than hunters using traditional decoys.

"If we don't put an edge to it now, there's not going to be an edge," Esler said.

Indeed, you never know what might be next - shotguns with radar guidance systems, perhaps?

Last week's decision means all three West Coast states have legislated against mechanized waterfowl decoys. Washington prohibits the use of battery-powered and motorized waterfowl decoys. California bans their use until Dec. 1, to protect resident ducks if not migratory ones.

Elsewhere in North America, however, only Pennsylvania and Minnesota have so far banned "Robo Duck" decoys.

It will be interesting to see whether the technology backlash continues to spread - to other pursuits as well as other states.

After all, if we really believe in the concept of giving the critters a fair chance, why do we allow the use of sonar "fish finders."

THE 2003 BIG GAME HUNTING regulations were also adopted by the commission last week. Next year's big game seasons generally follow the 2002 framework, with the exception that many seasons will start one week later. That was done to accommodate the tradition of having the buck deer season open on the Saturday closest to Oct. 1.

Among the rule changes is a 20 percent increase in the allowable annual harvest of cougars. A total of 510 cougars can be taken statewide, an increase of 102 animals over this year's quota. Biologists say the increase is allowable because the state's population of cougars is healthy.

Also, the opportunities for bighorn sheep hunting will increase with the creation of 10 new California bighorn sheep hunts and two new Rocky Mountain bighorn hunts, plus the addition of a second hunt period to four existing California bighorn hunts.

Rules for the spring bear controlled-hunt tag drawing were changed to mirror those used for deer and elk this year. The number of tags available in the lottery will be increased by eight percent to allow for tags that are drawn in the lottery but not sold. Any leftovers will be sold on a first-come basis March 15.

Mike Stahlberg is the Register-Guard's outdoor writer. He can be reached at [e-mail].