Happy hunting around the corner.

Byline: INSIDE THE OUTDOORS By Mike Stahlberg The Register-Guard

Tomorrow marks the end of the summer doldrums for Oregon hunters. Aug. 1 is the first day of statewide bear and cougar seasons, which means there's finally game more substantial than rabbits and sage rats available.

It also means the opening of standard antelope season (Aug. 18) and the start of bow season for deer and elk (Aug. 25) are only days away. Gamebird hunters still have a month to wait for the start of dove, forest grouse and Western Oregon quail seasons. Then the cascade of opening days for various hunts will continue well into December.

Which makes this an opportune time to catch up on hunting-related news, from the exotic to the ordinary.

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists recently released 13 rare Rare Rocky Mountain goats in the Strawberry Mountain range of the Malheur National Forest, near John Day.

The goats were transplanted from the Elkhorn Mountains in the Wallowa-Whitman national forest as part of an ongoing effort aimed at reestablishing mountain goats across their historic habitat in northeast Oregon.

Rocky Mountain goats are believed to have been extirpated from Oregon just prior to or during European settlement in the late 19th century.

They are the rarest game animal actually hunted in the state today (only about a half-dozen tags are issued annually). The state's population is estimated to total about 650 animals.

Efforts to restore Rocky Mountain goats to Oregon began in 1950, with five goats transported from northern Washington to the Wallowa Mountains. This year's project marked the 15th "trap and transplant" of mountain goats, with each move expanding the herd's range.

Unlike many other game species, mountain goats are not faced with serious habitat degradation issues. Their natural habitat is so steep, rocky and remote that not much else goes up there to spoil things, including humans.

People who would like to try to catch a glimpse of Rocky Mountain goats can try hiking the higher elevations of the Elkhorns along the Elkhorn Crest hiking trail. In the Malheur National Forest, try the trails in the lakes basin area of the Strawberry Mountain Wilderness. For more information about the state's goat management effort, which is financed primarily by hunters, log on to: www.dfw.state.or.us/ODFWhtml/InfoCntrWild/PDFs/sgplan_1203.pdf

After mountain goats, the most difficult hunting tag to obtain in Oregon is for Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. Some hunters have been applying for one of these "once-in-a-lifetime" permits every year since 1965, when the state resumed ram hunting. (The species had been recently reintroduced after disease and hunting wiped out the native population in the 1940s.)

Imagine the surprise of 12-year-old Deran Dexter of Baker City when he drew a bighorn ram tag for a Hells Canyon hunt in September with his first entry in the controlled hunt lottery. Twelve is the minimum age to hunt big game animals in Oregon.

ODFW officials said there were 996 other applicants for the three bighorn tags available this year in the Snake River No. 1 hunt. Deran is believed to be youngest hunter ever to draw either a bighorn or a mountain goat tag.

He will be accompanied on his hunt by his father, Jason Dexter.

Speaking of young hunters, the state is expected to adopt rules for a new Mentored Youth Hunter Program at its meeting Friday in Salem. Authorized by the 2007 Oregon Legislature, the mentoring program will allow youngsters ages 9 through 14 to hunt while under the direct supervision of an adult without first passing an approved hunter education course. The mentoring provision does not replace the hunter education requirement, it simply defers it.

`The Mentored Hunter Youth Program will make it easier for younger kids to get started hunting by allowing them to hunt without taking a hunter safety course as long as they are accompanied by a responsible adult,' said Fred Craig, president of the Oregon Hunters Association, which lobbied for creation of the program.

The OHA says Oregon's strict hunter ed program, which includes up to 18 hours of classroom instruction - plus outside study time and shooting range practice, deters many youngsters from getting involved in hunting.

`This program offers a chance for youth to `try before they buy,' ' said Duane Dungannon, OHA state coordinator. `We're hopeful that once they experience hunting for themselves, they'll want to make the commitment to take the hunter education class and become hunters.'

As for hunter education courses, now is the time for youngsters to sign up for one if they want to have their hunter ed card in time for the rifle deer and elk seasons.

Every year, youngsters under the age of 17 miss an opportunity to hunt because they wait until too late to find a class with openings.

To find out about classes offered in your area, contact the closest ODFW office, or log on to www.dfw.state.or.us/outdoor_skills/hunter/index.asp. Then click on the "class listings link."

Favorable waterfowl population reports have become ordinary in recent years, and 2007 won't break the string of good news.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Canadian Wildlife Service's annual Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey estimates a total duck population of more than 41 million birds, an increase of 14 percent over last year's good numbers.

The survey covers 1.3 million square miles of key nesting grounds across North America.

"There's a lot of good news in the survey this year for the total duck population and waterfowl breeding habitat," said H. Dale Hall, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "We have five species that are at record or near record highs, including canvasbacks, and there are good breeding conditions on the prairies. However, we remain concerned that pintails and scaup are well below long-term averages."

Highlights included blue-winged teal at 6.7 million, the third-highest on record and nearly 50 percent above the long-term average. The mallard count was about 8 million, 10 percent higher than last summer.

The survey results help guide the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state representatives on the four "flyway" councils in setting the regulatory framework for the upcoming waterfowl hunting seasons.

Biologists are expected to recommend that Oregon's 2007 duck and goose seasons be virtually identical to last year's.

Waterfowl seasons will be set at the Aug. 3 Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting in Salem.

The board of ODFW's statewide Access and Habitat program has openings for two rural landowners with an interest in hunting and wildlife. The program funds projects that help increase hunting access and improve wildlife habitat on private lands.

The seven-member board meets quarterly to review proposals for projects to be funded by a $2 surcharge on hunting licenses and the annual auction and raffle of special hunt tags.

The A&H program receives about $1.6 million during each two-year state budget cycle. For details, visit the Access and Habitat web page (www.dfw.state.or.us/AH/get_involved.asp) or contact Eric Rickerson at [phone].

Mike Stahlberg can be reached at [e-mail].