It's open season for decisions that will affect hunters in future.

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

It may be between seasons now for hunters, but it's the busy season for decisions that will have an impact on hunting. Why, everyone from Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission members on up to President Bush got into the act.

The commissioners last week made three sets of decisions that shape hunting opportunities, now and in the future, to wit:

The number of controlled hunt tags that will be issued for this fall's big game seasons was set. Random drawings to distribute the available limited-entry tags for deer, elk, pronghorn, bighorn sheep and Rocky Mountain goats are being conducted this week.

Overall, the number of tags approved is down 4 percent compared to last fall, with opportunities for both deer and elk declining as a result of population concerns. But tag numbers were increased for bighorn sheep and pronghorn antelope.

The commission approved 83,647 deer tags for 2005, a 3 percent decrease. The reductions were spread among eastern and western antlerless hunts, eastern mule deer and bow hunting allocations. The number of rifle buck tags remains unchanged at 62,906.

Elk hunting opportunities will drop significantly this fall. The commission approved 9 percent fewer controlled hunt tags for Roosevelt elk and a 7 percent reduction for Rocky Mountain elk. On the other hand, biologists were able to recommend a 9 percent jump in the number of pronghorn (antelope) tags, to 2,906.

The commission authorized spending $378,000 from the Access and Habitat Program Fund to provide hunters with access to thousands of acres of private timber and ranch land this fall.

Included in the latest round of Access and Habitat grants was $101,500 for the McBride Ranch Access project in Malheur County. The agreement provides year-round public access to more than 10,000 acres for the next five years. Also, the Blue Mountain Cattle Co. Access Project in Harney County provides year-round public access to 5,270 acres of new hunting grounds and improved access to surrounding BLM and USFS property near Hines for the next 10 years, for which the commission paid $79,550. The Access and Habitat Program is funded by a $2 surcharge on hunting licenses.

Finally, the commission approved more than 50 changes to Oregon's elk and mule deer management objectives. The objectives serve as population targets for deer and elk herds in each of the 67 wildlife management units around the state.

Those targets will help guide harvest management decisions related to herd density as well as buck and bull ratios. State wildlife biologists say the changes reflect improved population information, changes in habitat availability and changes in the amount of property damage throughout Oregon.

As for President Bush, he recently signed into law a bill affirming that the states have full authority over hunting and fishing. The new law short-circuits a federal appeals court ruling that threatened the ability of states - including Oregon - to make rules regulating the number of hunting tags issued to out-of-state applicants.

That court ruling stemmed from an Arizona case filed by hunting outfitters from New Mexico. The outfitters claimed Arizona's limits on nonresidents in some big game hunts violated constitutional protections of interstate commerce.

The states rights hunting and fishing bill was sponsored by several Western lawmakers. It wound up attached to an emergency appropriations bill for defense, terrorism and tsunami relief that was signed by Bush. The hunting provision states it is in the public interest for any state to be able to regulate fish and wildlife programs within its boundaries, `including by means of laws or regulations that differentiate between residents and nonresidents' or fees charged, according to an Associated Press report. The law further asserts that such restrictions do not fall under the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

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