Cannon Beach, nestled along the northern Oregon Coast, used to be a pretty
peaceful place. It’s a nice, romantic getaway or a great place to bring the entire clan. Haystack Rock, perched immediately off CB’s two mile stretch of sand, appears on more post cards and magazine covers than any other feature on the entire coast.
Folks stay there to escape the noise and manic pace of Portland or Seattle, enjoying quiet walks, hoping to catch a glimpse of some of the native wildlife. A small herd of elk lives there and can sometimes be seen taking their own cautious walks out on the beach in the early morning, foraging on the thick, leafy salal bushes in Ecola State Park or resting on the grass in city parks at the edge of town, adding to the natural character of area.
Cannon Beach is not the kind of place people expect to run into cammo-clad Elmers with shotguns or compound bows stalking the area’s half-tame animals.
But when the town’s parks and community services committee wanted to limit the local hunting season to only one month, the Oregon state Department of Fish and Wildlife told them they could not limit the hunting season and instead set five seasons there, totaling 90 days. And although the town of Cannon Beach wanted to restrict hunting to bows and arrows and shotgun slugs, the ODFW informed them that buckshot would be allowed as well.
Yes, you read that right—now any hunter who wants to can blast a 700 pound bull elk with a shotgun. What a mess that would be for some sightseeing family to come across. And how many elk and deer, who were nearly out of range at the time they were shot at, will escape with a gaping, bleeding, lead-filled hole in them?!!
According to the almighty ODFW, hunting on the Ecola Creek Forest Reserve will be extended from one month to 92 days, beginning Aug. 24. And rather than being limited to one season from Sept. 28 through Nov. 1, five seasons will be allowed through Dec. 8!
The great and powerful ODFW have decreed that hunting dates in the reserve shall be:
• Aug. 24 through Sept. 22: bow hunting for deer and elk.
• Sept. 28 through Nov. 1: shotgun hunting for buck deer.
• Nov. 9 through Nov.12: shotgun hunting for bull elk.
• Nov. 16 through Nov. 22: shotgun hunting for bull elk.
• Nov. 23 through Dec. 8: bow hunting for deer.
This is just another example of state game departments pushing their weight around, defying the will of the people and town councils, not to mention the will of the wildlife. Who do “game” regulators think they are, God? Sorry, but I hear that position has already been filled.
Text and Wildlife Photography © Jim Robertson
Exposing the Big Game 
This must be stupidity day? Have these idiots ever heard of tourism? If this goes forward, it could be an interesting case? I guess it might come down real hard on the reputations of those persons who approved this hunting season and the person who appointed them?
I can certainly say there will be no plans to visit that area in my future.
Can you imagine all the wedding business going away? Or worse yet, on a more personal note, my youngest brother requested that his ashes be scattered in the water of his favorite beach. I’m picturing the family, in tears, mourning, saying goodbye, interrupted while Elmer and his uncle-daddy blast an innocent creature to death for what? To try out a new gun?
I think it is time to redefine, legally, the meaning of recreational activities in state parks and personhood granted, by the citizens of Oregon, to the creatures and environment? That would be one landmark case!
I am sick and tired of these assholes. I really am.
Same here
Me too. And I am now boycotting so many states that I will have to start writing them down!
a future hero for animals: http://thevegansprout.com/2013/08/07/people-to-know-jasmine-polsinelli/
I used to live in Portland, and stayed at that beach enjoying the peace and tranquility.I have a picture of haystack I used as my Facebook banner for some time. I guess the only way to change the ODFW’s new ruling now is if a hunter misses his/her mark and shoots a tourist.
Do you think the forward-thinking citizens of Oregon understand what their game department is doing? I haven’t met an Oregonian yet who was familiar with the sea lion branding, as one example … except those immediately involved. For a state that considers itself culturally progressive, there ought to be much more outcry over their backward and cruel wildlife practices. Then again, so many people aren’t informed enough on wildlife and wildlife issues to counter the constant stream of misleading PR from these agencies.
You’re last line summed up the problem.
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