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Lawmakers hear ODFW data showing mule deer decline, elk moving onto private lands; experts debate habitat fixes and predator management
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Summary
At an informational hearing, ODFW and outside experts described long-term mule deer declines (about 50% since 1980), shifts in elk distribution toward private agricultural lands, and differing views on predator roles. Scientists emphasized habitat restoration and improved population models; some stakeholders urged locally driven predator control and compensation for producers.
Chair Golden convened the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Wildfire’s informational hearing on Oregon’s ungulate populations on Nov. 18, 2025, where agency staff, researchers and stakeholder groups presented data and competing viewpoints about causes and possible policy responses.
Brian Wolfer, Wildlife Division Deputy Administrator for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, told the committee the department is using helicopter surveys and ground-based monitoring to improve abundance estimates and population models. "This year all 22 of our wildlife districts will have some flight hours in helicopters and we'll spend about $2,000,000 on helicopter contracts to conduct those surveys," Wolfer said, adding that roughly 75% of the survey costs are covered by federal Pittman‑Robertson excise-tax funds.
Wolfer said Oregon’s elk picture is mixed: Roosevelt elk have declined modestly since the late 1990s while Rocky Mountain elk have peaked more recently. He described management objectives as wintering population targets set through public processes and emphasized they are social targets rather than ecological carrying-capacity estimates. Wolfer noted distributional change is central to current conflict: "We're seeing elk occur more on private lands than they did historically," and that private-land security and forage are drawing animals downslope and into agricultural areas.
On mule deer, ODFW and multiple presenters highlighted substantial declines. Dr. Christina Eisenberg, an OSU-associated researcher, said the state’s mule deer population has fallen about 50% between 1980 and 2024 and argued habitat change—drought, lack of forest thinning and reduced cultural/prescribed burning—are primary drivers. "Habitat is the main limiting factor on mule deer populations," Eisenberg said, and she recommended active restoration using authorities such as the Good Neighbor Authority and partnerships with tribal nations.
ODFW’s Dr. Darren Clark outlined an ongoing mule deer study in two Eastern Oregon herd ranges (Aldrich and the Klamath Basin) that uses GPS collars, body-fat and pregnancy measures and genetic analysis of carnivore scats to link habitat, nutrition and predation to survival and recruitment. Clark described the research design and stated the goal is to build integrated population models to quantify the relative influence of habitat, predation and other factors.
Stakeholders presented sharply different emphasis on predation. Amy Patrick, policy director for the Oregon Hunters Association, and Lauren Kinsey of the Oregon Farm Bureau stressed predation—particularly by cougars—and human-driven shifts (urban expansion, recreation, renewable energy siting) as immediate pressures causing animals to concentrate on private lands and damage crops and fences. Patrick said the statewide effects of wolves on ungulates are not yet well documented in some regions and supported expanded study areas to clarify impacts.
Rob Wilgus, a large-carnivore researcher, summarized long-term studies showing that increasing cougar hunting can produce unintended demographic changes in cougar populations (high immigration of young males) that increase infanticide and may lead to prey switching. Wilgus urged experimental, localized reductions of cougar hunting in problem areas as a test of whether reduced hunting pressure can stabilize mule deer and other vulnerable prey.
Ranching and farm groups described recurring and sometimes severe damage from elk and deer. Lauren Kinsey told the committee that producers report herds of 5 to 60 animals entering pastures overnight, stripping a month of growth and damaging fences and irrigation. Dennis Sheehy, representing cattle interests, added that reduced domestic grazing on some public allotments and increases in invasive species have changed range conditions in ways that can harm wildlife forage.
Panelists and senators discussed management tools already in use: landowner damage tags issued under legislative authority (a few thousand tags annually, per ODFW), a general-season antlerless elk damage hunt in chronically damaged areas, and the Commission-approved authority to set localized hunting opportunities. Wolfer emphasized that resolving damage is a priority when it threatens private property and livelihoods.
The committee’s exchange made clear a central divide: some experts and producers favor locally informed predator management, compensation programs and tools to reduce immediate agricultural damage, while many researchers and Indigenous scholars emphasized improving habitat carrying capacity, restoring mixed-age forest structure and using collaborative restoration (including cultural burning) to increase recruitment and survival of adult females—the demographic key to population recovery.
No formal actions or votes were taken; the session was informational and designed to inform future policy discussions. The hearing closed after extended questioning and testimony, and the committee moved on to a separate informational on coastal coho recovery.
