Avoiding An Oregon Hunting Suspension
If you are convicted in Oregon of a wildlife offense, your hunting privileges will possibly be suspended or revoked by either the court, or the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW). Suspensions can be for 3 years (36 months) or 5 years (60 months). Revocations are indefinite (i.e. potentially for life). These suspensions are very common, and enforced by prosecutors throughout the state.
If I’m convicted in Oregon of a wildlife violation, can I hunt in other states?
If your hunting privileges are suspended or revoked in Oregon, they will also be suspended or revoked in 44 other states, due to the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact (IWVC). Enforcement of your hunting suspension will be by local law enforcement, and possibly members of the National Association of Conservation Law Enforcement Chiefs (NACLEC).
The following states are members of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia,
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Only the following states are not members of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact:
The history of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact (IWVC) and full text can be found at Ballotpedia.org.
How can I avoid a suspension or revocation of my hunting privileges in Oregon?
If you have been cited or arrested for a wildlife, game, fishing, or shellfish violation in Oregon, it is often very difficult to avoid a suspension of your hunting and fishing privileges. This is due to a couple if reasons.
First, game violations in Oregon are often investigated by the Oregon State Police (OSP) Fish and Wildlife Division. Although resources throughout the state may vary from one are to another, the OSP troopers who investigate and issue for game citations are usually dedicated, throughout, and have the manpower and equipment to build solid investigations. This is not to say that they don’t make mistakes or even false accusations from time to time, but as a whole, they are better trained, better staffed, and better equipped than the Podunk Sheriff’s Department.
Second, Oregon is an outdoorsman paradise. Unlike many landlocked and/or overpopulated states, you can hunt everything in Oregon from chukars to Roosevelt elk, and fish everything from razor clams to king salmon (aka Chinook salmon). This means that the State of Oregon is serious about protecting and conserving game animals for generations to come. In addition, many parts of the state rely upon commercial harvesting of wildlife to support the local economy (e.g. the Oregon coast and Columbia River).
Third, and finally, Oregon’s hunting suspensions are both set by statute and administrative action. Meaning, Oregon Revised Statutes dictate the length of suspension. The law does not provide for discretion (e.g. a one or two-year suspension in lieu of a three-year suspension). The ODFW will suspend if they receive a proper judgment of conviction from the Court, and they do not have the discretion to disobey or shorten the suspension.
Lawyer Up
If you have been cited for a wildlife offense and you are serious about protecting your rights, you should invoke your right to remain silent, decline any searches, and contact an Oregon wildlife attorney immediately. Although every case has it’s own fact pattern and therefore there are no guarantees as to a particular result, we’ve helped numerous clients not only avoid criminal convictions, but also a suspension of their hunting and fishing rights.