Thanks Swampy. I've signed up to give oral testimony tomorrow. We get a grand total of 2 minutes! Hardly can introduce myself in that amount of time.

I kind of have the feeling its going to be like that hearing by Dean Wormer about revoking Animal House's charter at Faber.

I hope this thing is defeated.

Wishing yall the best.

For the sake of all conservatives in Oregon I hope this is beat back.

Oral testimony?..
Monica or Bill?….l

Give em' heck, peeler!

Hope yall prevail

NTA will save ya, long as you do all the foot work.

Good lord there’s a lot of these stupid ideas in the states. You guys got your hands full dealing with ballot box wildlife management.
I guess that’s why every trapper should support NTA or FTA.

This one is not technically ballot box wildlife management. This one may be normal wildlife management by legislature and governor.

Exactly. We may as well disband our ODFW if they're no longer needed to manage wildlife in Oregon. The legislature can do it.

You don't have to be an Oregon resident to submit written testimony! Just send in a quick couple lines telling them to opposing this garbage.

https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2025R1/Measures/Overview/HB3932

Howl for Wildlife makes it very easy for everyone to submit written or video testimony.

https://www.howlforwildlife.org/nohb3932a

Got some last second good news. ODFW will participate in the hearing to answer Senators questions. This may be very helpful for us as the data collected by ODFW biologists supports our version of what is happening out there.

Submitted written testimony to help oppose. Thank you to those testifying in person and who submitted or will submit comments before the comment period closes shortly. Best of luck, Oregon.

E mail sent! Keep us posted on this please! Good luck!!!!!!!!

So it’s their own department pushing this? I suppose they’ll present data for their reasons?

That is not ODFW's doing. The legislatures. All proposed bills are vetted in this way.

My testimony:

"Chair Golden, honorable members of the committee on Natural Resources and Wildfire, my name is Carl Berg from Junction City, Oregon. I'm here in opposition to HB 3932.

I have trapped beaver in up to ten different counties in Oregon over the last 50 years which means that I have a unique vantage point with what is going on with beaver population dynamics here. In addition, I have been somewhat of a history buff with beaver and the fur trade. I also helped write the ODFW 2010-11 Furbearer report on the state of affairs concerning beaver in our state.

In 1811 just a little ways from here in Keizer, Astor's Pacific Fur Company built a small trading post on the east shore of the Willamette. The first white structure built in the Willamette valley. Beaver numbers were good on the Willamette and its tributaries and the same is true 214 years later. In about 1818 Alexander McLeod led a small Hudson Bay brigade up to the Willamette Falls then across the coast range to Tillamook County, then he travelled down as far south as the mouth of the Siuslaw river. He reported very disappointing numbers of beaver in the coast range with just a few "beaver vestiges" apparent. The coastal mountain streams with mature forest canopy did not support beaver. As the same is true today. Mature forest canopy will not support beaver.

In 1937 the Oregon Legislature turned over management of the state's beaver to the Game Commission which via the ODFW has successfully done so since then. By 1950, according to game commission reports, the state was fully stocked with beaver wherever habitat existed for them. The same is true today.

There is no reason for the legislature 88 years later to get back into beaver management. It's what we have the ODFW for. But for some head scratching reason the sponsors of HB3932 have chose to try a go-around to the agency tasked with their management.

HB3932 does nothing to help beaver, does none of the things its sponsors claim it will, and would create chaos deciding what is open and closed. In addition I can tell you that beaver trappers catch a significant amount of invasive nutrias in the pursuit of beaver. I can assure you that nutria with their digging and burrowing are considered detrimental to our waterways health.

Responsible managed trapping does not hurt beaver populations. The take of some beaver helps to keep a population stable and disease free. You learn that in Wildlife Science 101.

Please vote no on HB3932.

Actually that was a rough draft. Still working on it and trying to whittle down a bit.