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April 18, 2025
WINCHESTER BAY, Ore. – Today at their meeting in Winchester Bay, the Fish and Wildlife Commission unanimously adopted the 2025 Statewide Priority Fish Passage Barrier list, incorporating two new scoring factors to address climate change. These factors account for native migratory fish’s current and predicted future access to cold water, and areas resilient to climate change (thermal suitability).
Every five years, ODFW updates the list of fish passage barriers with the greatest impact on Oregon’s native migratory fish. Staff built the new list on previously adopted passage lists and locations of high priority barriers and incorporated the new scoring factors to account for changing climatic conditions. ODFW received public input and vetted the list through the Fish Passage Task Force. The 2025 list will be posted here soon.
The Commission also adopted staff recommendations for the 2025-26 Oregon Game Bird Hunting Regulations and a new Upland Game Bird Hunting Season Framework for Sept. 2, 2025 – Aug. 31, 2030.
Upland game bird seasons are based on this five-year framework which is renewed every five years. The framework renewal considers internal recommendations and public comments. Changes for the fall turkey hunting season included combining Western and Eastern Oregon fall turkey tags into a general fall turkey tag, expanding open areas to include the Silvies, Malheur River, Juniper, and Steens Mountains wildlife management units (WMU), and implementing beardless turkey permit hunts in portions of the Fossil, Heppner, Melrose, Applegate, and Evans Creek WMUs.
Changes to the migratory game bird hunting regulations for the 2025-26 season included an increased bag limit for northern pintail from one to three daily, as well as bag limit and season length reductions for geese in the Northwest Permit Zone.
In other business, the Commission:
Adopted the 2025 Sport and Commercial Pacific Halibut Fishery Regulations: The International Pacific Halibut Commission set this year's fishery catch limit at 1.53 million pounds (for Area 2A – OR, WA, and CA) which is 60,000 pounds higher than last year. For a look at the proposed recreational season visit this map.
Adopted permanent regulations for ocean salmon seasons: Earlier this week, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) adopted ocean salmon fishing regulations for federal-jurisdiction waters from three to 200 nautical miles offshore. The Commission adopted matching permanent regulations for state jurisdiction waters (within three miles offshore). See this map for more details on the recreational ocean salmon seasons.
Private Forest Accord (PFA) Funding: The Commission approved $10,309,548 in grants recommended by the PFA Advisory Committee which funds 23 projects that provide conservation benefit to specific aquatic species that are impacted by forest practices.
Director’s Report
As part of the morning Director’s Report, the Wild Salmon Center joined ODFW staff to share insights about how partners can achieve watershed restoration through strategic action plans using the Coast Coho Partnership as an example.
Commissioners also heard an update on Oregon Dungeness crab season safety for fishermen and whale entanglements in commercial crab gear. Staff are working with Oceana, the Natural Resource Defense Council and Oregon Sea Grant to hold a workshop this year to continue discussions on pop-up crab gear to reduce risk of whale entanglements. A California commercial crab fisherman will discuss his experience in using pop-up gear in the California fishery.
Also included in the Director’s Report was the 2024 Annual Wolf Report. Staff provided information from the report and an update on efforts to reduce wolf-livestock conflict, reduce poaching, and improve wolf population monitoring. The full report is available on ODFW’s website.
Commission business
During a work session facilitated by a consultant, the Commission made progress on its discussion related to its roles and responsibilities and processes that support a successful statewide commission.
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