Oregon Hunters Association
Policy and Procedure
OHA funds will be disbursed only with a budget balance for the purpose,
receipt of a written grant application in the prescribed format, review and
recommendation by the local chapter and regional state board member, review
and recommendation by the Grant Review Committee, and approval by the Board.
PURPOSE:
1. To assist the state Board of Directors in exercising its fiduciary
responsibilities to the membership for the management of OHA funds.
2. To guide the Board of Directors in making reasonable and prudent
decisions regarding whether or not to expend OHA funds in the form of grant
for a specific purpose.
3. To provide a format for grant applications which, when completed by
grant applicants, will provide the Board of Directors a clear understanding
of the purpose and objectives of the project or activity for which the grant
application has been presented.
4. To provide Board Chair flexibility and control of board agenda to
handle OHA business, applications will only be considered at the regular
March and September board meetings.
PROCEDURE:
1. For a grant of funds to be made, the funds must have been budgeted for
the purpose for which the grant application proposes to use them.
2. The grant applicant must make the application using the format
prescribed by this policy and procedure. All grants must be received at the
OHA office prior to Feb. 1 to be considered at the March board meeting, and
prior to Aug. 1 to be considered at the September board meeting.
3. It is the applicant’s responsibility to provide complete details of
the proposal, to complete the review process at the chapter and regional
level timely, and to be present at the hearing of the proposal to answer
questions. The applicant is encouraged to answer anticipated questions in
the written application. Time constraints preclude lengthy "dog and pony
shows" during the review process. The applicant is encouraged to provide
phone and e-mail addresses. Though applications will be heard twice per year
they will be received at the OHA office at any time. Applications not
received timely will be heard at the next regularly scheduled date.
4. The Grant Review Committee, consisting of the vice president and two
board members selected by the state board chair, shall review all
applications and either deny or make recommendations to the board.
5. The Board of Directors will consider the grant.
6. When reviewing the grant application, the objective is for the board
members:
a) To consider whether the application is for a purpose that is part of
the OHA missions supporting enhancement or restoration of wildlife habitat,
management of game animals or game birds (huntable wildlife), or sportsmen’s
rights;
b) To obtain a complete understanding of the purpose and objectives of
the grant, make a judgment on the basis of the written application, whether
the project is an effective and efficient one that has a very high
probability of being successfully executed. The written application must be
fully complete and sufficient to stand on its own.
c) To determine, if approved, how and who will monitor the progress and
success of the project.
d) To insure that the applicant has a means of providing OHA public
recognition for its support of the project.
e) To hear a brief presentation of the grant application from the
applicant. This presentation is for the purpose of clarifying the
application, but is not considered part of the application.
f) To make a decision to accept the application, to reject the
application, or to table the application pending receipt of a revised or
amended grant application form containing information that was not present
in the original written application and found necessary by the Board to
reach a reasonable and prudent decision regarding the application.
7. At the hearing of the grant application the Board will review the
application and entertain a motion to approve the grant application.
8. Once the board has reached its decision the state office will:
a) Write a letter to grant applicant informing them of the decision.
b) Create a file for the specific grant in the permanent files in which
the grant application and all correspondence related to the grant will be
filed.
c) Write a brief informative notice about the grant to the membership,
and furnish it to the editor of Oregon Hunter for publication in the next
issue.
9. The president will review quarterly the progress of all approved and
outstanding grants, January, April, June and September, and report project
status to the Board of Directors at its regularly scheduled meetings.
A road that was washed out in the Harney County floods in
the mid-1980s that provided access to one of the best waterfowl hunting
areas within the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is slated for repair with
some help from a $20,000 grant from the Oregon Hunters Association. East
Saddle Butte Road, off State Highway 78, once provided excellent public
access to about 18,000 acres of high-quality waterfowl hunting habitat at
Malheur Lake. Hunters could drive the road along the railroad tracks to a
parking area and launch a canoe or boat into the marsh. But the road was put
out of commission during the heavy flooding of 1984 and 1985. In addition to
the OHA grant, the railroad’s owner, Genesee and Wyoming Railroad, is
allowing the group to take gravel from the adjacent railroad bed to create
the new all-weather access road. An additional grant is still being sought
to provide the rest of the funds needed to complete the project. Total cost
for the project is $60,500.
An $18,475 grant from the Oregon Hunters Association will
be used by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to help fund a
five-year project to research factors that affect the survival of bighorn
sheep in the lower Deschutes River canyon. Funding includes $11,900 from the
state organization, $2,975 from the Capitol Chapter of OHA, $2,000 from the
Portland Chapter, $1,000 from the Emerald Valley Chapter and $600 from the
Redmond Chapter. This study is a continuation of several past research
projects investigating bighorn sheep survival on Steens Mountain, Hart
Mountain National Antelope Refuge and in the Leslie Gulch area of southeast
Oregon. Beginning in early December, ODFW will capture 35 bighorn sheep in
the lower canyon and fit them with radio collars so their movements can be
tracked. As animals die over time, they will be located and the cause of
death determined. This will help researchers to identify mortality trends
and any specific causes or patterns. For example, other bighorn sheep
survival studies have found that predation by mountains lions is an
important factor and Kohl notes that the lower Deschutes River Canyon has a
growing population of the big cats. About 300 to 400 bighorn sheep are
estimated to currently roam the lower Deschutes River canyon.
The Oregon Hunters Association has awarded $33,500 to the Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife to help fund a study to track the movements
and behavior of pronghorn in the Owyhee area in southeastern Oregon. The
grant includes $30,00 from the state organization, $1,000 from the Klamath
OHA Chapter, $1,000 from the Josephine County Chapter and $1,500 from the
Lake County Chapter. The funds are being used to purchase 10 Global
Positioning System units and towards the cost of capturing the antelope. The
study is slated to begin in December and will involve capturing 65 pronghorn
in the Owyhee Wildlife Management Unit and fitting them with radio collars
so the ODFW researchers can track their movements. The study will be
conducted over a two and a half year period. Pronghorn, also called
pronghorn antelope, are unique to North America and roam the grasslands and
other open areas of the western U.S., Mexico and Canada. Capable of speeds
up to 40 miles per hour, they are the fastest land animals in North America.
Oregon’s pronghorn population is estimated at 25,000 to 27,000. According to
Don Whittaker, who manages ODFW’s pronghorn program, pronghorn are among
Oregon’s most desirable big game animals. However, because they travel large
distances in remote parts of the state, not a great deal is known about
their movements and population dynamics, which make managing the herds more
difficult.