OHA Mule Deer Fund supports habitat projects

Projects net nearly $3 million in matching funds

The Oregon HuntersAssociation (OHA) is funding projects aimed at reversing mule deer declines across eastern Oregon. In just two years, the OHA Mule Deer Fund has received a total of 21 landscape-scale project proposal applications with a total request of $613,115 from OHA.
OHA granted $110,115 (18 percent of funds requested) across 10 projects with more than $2,900,000 in match funding since the inception of the OHA Mule Deer Fund in 2025.
Recently in 2026, OHA funded five projects:
• Lower Deschutes Range Enhancement Project will treat 5,800 acres of annual grass and invasive weeds, and plant 52,000 shrubs (bitterbrush, sagebrush, and other riparian species beneficial to mule deer) on the ODFW Lower Deschutes Wildlife Area.
• Metolius Winter Range Bitterbrush Planting will plant 20,000 bitterbrush plants across approximately 500 acres in Jefferson County in addition to the 20,000 bitterbrush plants that the OHA Mule Deer Fund planted in 2025.
• Phillip W. Schneider Wildlife Area Forage Enhancement will apply herbicide across 2,000 acres of invasive annual grasses and aerially seed 2,663 acres on the wildlife area in the John Day Watershed.
• USFS Knox Meadow Enhancement will remove 20 acres of conifer from aspen stands, retrofit 1.5 miles of fencing to wildlife-friendly specifications, remove conifer encroaching on the sizeable meadow, plant 65 acres of mule deer forage, and install new water sources.
• Highway 20 Deer-Vehicle Reduction & Signage will purchase and utilize three trailer-mounted portable solar-powered message signs, which will be placed in hot-spots for mule deer-vehicle collisions on Hwy 20 in the Juntura and Sagehen herd ranges. These signs also will be used during buck deer and Rocky Mountain bull elk seasons to notify hunters of the new mandatory CWD check station in Riley.
“Mule deer are an iconic wildlife species that hunters and non-hunters admire, and OHA is committed to reversing the mule deer declines caused by many factors,” said OHA Conservation Director Tyler Dungannon. “Projects such as these are steps in right direction.”
OHA chapters that have financially contributed to the OHA Mule Deer Fund include Umpqua, Redmond, Pioneer, Bend, Klamath, Capitol, Josephine County, Mid-Willamette, Lincoln County, Ochoco, and Hoodview.
OHA (oregonhunters.org) is the state’s largest Oregon-based pro-hunting organization, with 12,000 members and 26 chapters statewide. Its mission is “protecting Oregon’s wildlife, habitat and heritage.”

Photo by Jim Ward