Children diagnosed with a terminal illness have little ability to wait to draw big game hunting tags. To provide an the opportunity to hunt big game there has been a growing trend through national and local organizations to encourage states to develop hunting programs for children diagnosed with a terminal illness.

In Oregon this resulted in the passage of Senate Bill 694 allowing the issuance of free tags to children diagnosed with a terminal illness. The only direction the legislature provided to the department was to offer free tags, with the specifics for implementation left to the department for development. Review of the national Hunt of a Lifetime program and other agency programs has resulted in the draft OARs.

Due to timing of the legislative session the department was unable to go through the normal rulemaking process for the 2005 seasons. This resulted in temporary rules, which were ratified by the Commission in September 2005 which allowed for initial hunting opportunities. These rules allowed children between the ages of 12-17 and diagnosed with a terminal illness to obtain a free tag that would allow them to hunt deer, or elk, or antelope. The department issued a total of two tags for the 2005 hunt seasons.

The department has worked closely with a variety of organizations on the development of these rules. The only change from the temporary rules adopted last September would be the change in the age of children that qualify for one of these free tags (from age 17 to age 21). The department is proposing to match the age guidelines that are utilized by the National Hunt of a Lifetime program. This means that children between the ages of 12 and 21 would qualify for one of the free hunting tags offered in Oregon.

As proposed the rules would:

♦ Define what organizations need to qualify to request tags

♦ Define that to qualify a person must have a terminal illness and be between the ages of 12 and 21

♦ Identify the species and the total number of tags available – 10 deer, 10 elk & 5 antelope

♦ Place limitations on the number of tags any one organization can obtain – 5 per organization

♦ Limit a child to only one tag

♦ Identify times and places that hunting can occur – Sept 1 – Nov 30 for deer and elk and Sept 1 – Sept 30 for antelope

♦ Require compliance with hunting license and hunter safety requirements

♦ Allow both resident and non-resident children to qualify to participate in the program

The department has prepared rules that would provide a once in a lifetime opportunity for children diagnosed with a terminal illness to participate in a unique hunting opportunity without going through a controlled draw process. As proposed, these rules would limit the total number of tags offered and the period of time in which they could be used.