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Article

Host - Restore - Study - Teach

This is your one-stop platform for learning how to hunt and fish in Oregon. Register to participate in one or more of the many statewide events and workshops, check back items are updated weekly. Build your confidence and expand your knowledge to enjoy the great outdoors. Looking for the required youth hunter safety courses and field days, choose between a conventional in-person course or complete one of the online education courses and an in-person field day. Sign up for a location, date and time that works with your schedule. Hunter safety events are taught by certified volunteer instructors statewide. To…
August 14, 2025
Article

How to bay clam

Oregon estuaries are rich with many species of clams, although only a few of these species are commonly harvested. Gaper, butter, cockle, littleneck, softshell and purple varnish clams are popularly harvested due to their abundance, size and taste. A wide variety of other bivalve species are found in Oregon estuaries, but not commonly harvested due either to their scarcity or poor taste.
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Educational Moment

Setting up to hunt

Turkeys don’t like to fly at night, so the best time to get set up for your hunt is either right before dark the day before your hunt. Or before daylight the day of your hunt. Once you ’ve located a tom, either seeing it or by hearing it gobble, it’s time to make a plan. The goal is to get close enough to call in a tom, without letting him know you’re there. Be in place before daylight If you’ve been out the night before and used a locator call to find a tom on his roost, get to…
May 19, 2020
image of a turkey hunter set up in front of a large tree
Educational Moment

Scouting for turkeys

Whether you’re out the night before preparing for your morning hunt, or studying the habits of a flock throughout the year, scouting ahead of your hunt will help you find more birds during your hunt. Use optics to spot birds With binoculars or a spotting scope you’ll be able to spot and study birds from a distance without spooking them. Don't be in a hurry when watching turkeys through binoculars or a spotting scope. The birds won’t know you’re there, so take time to study the hens and toms in the flock. See if there’s a big tom you want…
May 19, 2020
image of two hunters using a locator call to find turkeys
Educational Moment

ODFW turkey hunting resources

If you’re new to turkey hunting, or even just new to turkey hunting in Oregon, ODFW offers several resources to help you learn when and where to hunt. The annual Oregon Game Bird Regulations Online resources about the upcoming season and current conditions Classes and workshops Regional wildlife biologists who can help direct you to the best hunting opportunities in their area Know the rules The Oregon Game Bird Regulations (both printed and online) will tell you what licenses and tags you’ll need to hunt turkey, when and where hunting seasons are open, and how many birds you can take…
May 19, 2020
photo of two successful turkey hunters carrying their birds
Article

How to report poaching

An experienced hunter witnessed a mule deer being poached. He was so rattled he forgot who to call and how to report the crime. Here are tips for what to do when you see poaching, then read on for this hunter’s story that bagged him a reward.
November 24, 2020
Article

Oregon Wildlife Viewing Map

Can't find a place to see Oregon’s iconic spring chinook salmon spawning? Want to cross the ferruginous hawk off your birdwatching list? Looking to see one of Oregon’s two native turtles but don’t know where to find them? View map
November 3, 2017
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Recreation Report

Game Bird Hunting Report - West Area

Western Oregon March 5, 2026 Currently open  Now until March 10: High Desert & Blue Mtn Zone - White Fronted & White Goose   Upcoming Season  Spring turkey  Announcements, resources   Buy your 2026-27 bird stamp(s) and validations -  Available for purchase now: upland and waterfowl validations, federal duck stamp and complete the HIP survey. New season begins July 1.   Plan next season's hunts with prior year  game bird harvest summaries .  Hunt by Reservation Program - ODFW's Hunt by Reservation Program connects bird hunters with private landowners. By making a reservation online, hunters receive a permit to hunt select private lands on dates that landowners select ahead of time.  …

September 21, 2017
Species and Subspecies

Gulls and Terns

Gulls and terns can be seen year-round in Oregon, depending on the species. Gulls like open areas around water bodies and are frequently seen where human food is concentrated, such as dumps or restaurants. Terns are in the same family and usually are smaller and more slender.

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Article

Recipes for Your Holiday Table

You caught it, now it's time to cook it—and what better time than during a holiday meal with your family and friends. We rounded up some recipes from various hunting and fishing organizations.
November 6, 2025
Holiday dinner table
Landing page

Licenses, Permits, Applications and Forms

February 17, 2026
Summer Lake evening
Zones or Areas

Southeast Area

This massive area is a cornucopia of geographic features and prime upland and waterfowl hunting opportunities. It is a gem of Oregon.

Species and Subspecies

Gopher snake

The gopher snake occurs in a wide variety of habitats, from deserts and grasslands to woodlands and open forests. It frequents agricultural regions, especially where there is brushy cover such as fence rows. Diet varies according to size, with young eating insects, lizards, rodents, and birds and their eggs. Adults can take larger prey, occasionally as large as rabbits. Photo by Simon Wray, ODFW

Gopher snake
Educational Moment

How to sight in and pattern a shotgun

There are two steps in patterning your gun: Verify your point of impact. Confirm the pellets are hitting where you’re aiming. Often called sighting in. Check the pattern of the pellets to see what loads shoot most accurately. Often called patterning. Sight in scopes and fiber optic sites If you’re shooting a shotgun with a single bead on top of the barrel, you can go right to patterning. If you’re shooting a shotgun mounted with a scope or reflex sight, or a fiber optic front and rear site, you’ll need to sight in the gun before you pattern it. Start…
May 19, 2020
photo of two paper turkey targets showing shot patterns from shotgun
Recreation Report

Big Game Hunting Report - Southeast Area

SE BIG GAME HUNTING March 5, 2026 Currently open Cougar ( check current harvest numbers), Coyote Announcements, resources Reminder to report your late season 2025 big game tags by April 15: Report your hunt 2026 spring bear: Draw results are available and the spring bear forecast is also online now, check your hunt areas and start scouting to prepare before the season opening on April 1. Submit your applications for 2026 controlled hunts by May 15. Big game harvest statistics - You'll find links to population, harvest and point summary reports that can help you decide what hunts to apply…

September 21, 2017
Article

2026 spring bear hunting forecast

2026 spring bear seed numbers 6051029 Take a look at what hunters can expect in 2026 for their specific hunt areas, details provided by wildlife biologists throughout the state. Purchase your controlled hunt tag
March 3, 2026
black bear
Article

You’ve drawn a pronghorn tag

Resources to help prepare for a successful hunt in sagebrush country.
Two adult pronghorn in a field
Article

Forest grouse and mountain quail hunters: Turn in wings and tails

Look for collection barrels where you hunt. Data gathered from wings and tails helps ODFW biologists look at population productivity and set seasons.
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Educational Moment

Using a locator call

These calls have nothing to do with calling in turkeys, but everything to do with finding toms. Owl, crow, peacock, woodpecker and hawk sounds all can elicit a reactionary gobble from a tom – sometimes called a “shock gobble.” These calls are usually used when birds are on the roost early in the morning or late in the evening. Using a hen call to locate a tom can put the tom on the move before you’re ready to set up. If a tom comes in too quickly, it can mean a blown opportunity. Locator calls encourage toms to gobble without…
May 19, 2020
image of two hunters using a locator call to find turkeys
Press Release

Manulife to end participation in Access and Habitat Program on May 31: Hunter access to be impacted in northeast, southwest Oregon

SALEM, Ore.—Manulife will not renew its cooperative agreement with ODFW's Access and Habitat program, the company informed ODFW late last week. This means Manulife properties in northeast Oregon and Jackson County that are currently open to hunter access through the Access and Habitat "Welcome to Hunt" program will no longer…

January 21, 2026