Bend hunting group receives national Forest Service award

The Bend Chapter of the Oregon Hunters Association has received the annual Volunteer and Service Restoration Award from the U.S. Forest Service.

“As a valuable partner and resource for the agency, it is with great pleasure that this national award has been given to this important organization,” Friday’s announcement stated.

The Restoration Award is presented to an individual or group which has made significant contributions to the Forest Service goal of ecosystem restoration.

The Oregon Hunters Association was founded in Powell Butte in 1983 and now has 10,500 members in 25 chapters across the state. All of the chapters make significant contributions to habitat restoration and management on a yearly basis.

As a partner with the Ochoco and Deschutes national forests, Bend OHA has done valuable habitat restoration work for the Paulina, Sisters, Crescent and Bend-Fort Rock Ranger Districts.

They volunteered over 1400 hours of restoration work in 2016 alone. Since 2000, the group has logged nearly 20,000 hours of work on public lands.

The work that the OHA has done on public lands directly correlates with the Forest Service Region 6 Terrestrial Restoration and Conservation Strategy (TRACS). TRACS identifies species, habitats, and watersheds that are priorities for conservation, restoration, and habitat enhancement.

OHA’s efforts in restoring and enhancing meadows, aspen, riparian areas and sagebrush habitat benefits priority species.

Their efforts not only benefit large game such as deer and elk but also other species such as sage grouse, woodpeckers, bats and plants that make the Ochoco and Deschutes national forests unique.

OHA has brought many valuable skills and resources to their partnership with the Forest Service. Some of these contributions include purchasing equipment, native plants, fencing and guzzler supplies.

They have also helped fund efforts to improve big game security. The group has partnered with and helped fund local youth crews that work on our national forests.

Sportsmen have played an important role in the stewardship of our public lands dating back to Teddy Roosevelt and Aldo Leopold. The Bend OHA chapter keeps this spirit alive by putting its money and hard work into our national forests.