Evolution of ODFW
 

EVOLUTION OF THE OREGON
DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE

History

The history of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife can be divided into three distinct periods: 1878-1921, a time of organization and change; 1921-1975, a time of stability; and 1975­-present, a time of reunification signified by the formation of a department responsible for both fish and wildlife. This memo describes those changes. Copies of legislation containing major revisions are attached as appendices.

1878-1921

Appointed in 1878, the Fish Commissioner for the Columbia River was the earliest state official engaged in the regulation and protection of fish, wildlife, and forests.(1) A three member Fish Commission responsible for regulating the commercial fish industry replaced the Fish Commissioner in 1887.(2) With increasing interests in game and game fish the Fish Commission was replaced by the Fish and Game Protector in 1893.(3) The responsibilities of the Fish and Game Protector included the enforcing of game laws and regulating the commercial fish industry.(4)

The Fish and Game Protector was replaced by an act of the 1898 Legislative Assembly which established the Board of Fish Commissioners Members of the Board included the governor, secretary of state, and a fish commissioner appointed as executive officer by the governor. This agency was replaced in 1901 by a Fish Commission (5) composed of governor, secretary of state, and state treasurer.(6) The commission appointed a Master Fish Warden as administrator and confined itself to the regulation of commercial fishing. The responsibility for enforcing game laws as well as forestry laws was now regulated by the office of Game and Forestry Warden created in 1899. This arrangement remained unchanged for ten years. Regulation of fish and game activities was not placed into a single agency until 1911 with the establishment of the Board of Fish and Game Commissioners.(7) This board was authorized to appoint a Master Fish Warden and a State Game Warden. In this same year, the Legislative Assembly created the State Board of Forestry consisting of the governor, the acting head of the Forest School of the Oregon State Agricultural College (Oregon State University), and five appointees. The creation of a Board of Forestry separated the function of forestry from that of fish and game.

The Board of Fish and Game Commissioners was reorganized in 1915 to. consist of four appointees and the governor.(8) In 1920 it was further enlarged to nine members, with eight selected by the Legislative Assembly and the ninth selected by the appointed eight.(9) Part of the Board was designated a Fish Commission and part a Game Commission.(10) This Board was abolished by the 1921 Legislative Assembly. (11)

1921-1975

During this period, the functions of fish and game conservation were administered by two
separate agencies. The State Fish Commission administered commercial fishing laws and appointed a Master Fish Warden while the Game Commission administered game and game fish laws and appointed a State Game Warden.

Fish Commission

In 1921, the duties of the Fish Commission were to:
.provide for the better protection, preservation, and propagation of salmon, shad, sturgeon, and other anadromous and food and shell fishes;
.to see that all laws relating to the commercial fisheries of the state are enforced;
.to provide license schedules and fees and methods of collections;
.create a department of hatcheries and fish culture.(l2)

The Commission's duties remained virtually unchanged for over fifty years. In 1975, although more simply stated, the Commission's duties remained to preserve, protect, develop, cultivate, promote, and propagate all fish species under its jurisdiction and found within the state of
Oregon (ORS 06.036(2))

The Fish Commission consisted of three commissioners appointed by the governor. These commissioners served staggered four year terms, annually selected one of their members as chairman, and appointed a Master Fish Warden who served at their will, In 1951 the Master Fish Warden became known as the State Fisheries Director.(13)

By 1973 the Fish Commission was operating with a budgetary appropriation of over six million dollars from the state general fund. A slightly larger amount was expected to be spent in federal funds. The Commission also received one half million dollars in transfer revenue from the
Wildlife Commission for the sale of daily salmon licenses and tags. These transferred funds were appropriated for the anadromous fish "programs. In addition, the Fish Commission budget included one half million dollars for the Oregon State Police enforcement of commercial fishing laws.

Game Commission

The Game Commission was established to formulate the general policies and programs of the state respecting the management of wildlife, game fish, and wildlife recreation; set hunting seasons, bag limits, and methods of taking wildlife and game fish; and operate facilities such as
fish hatcheries, game farms, public shooting grounds, and game management 'and public access sites. (14)

The Game Warden's title was changed to State Game Supervisor in 1931 and again in 1949 to Game Director.(15) With each change in title carne an increase in administrative powers. A change to the Commission's name from Game Commission to Wildlife Commission made by the 1973 Legislative Assembly was done to reflect a growing concern for managing all the state's wildlife and not just the state's game species. (16)

In a report presented before the 1975 Senate agriculture and Natural Resources Committee the current wildlife management statutes and wildlife management goals were described:

It is the policy of the State of Oregon that wildlife shall be managed to provideoptimurn recreational and aesthetic benefits for present and future generations of citizens of this state. In furtherance of this policy, the goals of wildlife management are:

-to maintain all species of wildlife at optimum levels and prevent the serious depletion of any indigenous species;
-to develop and manage the lands and waters of this state in a manner that will enhance the production and public enjoyment of wildlife;
-to permit an orderly and equitable utilization of available wildlife;
-to develop and maintain public access to the lands and waters of the state and wildlife resources thereon; and
-to regulate wildlife populations and the public enjoyment of wildlife in a manner that is compatible with the primary uses of the lands and waters of the state and provides optimum public recreational benefits.
The Commission did not receive revenues from the state general fund but operated on funds appropriated by the Legislative Assembly from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses and tags, excise taxes on sporting equipment, and federal funds.

Policing powers of the Game Commission were transferred to the Oregon State Police (OSP) when OSP was organized in 1931.(17) During the 1973-1975 biennium the Commission transferred over 3.5 million dollars to the OSP for enforcement of hunting, fishing, and recreational laws and regulations.
By 1974 the Commission consisted of five commissioners appointed by the governor. Two commissioners were selected from that portion of the state east of the Cascades, two from west of the Cascades, and one from the state at large. The Commission selected one of its members as chairman and appointed a director of the Wildlife Commission who held office at the pleasure of his Commission.

1975-Present

When the Oregon Legislative Assembly merged the separate state fish and wildlife commissions in 1975, it created a department that has had an impact on recreation and jobs in dollar amounts far beyond that imagined by most citizens.(18) A major reorganization of the agency occurring in 1986 saw the duties of the department's single deputy director split into two separate jobs; deputy for operations and deputy for policy and programs. During this reorganization the former Environmental Management Section was elevated to division status and renamed the Habitat and Conservation Planning Division.

In recent decades, the Legislative Assembly has been active in considering bills related to the Department of Fish and Wildlife. For example, in a five-month session, the 1985 Legislative Assembly considered 90 related bills. During that session several important changes were made in wildlife law including some license fee adjustments.
The Legislative Assembly also created a Pacific States Legislative Task Force consisting of legislators from the four coastal states. (19) This legislative group acted as a clearinghouse for opinions from fishing interests.

Several legislative changes in 1985 were designed to have a beneficial effect on department revenue. The department was given authority by House Bill 2374 to seek voluntary contributions from sportsmen for special management programs.(20)
Considerable attention was focused on water policy and law and several changes were made to the water law in 1985. Creating most interest was the passage of House Bill 2990 dealing with the siting of small hydroelectric projects in state waters. Finally, 1985 legislation (House Bill 2111) provided for the exemption of STEP (Salmon Trout Enhancement Program) volunteers from having to obtain water rights for fish egg incubation boxes using less than 30 gallons per minute ofwater.(21)

The 2001 Legislative Assembly approved a bill to move the headquarters of the Fish and Wildlife Department "promptly" from Portland to Salem in an effort to enhance efficiency and accountability.(22)

DMT:GENS3633


  1. General Laws of Oregon, pp. 16-20, section 1 (October 16, 1978),App J-3.
  2. General Laws of Oregon, pp. 37-38, section 1 (February 18, 1987), App 4-5.
  3. General Laws of Oregon, pp. 177-180, section 1 (February 22, 1893), App 7.
  4. Id., sections 4, 8; App 7-8.
  5. General Laws of Oregon, pp. 37-56 sections 22, 26-27 (October 18, 1898), App 9-J 8.
  6. General Laws of Oregon, pp. 328-49, sections 16-17 (February 28, 1901), App 22.
  7. General Laws of Oregon, pp. 206-08, sections 1-3 (February 21, 1911), App 30-3J.
  8. 1915 Oregon Laws, ch. 287, sec. 1 (February 24,1915), App-32.
  9. 1920 Oregon Laws, ch. 1, sec. 1 (January 16, 1920), App 36-37.
  10. Id.
  11. 1921 Oregon Laws, ct. 66, sec. 22, App 71; 1921 Oregon Laws, ch 105, sec. 170, App-65-66.
  12. 1921 Oregon Laws, ch 105, secs. 8-9, 16, App 68-70.
  13. 1951 Oregon Laws, ct. 37.
  14. 1921 Oregon Laws, ch 66, secs. 3, 8-10; App 67-69.
  15. 1931 Oregon Laws ch. 370, sec 4, App 74; 1949 Oregon Laws ch. 242, secs 7-8, App 97.
  16. 1973 Oregon Laws ch. 723, sec 8.
  17. 1931 reg on Laws ch. 139, secs. 22-24.
  18. 1975 Oregon Laws, ch. 253, App 98-108.
  19. 1985 Oregon Laws, ch. 741.
  20. 1985 Oregon Laws, ch. 391.
  21. 1985 Oregon Laws, ch. 310.
  22. 2001 Oregon Laws ch. 989.

 

 

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