Oregon department of fish and wildlife (odfw) is responsible for management of the states big game populations

The U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service awarded the State of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) a Wildlife Restoration and Basic Hunter Education and Safety formula grant (CFDA 15.611) totaling $1,969,759 for the period July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. Under this award, ODFW will conduct aerial population surveys and inventory assessments of Oregon's big game populations, including deer, elk, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, and moose across the state's wildlife management units. The aerial survey methodology—utilizing helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft—enables statistically robust population monitoring across Oregon's expansive and geographically dispersed wildlife management areas, with surveys primarily occurring during fall, winter, and spring biological seasons.

The population data collected through these aerial surveys will directly inform ODFW's wildlife management decisions and enable the agency to develop evidence-based recommendations for managing big game populations and hunting opportunities consistent with Oregon's wildlife management policies. This funding supports a core conservation mission under the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act, which authorizes federal grants to state fish and wildlife agencies for wildlife population monitoring, habitat management, and restoration activities that enhance wild mammal populations and public recreational hunting access.

In order to manage big game populations, odfw needs high-quality information to understand how those populations are fluctuating from year to year. This grant covers aerial inventory for deer, ELK, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, and moose in oregon. Most surveys occur in the fall, winter, and spring primarily on biological winter ranges within each wildlife management unit. Given the large size of wildlife management units (WMU) in oregon and dispersed nature of big game, ground-based sampling is impractical. Monitoring of big game populations using helicopters or fixed wing aircraft is more effective and can be completed from within a few hours to multiple days per unit. Odfw strives to estimate population status using robust, statistically designed methods. Aerial surveys allow odfw to effectively determine the status and trends of several big game mammal species and therefore more effectively manage their populations and the hunting opportunity they provide. These data will be used to make management recommendations for game mammals that are consistent with oregons wildlife management policies to maintain and increase big game populations and increase hunting opportunities.