Help Get Wildlife Funding Bill Across The Finish Line

A bill that would make major improvements in Oregon's wildlife conservation funding is close to passing but needs a final push.

House Bill 2977 would add a 1.25 percent charge to "transient lodging" (hotels, motels and other short-term rentals) to help pay for a variety of wildlife programs. One percent would go to help carry out the state's wildlife action plan to protect and recover Oregon's imperiled wildlife and their habitats. The additional 0.25 percent would go to a variety of programs, including a "wildlife stewardship" program to promote humane responses to human-wildlife conflict, enforcement of anti-poaching laws, and preservation of wildlife migration corridors. All told, the proposed additional charge, which would increase Oregon's total transient lodging tax from 1.5 percent to 2.75 percent, would raise an estimated $40 million per year for wildlife conservation.

Currently, most of the state's work on wildlife conservation is done by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, which gets a large share of its money from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses. That leads to a focus on animals targeted for hunting and fishing and the interests of people who hunt and fish. A dedicated funding source for wildlife conservation that is not tied to hunting and fishing would free Oregon's wildlife programs to better consider the welfare of all wild animals and the interests of all Oregonians, 80 percent of whom do not hunt or fish.

HB 2977 passed the Oregon House of Representatives and is now in the state Senate. The bill had a public hearing on Tuesday, June 24, in the Senate Committee on Rules. We expect it to pass the Rules Committee and soon be up for a vote by the full Senate. If it passes the Senate, it will need only approval from the Governor to become law. Approval by the Senate needs to happen fast because the Legislature must adjourn by Sunday, June 29.

Here's What You Can Do Now

If you already weighed in on HB 2977 in response to our prior alert, thank you! You helped it get this far.

In any case, here's what you can still do to help get HB 2977 across the finish line:

• If you haven't done so already, contact your state senator right away (by phone or email) and ask your senator to support HB 2977. Be sure to say you are a "constituent," meaning you live in their district and vote on whether they are elected. To see who your senator is and get your senator's contact information, enter your address here.

  
  

• Submit written testimony into the Rules Committee record before 1 p.m. Thursday, June 26 (when the record closes). To do that, go here and enter the requested information. You can enter your comments in the online form or upload a separate PDF document.

It's best to use your own words and personal experience, but for both an email to your senator and comments in the committee record, here is a template you can use:

Please support House Bill 2977. HB 2977 would make a small addition to Oregon's already low transient lodging tax to provide dedicated funding for wildlife conservation in Oregon. Oregon needs more funding for wildlife conservation, especially funding that does not come from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses. Funding conservation through a small additional fee on hotel and motel stays in Oregon would help ensure that wildlife conservation in Oregon helps all wildlife in Oregon for the benefit of all people in Oregon. An additional charge on hotel/motel stays also makes sense as a way to fund wildlife conservation because healthy wildlife populations are a draw for travelers, which will benefit the short-term lodging industry.

Thank you for considering my comments.

In your email to your senator, be sure to say you are a "constituent," meaning you live in their district and vote on whether they are elected.

Thank you for helping us advocate for animals!

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