About Us
We are a broad and diverse coalition of conservation, fishing, hunting, and outdoor recreation groups that value Oregon's fish, wildlife, and habitats and are working to protect our state's natural legacy. We're doing this through an initiative to to fund recovery for Oregon's most at-risk species and habitats. From the sage brush sea to the costal dunes, our wild neighbors need support. We're banding together to get them the help they need.
History
In the final hours of the 2025 legislative session, a landmark bill to fund wildlife conservation fell short—not for lack of public support, bipartisan backing, or legislative merit, but because of cynical obstruction from a small group of Republican senators. Democratic leadership in the Senate had the power to stop them, but chose to give in.
HB 2977, which passed the Oregon House with a three-fifths bipartisan majority and cleared the Senate Rules Committee, would have modestly increased Oregon’s statewide transient lodging tax—currently among the lowest in the country—to fund urgently needed wildlife conservation. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has identified nearly 300 species in decline, yet lacks the general fund resources to act.
Senators Daniel Bonham and Cedric Hayden used procedural gimmicks to block a floor vote on the bill, despite growing momentum and a written minority report ready to be set aside. While a few Republican legislators defied their caucus to vote for HB 2977, the obstructionists prevailed—but we've got on our eyes on the 2026 short session.
Quotes of Support from 2025
“This bill was built on compromise, unity, and a shared love for Oregon’s wild places. It brought together hunters, anglers, conservationists, and rural community leaders, people who often don’t agree. And it showed what’s possible when we put politics aside. Unfortunately, a few obstructionist senators decided to stand in the way of that hope.”
- Danielle Moser, Wildlife Program Manager at Oregon Wild
“This bill has support from every corner of the state, it’s a smart, fair solution to address a wildlife funding crisis, and it’s been shaped by everyone from hunters and anglers to birders and business owners."
-Amy Patrick of the Oregon Hunters Association
“This bill would deliver long-awaited and necessary sustainable funding for Oregon’s essential wildlife conservation programs that support our iconic species like the marbled murrelet, Southern Resident orca and fisher. On behalf of Defenders of Wildlife’s over 40,000 members and supporters in Oregon, I call on the Oregon legislature to pass this bipartisan bill before the end of the legislative session.”
-Colin Reynolds, senior advisor to the Northwest program at Defenders of Wildlife
“HB 2977 is the result of ranchers, guides, hoteliers, birders, business owners, and sportsmen all pulling in the same direction. The Senate has an opportunity now to finish what this broad coalition started and deliver a lasting wildlife-funding solution for Oregon. "
-Tristan Henry, Oregon Field Representative for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
“Oregon’s fish and wildlife is big business in Oregon, and this incredible resource is in jeopardy of blinking out. The Oregon Legislature is on the precipice of passing its first meaningful funding to turn the tide of these imperiled species through a bipartisan wildlife funding bill. If this bill doesn’t pass, those imperiled species will continue down the path to extinction and, along with it, our community of outdoor enthusiasts that represents one of the greatest transfers of wealth from urban to rural communities in Oregon. We’ll hold those obstructing the passage of this bill personally responsible for its demise, the first real opportunity to recover Oregon’s troubled fish and wildlife species.”
-Bob Rees of the Northwest Guides and Anglers Association.
2025 Support for HB2977
American Bird Conservancy
American Sportfishing Association
Backcountry Hunters and Anglers
Bird Alliance of Oregon
Blue Mountains Forest Partners
Cascadia Wildlands
Center for Biological Diversity
Central Oregon LandWatch
Chintimini Wildlife Center
Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation
Defenders of Wildlife
Elakha Alliance
Environment Oregon
Great Old Broads for Wilderness
HOWL for Wildlife
Humane Voters Oregon
Humane World for Animals
Kalmiopsis Audubon Society
Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center
Lane County Audubon Society
Mid-Willamette Bird Alliance
Native Fish Society
Northwest Guides and Anglers
Association
Oceana
Oregon Association of Shooting Ranges
Oregon Coast Alliance
Oregon Hunters Association
Oregon League of Conservation Voters
Oregon Natural Desert Association
Oregon Trappers Association
Oregon Wild
Oregon Wild Sheep Foundation
Oregon Wildlife Coalition
Oregon Wildlife Foundation
Oregon Wildlife Rehabilitation Association
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
Rogue Riverkeeper
Salem Audubon Society
SEIU Local 503
Surfrider Foundation
The Conservation Angler
The Habitat Institute
The Wildlife Society, Oregon Chapter
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
Think Wild
Trout Unlimited, Oregon Council
WaterWatch of Oregon
Western Environmental Law Center
Western Invasives Network
Western Watersheds Project
Wildlands Network
Willamette Riverkeeper
Xerces Society
350PDX