Southern Oregon Lawmakers Join Push to Protect Hunting, Fishing and Farming Rights
Sen. Smith and Rep. Boice are among Republican leaders seeking a constitutional amendment that could reach voters in 2028.
AT A GLANCE
The Proposal
Republican lawmakers want to add protections for hunting, fishing, gathering wild foods, farming, and ranching to the Oregon Constitution.
Southern Oregon Connection
Sen. David Brock Smith of Port Orford and Rep. Court Boice of Gold Beach are among the lawmakers supporting the effort.
Next Step
The proposal would need approval from the Oregon Legislature during the 2027 session.
Possible Vote
If lawmakers refer the amendment, Oregon voters could decide it in November 2028.
by Alex Baumhardt, Oregon Capital Chronicle
GRESHAM, Ore. — To counter a failed ballot initiative from animal rights activists that attempted to ban hunting, fishing and animal slaughter in Oregon, the state’s Republican leaders pledged to introduce their own constitutional amendment to guarantee fishing, hunting and farming rights.
State Sen. Christine Drazan, R-Canby and the Republican nominee for governor, is leading the campaign to enshrine the right to “hunt, fish, gather wild foods and raise animals or crops” in the Oregon Constitution.
“Oregon should not be the testing ground for extreme measures that threaten affordability, local food production, consumer choice and thousands of jobs that connect us with putting food on the table with our farms and ranches. Activities like farming, ranching, hunting and fishing are all a part of our heritage, our economy and our everyday lives.”
She announced the proposed amendment Tuesday at White’s Country Meats in Gresham, along with Senate Minority Leader Bruce Starr, R-Dundee, House Minority Leader Lucetta Elmer, R-McMinnville, Sen. David Brock Smith, R-Port Orford, and Rep. Court Boice, R-Gold Beach.
Another lawmaker will need to introduce the 1.5-page proposal because Drazan vacates her Senate seat next January whether she wins the governor’s race or not. If the Legislature approves the measure during the 2027 session that begins in January, it would go to Oregonians for a vote in November 2028.
“Oregon should not be the testing ground for extreme measures that threaten affordability, local food production, consumer choice and thousands of jobs that connect us with putting food on the table with our farms and ranches,” Drazan said. “Activities like farming, ranching, hunting and fishing are all a part of our heritage, our economy and our everyday lives.”
Proposed Protections / Cover Photo: State Sen. Christine Drazan, a Canby Republican, announces a proposed constitutional amendment protecting hunting, fishing, gathering, farming, and ranching rights at White’s Country Meats in Gresham on August 4, 2026. Drazan said those activities are part of Oregon’s “heritage, economy, and everyday lives.” Alex Baumhardt / Oregon Capital Chronicle.
Backers of Initiative Petition 28 did not immediately respond to emails and a call requesting comment on Tuesday. In late July, the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office announced the petitioners had less than 75% of the valid signatures needed from Oregon voters to make it onto the November ballot.
It was the third election cycle that animal rights advocates have introduced a version of the initiative, and the closest they’ve come to making the ballot. It faced widespread opposition from Democratic and Republican political leaders, the farming, ranching and fishing industries and Oregon’s federally recognized tribes, whose treaty-protected rights to hunt and fish in their traditional land would not have been exempted from the ban.
Gresham Event: White’s Country Meats hosted Republican lawmakers and industry representatives as they announced the proposed constitutional protections. Ian Houseman / Oregon Capital Chronicle.
Drazan and Starr repeatedly talked about hunting and fishing protections as a bipartisan issue and said they expect the amendment to pass handily through the Legislature. Drazan said she invited Democratic state lawmakers from the Clackamas County area to the event but they did not respond.
“I think that that is not a big deal because the reality is all of them opposed IP 28. Nobody supported it, and the chief petitioner said: ‘We’re going to do this again and again and again,’ and so I think that we will continue to establish alignment,” she said.
Her Republican colleagues, as well as the president of the Oregon Farm Bureau, Angi Bailey, and several farming and fishing industry representatives also used the event as an opportunity to stump for Drazan.
“With Governor Drazan’s leadership and both parties working together, we can send this constitutional amendment to the voter,” Starr said.
Originally published by the Oregon Capital Chronicle and republished under a Creative Commons license.
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