Page 14 - 2021 JAN/FEB Outdoor Oklahoma Magazine

Smokey SoliS/oDWC

Attending a ribbon-cutting for the new Sandhills Wildlife Management Agency are state Sens. Casey Murdock of Felt and Roland Pederson of
Burlington, along with state Rep. Carl Newton of Cherokee.
Another prevalent topic of discussion is the concept of events in their districts such as ribbon cutting ceremonies.
public trust resources, particularly when they exist on pri- Additionally, we coordinate several events specifically for
vate lands. The Wildlife Department in Oklahoma is tasked legislators that give us an opportunity to provide them
with managing fisheries and wildlife resources for the ben- with in-depth information about our agency’s mission,
efit of all Oklahomans. With most of Oklahoma in private wildlife conservation funding, and our constituents.
hands, there are often discussions about how landowners
may use wildlife resources on their properties. I discuss
with legislators how we aim to achieve management of pub- What are some ways that you directly help
lic resources that occur on private property, which includes the sportsmen and women of Oklahoma?
our efforts to assist landowners in managing healthy wild-
life populations and habitat, as well as prevent or reduce I’ve focused a lot of my efforts on communications with
conflict with wildlife on their properties. Ultimately, our stakeholders and staff. If there’s one thing I’ve learned,
agency – our state – must rely on the stewardship of private it’s that the legislative processes can be overwhelming
landowners for wildlife to thrive so that all Oklahomans can and confusing, and a lot can happen during the four-
continue to enjoy these resources for generations to come. month legislative session. Prior to the start of the session,
I meet with partner organizations to discuss upcoming
legislative matters, go over bills that have been filed, and
What are some ways that legislators can
learn more about the Wildlife Department?

In a given year, legislators review, modify and/or vote on PatriCk matloCk/oDWC
hundreds of bills across a multitude of topics ranging from
state government, to insurance, to wildlife. Most legisla-
tors are not experts on topics related to wildlife, and they
are not expected to be. As a legislative liaison, one of my
primary duties is to provide legislators with information
about wildlife-related bills. Although this is often achieved
with brief sit-down conversations at the State Capitol, we
prefer to be a little more proactive in teaching legislators
about the Wildlife Department by inviting them into the
field with our staff to see the work we do on the ground.
We are fortunate that our work often involves being in the
outdoors and/or participating in hands-on wildlife experi-
ences. We invite legislators to join us on research trips, like
bear den research visits and fisheries sampling projects; State Rep. Scott Fetgatter of Okmulgee, center, joins Game Wardens
Jeremy Bersche, J.D. Stauffer, David Robertson and Jordan Toyne on a
ride along with game wardens; and join us at significant poaching investigation.
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