UPDATE: YOU did it!!!! Thanks to your support, the Senate just adjourned, effectively killing ALL THE WILDLIFE BILLS on Thursday's docket, including SB703.
Thursday was the final day for bills to be heard in the Senate for passage to the House. There are several bills that made it earlier in the week to the House and may be heard there or approved and sent back to the Senate for a final, but that's a battle for another day.
The bottom line for today is that most of the 35+ wildlife bills, including SB 703 - which would have had dire implications for the future of public lands in Oklahoma - did not make it this year. Thank you to all the committed Quail Forever members who made their voices heard. Today was a big win for quail, quail hunters, and public lands in Oklahoma.
THANK YOU to ALL of you who contacted your representatives!!!!! Your voice DID make a difference!!!!
Oklahoman Quail Forever Supporters:
Legislation is currently making its way through the Oklahoma Senate that would freeze the ability of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) to buy or lease additional public lands in the state for the purposes of hunting and fishing.
We need your voice TODAY in opposition of Senate Bill 703 to protect the outdoor heritage of all Oklahomans! The Senate is set to debate the bill on the floor tomorrow morning, March 14th.
SB 703 Action Requested:
Call or email members of the Oklahoma Senate (http://www.oksenate.gov/senators/) as soon as possible and let them know you oppose SB 703 ahead of tomorrow’s Senate debate.
Quail Forever Collective Messaging for SB 703:
Dear Senator,
Please oppose Senate Bill 703 in its current form. The act of freezing public lands funds for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation is a major step in the wrong direction for private landowners and public lands users throughout the state.
Senate Bill 703 violates individual property rights by preventing landowners from selling, leasing or gifting their lands to ODWC if they so choose. Additionally, ODWC currently owns less than 1% of land in the state; property that is coveted by hunters and fisherman and supports a massive outdoor economy throughout Oklahoma.
More public land throughout the state equates to greater income brought to small towns by public lands users (resident and non-resident), an opportunity for the Department to work with young farmers for purposes of cropping, grazing or haying, and further taxes paid by ODWC in support of rural economies.
Let’s work together and support more funding for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation to carry out its mission - not handcuff private landowners and public lands users with Senate Bill 703.
Senator Contact Info
Senator Name
District
Email
Phone
Adam Pugh
OK041
pugh@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5622
Allison Ikley-Freeman
OK037
Ikley-Freeman@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5600
Bill Coleman
OK010
coleman@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5581
Brenda Stanley
OK042
stanley@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5584
Brent Howard
OK038
howard@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5612
Carri Hicks
OK040
hicks@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5543
Casey Murdock
OK027
murdock@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5626
Charles Hall
OK020
hall@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5628
Chris Kidd
OK031
kidd@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5563
Darcy A. Jech
OK026
jech@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5545
Darrell Weaver
OK024
weaver@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5569
Dave Rader
OK039
rader@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5620
David Bullard
OK006
bullard@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5586
Dewayne Pemberton
OK009
permberton@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5533
Frank Simpson
OK014
simpson@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5607
Gary Stanislawski
OK035
stanislawski@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5624
George E. Young
OK048
young@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5531
Greg McCortney
OK013
mccortney@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5541
Greg Treat
OK047
treat@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5632
J.J. Dossett
OK034
dossett@oksenate.gov
405) 521-5566
James M. Leewright
OK012
leewright@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5528
Jason N. Smalley
OK028
smalley@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5547
Joe Newhouse
OK025
newhouse@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5675
John Haste
OK036
haste@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5602
John M. Montgomery
OK032
montgomery@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5567
Joseph W. Silk
OK005
silk@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5614
Julia Kirt
OK030
kirt@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5636
Julie Daniels
OK029
daniels@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5634
Kay Floyd
OK046
floyd@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5610
Kevin L. Matthews
OK011
matthews@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5598
Larry Boggs
OK007
boggs@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5604
Lonnie Paxton
OK023
paxton@oksenate.gov
405) 521-5537
Mark D. Allen
OK004
allen@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5576
Marty L. Quinn
OK002
quinn@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5555
Mary B. Boren
OK016
boren@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5553
Micheal Bergstrom
OK001
bergstrom@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5561
Nathan Dahm
OK033
dahm@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5551
Paul Rosino
OK045
rosino@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5618
Paul Scott
OK043
paul.scott@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5522
Rob Standridge
OK015
standridge@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5535
Roger Thompson
OK008
thompson@oksenate.gov
405) 521-5588
Roland Pederson
OK019
pederson@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5630
Ron Sharp
OK017
sharp@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5539
Stephanie Bice
OK022
bice@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5592
Tom J. Dugger
OK021
dugger@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5572
Wayne Shaw
OK003
shaw@oksenate.gov
(405) 521-5574