Department of Wildlife Conservation

Name: eRegulations
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Leigh Gaddis, Ada
Chairman

James V. Barwick, Edmond
Vice Chairman

Rick Holder, Creta
Secretary

Tim Diehl, McAlester

D. Chad Dillingham, Enid

Jess Kane, Bartlesville

John P. Zelbst, Meers

Mark Mabrey, Okmulgee

Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation

J.D. Strong
Director

Amanda Storck
CFO & Chief of Administration

Wade Free
Assistant Director of Operations

Bill Dinkines
Chief, Wildlife Division

Ken Cunningham
Chief, Fisheries Division

Nels Rodefeld
Chief, Communication & Education Division

Nathan Erdman
Chief, Law Enforcement Division

Smokey Solis
Editor

Jason Schooley
Sr. Biologist & Co-Editor

Ron Smith
Southwest Region Supervisor & Co-Editor

Contributing Staff

Mike Chrisman and Chad Strang

Cover image courtesy:
Brian Vanzant

Do You Care About Wildlife?

Help Us Protect Them...

Operation Game Thief (OGT) is a program of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation designed specifically to stop illegal killing of the fish and game which belong to you, whether you’re an angler, sportsman or outdoor enthusiast. It’s a big problem with no simple solution. Help from public sportsmen and sportswomen makes all the difference.

Here’s why:

One day before the opening of a recent deer season, two poachers killed four whitetail bucks.
Late one summer night, three men steered their boat across a state reservoir, stopped at their illegal net site and hauled in a load of striped bass and other open-water fish they could sell for $1 a pound on the commercial market.

In each of these examples, you were the loser. You lost hunting and fishing opportunities or the chance to view wildlife in their natural surroundings. At the same time, law-abiding sportsmen received a bad reputation from those who fail to distinguish between legal and illegal hunting. OGT is something everyone can do to help wildlife and help us apprehend the poachers.

The OGT toll-free phone number is (800) 522-8039. Callers can remain anonymous.

Your Dollars Work For Conservation

If you’ve ever bought a hunting or fishing license, motorboat fuel, fishing tackle, ammo or bows and arrows, you’re a part of the most successful effort to conserve fish and wildlife in America: The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program.

Anglers, hunters and outdoors enthusiasts pay a special excise tax whenever they buy items related to the outdoors, and that tax revenue is distributed back to the individual states. So each time an Oklahoman buys a license or outdoors-related merchandise, he or she is supporting important conservation efforts such as installing boat ramps or increasing hunting access.

Oklahoma is a member of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact. Most states are now Compact members. Violations in any member state can result in the loss of hunting or fishing privileges in all the member states.