OAR 635-008-0053: Procedures for Issuance and Enforcement of Parking Permits for Department Wildlife Areas

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife hereby adopts the following procedures relating to issuance and enforcement of parking permits for certain vehicles on Department Wildlife Areas where parking permits are required: (1) Parking may be limited to designated parking areas. A parking permit is required at all times for parking at all designated wildlife areas where a Wildlife Area Parking Permit is required. Refer to specific wildlife area regulations listed in these rules. (2) Fee parking areas are designated by ODFW approved signs. (3) One of the following permits is required: an annual permit or a daily permit. (4) The fee for parking permits is $8.00 (plus $2.00 agent fee) for permits issued on a daily basis or $28.00 (plus $2.00 agent fee) for permits issued on an annual basis beginning each January 1. Any annual hunting license (including Combination and Sports Pac) will include a free annual parking permit. (5) A Sauvie Island Beaches Parking Permit is required to park at Walton, Collins, and North Unit beaches on weekends and state-recognized holidays from June 15th through Labor Day. This permit is different from the Wildlife Area Parking Permit, which is not valid at these beaches during this period. Wildlife Area Parking Permits are valid at Walton, Collins, and North Unit beaches only from the day after Labor Day through June 14th and on weekdays from June 15th through Labor Day, except when a weekday falls on a state-recognized holiday, in which case the Wildlife Area Parking Permit is not valid. The fee for a Sauvie Island Beaches parking permit is $8.00 (plus a $2.00 agent fee) for daily permits, or $28.00 (plus a $2.00 agent fee) for seasonal permits. Seasonal permits are valid on weekends and state-recognized holidays from June 15 through Labor Day. The number of Sauvie Island Beaches Permits will be limited to balance access and safety considerations. The Director or designee will determine the number of seasonal and daily Sauvie Island Beaches Parking Permits available. (6) Permits are issued by agents, Department offices that sell licenses and the Department’s Electronic Licensing System to a party upon payment and may be transferred from vehicle to vehicle. (7) The permits must be visible from outside the vehicle and be displayed in the front or rear window of the vehicle. A party may write their ODFW ID number, as shown on their parking permit, and display it as valid proof of permit. The permit and/or ODFW ID number must be clearly displayed and legible. A party may only display their ODFW ID number as proof of permit if the person assigned that ODFW ID number has acquired a valid parking permit and was transported to or from the wildlife area in that vehicle on the day the ODFW ID is displayed. Each vehicle must display a unique parking permit. (8) No parking permits will be required for those vehicles which are owned or operated by government agencies. Notwithstanding paragraph (5), the Department reserves the right to issue free administrative parking permits for private vehicles used by volunteers while participating in official Department-related activities or to participants involved in a Department sponsored hunter recruitment event. Parking permits will not be required for individuals arriving in private vehicles to address fire, health or safety emergencies. (9)(a) A person who parks a motor-propelled vehicle in violation of restrictions established and posted under OAR 635-008-0051 through 635-008-0053 commits an offense punishable as provided in ORS 496.992; (b) The procedure for a peace officer (or other person authorized to enforce the wildlife laws) to follow upon finding a non-government vehicle parked in a designated fee parking area without a permit shall consist of the issuance of a citation which shall be either delivered to the defendant or placed in a conspicuous place upon the vehicle in the violation. (c) A person who is the registered owner of an unattended motor-propelled vehicle parked in violation of the restrictions established and posted under OAR 635-008-0051 through 635-008-0053 shall be presumed to have violated OAR 635-008-0053(8)(a). It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution of the registered owner of a vehicle under subsection (8)(a) of this section that the use was not authorized by the owner, either expressly or by implication.