Site search
sponsored by
News
Sports
ENLARGE
Ty Stubblefield practices on the archery range. The avid bow hunter describes himself as being passionate about the outdoors and its wildlife.
After a few years of packing his rifle through the woods and not filling his elk hunting tag, Ty Stubblefield was ready for a change.
It didn't take much encouragement for Stubblefield to give archery a try when a bow hunting co-worker suggested a change of weapons. So in the fall of 1997, with bow and arrows in hand, Stubblefield hunted for elk in the Cow Creek drainage and Tiller areas.
“We called in a couple bulls,” recalled Stubblefield, who was joined on his first bow hunts by friend Doug Saily. “We got them within bow range. I wasn't successful in putting one on the ground, but I was successful enough to get me hooked.”
Stubblefield, who grew up in south Douglas County and is a 1994 South Umpqua High School graduate, hasn't put his bow down since. The 33-year-old describes himself as being passionate about the outdoor activity.
In the fall of 1995, he didn't waste any time getting into the woods on opening day. After finishing his swing shift at a local mill at 3 a.m., he hurried home and showered. Saily then picked him up and they drove up the North Umpqua highway to the Trapp Mountain area, arriving in time for first light.
After a full day of hunting and just before dark, they crossed paths with a five-point bull elk.
“He literally walked to within bow range of me,” Stubblefield said of the bull. “I made a 40-yard shot, a good shot.
“I stood in disbelief at what had happened,” he recalled of his reaction to hitting the elk.
After waiting several minutes and then using flashlights, the hunters found the bull across a clearcut unit and 20 yards into the timber.
“It was an extremely emotional moment,” Stubblefield said of tagging his first elk.
The two friends worked to field dress the animal, quarter up the meat and pack it three-fourths of a mile to their vehicle. They finally started home at 2 a.m.
That's the first of several successful hunts Stubblefield has had over the past 10 years, whether he's pursuing elk, blacktail deer, mule deer or bear. He describes Douglas County as a dynamic area for wildlife and hunters because there are animals within an easy hour drive or less of anywhere in the county.
Because of the recreation the natural resources were providing him, Stubblefield decided to give back, becoming a member of the Oregon Bowhunters Association. He was soon the vice president of the association, holding that position for five years before stepping up to be the OBA president from 2006 to ‘08. Those were volunteer positions.
Stubblefield's full-time profession was working in the timber industry. After working in the mill, he owned and operated his own logging truck and then started his own small logging business, Elkhorn Logging of Roseburg.
He operated that business for two years until seeing an advertisement in the Oregon Hunters Association magazine that described the responsibilities of the organization's field administrator, a paid position. At about the same time, Stubblefield was enrolled in a grant writing class at Umpqua Community College, figuring that class would help him in the writing he needed to do as the OBA president.
It turned out grant writing was one of the requirements needed for the OHA job. He had no grant writing experience, but he was learning.
He decided to apply and ended up being one of the five applicants from about 30 that were invited to interview in front of a panel of five at the OHA's head office in Medford.
“I was honest, I was myself, I didn't pull any punches,” Stubblefield said of his interview.
“It turned out they wanted a redneck hunter,” he added with a laugh.
He also said he figured it helped that he had experience as an OBA volunteer at running meetings and organizing fundraising banquets.
He took over as OHA's field administrator in April, 2008, succeeding Jim Morrell of Sisters. His job is to help the state's 27 OHA chapters with their annual banquets, events that raise money that in turn is spent on wildlife projects and protection in this state. He works with those chapters on their Department of Justice paperwork, raffle licenses, banquet purchases and wildlife habitat project proposals in partnership with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon State Police, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service and other agencies.
“The one thing that I came to realize at a young age is that we do a lot of taking from the great outdoors,” Stubblefield wrote for an article in a recent Oregon Hunter magazine. “We go into the mountains and travel the gravel roads, hike the trails and harvest animals, all of which are things that need to be maintained. When I came to the realization that these things I loved so much could possibly be taken away, I decided I wanted to get involved and give something back.”
“We saw a lot of energy in Ty,” said Duane Dungannon, a member of the interviewing panel and editor of the OHA magazine. “One of the things we kept hearing over and over again from people who know him is that he takes the bull by the horns and leads by example. He's a can-do guy and it looks like he's been well received by the chapters.”
In just the past year, Stubblefield has helped establish new OHA chapters in Pendleton and in Ontario. He helped the Pendleton chapter stage its first banquet this past spring.
Stubblefield said OHA's statewide membership is almost 11,000. The Umpqua chapter has about 600 members.
In 2008, OHA contributed $250,000 to on-the-ground projects around the state. Those projects included fence removal, plantings for winter range for wildlife, plantings for stream restoration, wildlife studies by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, etc.
“All of our projects benefit not only hunters, but also other user groups such as hikers, wildlife viewers, bird watchers,” Stubblefield said. “This is a dream job for me because I get to work for the very thing that I'm most passionate about besides my family. I get to work with an organization that fights for the very right to hunt, and is the biggest group in the state that's an advocate for hunters' rights and wildlife habitat.”
• You can reach Features editor Craig Reed at 957-4210 or by e-mail at creed@nrtoday.com.
It didn't take much encouragement for Stubblefield to give archery a try when a bow hunting co-worker suggested a change of weapons. So in the fall of 1997, with bow and arrows in hand, Stubblefield hunted for elk in the Cow Creek drainage and Tiller areas.
“We called in a couple bulls,” recalled Stubblefield, who was joined on his first bow hunts by friend Doug Saily. “We got them within bow range. I wasn't successful in putting one on the ground, but I was successful enough to get me hooked.”
Stubblefield, who grew up in south Douglas County and is a 1994 South Umpqua High School graduate, hasn't put his bow down since. The 33-year-old describes himself as being passionate about the outdoor activity.
In the fall of 1995, he didn't waste any time getting into the woods on opening day. After finishing his swing shift at a local mill at 3 a.m., he hurried home and showered. Saily then picked him up and they drove up the North Umpqua highway to the Trapp Mountain area, arriving in time for first light.
After a full day of hunting and just before dark, they crossed paths with a five-point bull elk.
“He literally walked to within bow range of me,” Stubblefield said of the bull. “I made a 40-yard shot, a good shot.
“I stood in disbelief at what had happened,” he recalled of his reaction to hitting the elk.
After waiting several minutes and then using flashlights, the hunters found the bull across a clearcut unit and 20 yards into the timber.
“It was an extremely emotional moment,” Stubblefield said of tagging his first elk.
The two friends worked to field dress the animal, quarter up the meat and pack it three-fourths of a mile to their vehicle. They finally started home at 2 a.m.
That's the first of several successful hunts Stubblefield has had over the past 10 years, whether he's pursuing elk, blacktail deer, mule deer or bear. He describes Douglas County as a dynamic area for wildlife and hunters because there are animals within an easy hour drive or less of anywhere in the county.
Because of the recreation the natural resources were providing him, Stubblefield decided to give back, becoming a member of the Oregon Bowhunters Association. He was soon the vice president of the association, holding that position for five years before stepping up to be the OBA president from 2006 to ‘08. Those were volunteer positions.
Stubblefield's full-time profession was working in the timber industry. After working in the mill, he owned and operated his own logging truck and then started his own small logging business, Elkhorn Logging of Roseburg.
He operated that business for two years until seeing an advertisement in the Oregon Hunters Association magazine that described the responsibilities of the organization's field administrator, a paid position. At about the same time, Stubblefield was enrolled in a grant writing class at Umpqua Community College, figuring that class would help him in the writing he needed to do as the OBA president.
It turned out grant writing was one of the requirements needed for the OHA job. He had no grant writing experience, but he was learning.
He decided to apply and ended up being one of the five applicants from about 30 that were invited to interview in front of a panel of five at the OHA's head office in Medford.
“I was honest, I was myself, I didn't pull any punches,” Stubblefield said of his interview.
“It turned out they wanted a redneck hunter,” he added with a laugh.
He also said he figured it helped that he had experience as an OBA volunteer at running meetings and organizing fundraising banquets.
He took over as OHA's field administrator in April, 2008, succeeding Jim Morrell of Sisters. His job is to help the state's 27 OHA chapters with their annual banquets, events that raise money that in turn is spent on wildlife projects and protection in this state. He works with those chapters on their Department of Justice paperwork, raffle licenses, banquet purchases and wildlife habitat project proposals in partnership with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon State Police, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service and other agencies.
“The one thing that I came to realize at a young age is that we do a lot of taking from the great outdoors,” Stubblefield wrote for an article in a recent Oregon Hunter magazine. “We go into the mountains and travel the gravel roads, hike the trails and harvest animals, all of which are things that need to be maintained. When I came to the realization that these things I loved so much could possibly be taken away, I decided I wanted to get involved and give something back.”
“We saw a lot of energy in Ty,” said Duane Dungannon, a member of the interviewing panel and editor of the OHA magazine. “One of the things we kept hearing over and over again from people who know him is that he takes the bull by the horns and leads by example. He's a can-do guy and it looks like he's been well received by the chapters.”
In just the past year, Stubblefield has helped establish new OHA chapters in Pendleton and in Ontario. He helped the Pendleton chapter stage its first banquet this past spring.
Stubblefield said OHA's statewide membership is almost 11,000. The Umpqua chapter has about 600 members.
In 2008, OHA contributed $250,000 to on-the-ground projects around the state. Those projects included fence removal, plantings for winter range for wildlife, plantings for stream restoration, wildlife studies by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, etc.
“All of our projects benefit not only hunters, but also other user groups such as hikers, wildlife viewers, bird watchers,” Stubblefield said. “This is a dream job for me because I get to work for the very thing that I'm most passionate about besides my family. I get to work with an organization that fights for the very right to hunt, and is the biggest group in the state that's an advocate for hunters' rights and wildlife habitat.”
• You can reach Features editor Craig Reed at 957-4210 or by e-mail at creed@nrtoday.com.
