Salem, Ore. • Three months in, Oregonians have embraced a new law that lets them claim for food deer and elk killed along the state’s highways.
More than 200 permits were issued by March 31, and primarily where expected: rural areas with an abundant supply of both wildlife and motorists. Urban areas and far-flung, sparsely populated counties, not so much.
The law allows people to take deer and elk killed by vehicles, whether their own or someone else's. Other animal species are not included.
Highways near small and medium-size towns are roadkill hotspots. Residents near La Grande in eastern Oregon and Klamath Falls in southern Oregon applied for the most roadkill permits, state data show.