Spencer Beebe with passage peregrine circa 1961
Falconry has been practiced in our state for more than 85 years. While OFA formed in 1977, falconers had been hunting cooperatively with raptors far early. We have records of falconers in Oregon since the 1920s.
Through the 1950s and 1960s, Oregon falconers were loosely connected through small groups and circles, but there was no organization. In these early days of falconry, there were falconers out there trapping passage hawks and raising eyases without the help of many books or the Internet (click here for a list of names of early falconers). Some of those falconers are still here in Oregon today, hunting hawks and training falcons (Richard Hoyer, Dan Fenske, Larry & Karen Cottrell, and Ron Kearney, among others).
In 1973, falconers in our state began gathering to discuss how to make sure our sport stayed legal and alive after the USFWS and NAFA announcements. This group named themselves the Oregon Committee for Legal Falconry and Raptor Management. It wasn’t until late 1977 that OFA formed as the official club of Oregon falconers (History of OFA). Five years later, Oregon’s first Falconry Regulations (Administrative Rules) were passed.
Oregon’s Rich History with Falconry
- Byron Gardner was the president of OFA in 1983-1984. He also designed the NAFA Logo (read more).
- Richard Hoyer (Corvallis, Oregon) began training wild eyas gyr and peregrine falcons back in 1959 and 1960 (read more)
- Colonel R. Luff Meredith is considered the “Father of American Falconry” and helped start the first national falconry organization. He lived in Oregon in the 1950s (read more)
- Larry Schramm (Portland, Oregon) was an Oregon falconer pioneer, starting in the 1920s. He was also the first ever to bred Peregrine Falcons in captivity in North America (read more)
Check back, as this page is still being constructed with the names and photos of falconers in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. To learn more about OFA, read about the History of OFA