I am on the falconry regulation committee for the Oklahoma Falconer's Association and this past week we arranged a meeting with our wildlife department to discuss the new federal falconry regs and how they would be implemented in Oklahoma.  We have a great department with great people working for them and it looks like we are on track to be one of the first states in the U.S. to have the new regulations on January 1, 2010.  There is a awful lot that has to happen for it all to go through.  I will post some of the requirements here as I remember them so they may not be accurate to the tee, but here goes.

The new regulations have to be presented and approved by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife and the Wildlife Commission.  They also have to go through public hearings in multiple different cities in the state.  The Governor has to sign off on the new regs.  It looks like we will have to have a couple of state statutes changed.  So that requires a bill being written by a state Senator and a House Representative and then that bill has to be approved by the state Senate and House.  Oklahoma's new regulation proposal has to be looked over by the USFWS to make sure that it is as restrictive or more restrictive than the Federal Falconry Regulations. The OK Wildlife Department also has to update their website to allow for Internet reporting of 3186-a, raptors trapped, bought, or transferred.  And I am sure that there are several more things that I am forgetting since I do not have my notes in front of me.  

www.okfalconry.com

This is quite the process, but to have the new regulations in place as soon as possible will be a great thing for all partys involved.  We are lucky in this state to have a willing and able Wildlife Department and a very involved and enthusiastic Falconry Club to help move us toward the new age of falconry in Oklahoma and to be a leader in this process for the rest of the country.