Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 496 § 496.118 — Duties

Duties and powers of director. (1) Subject to policy direction by the State Fish and Wildlife Commission, the State Fish and Wildlife Director shall: (a) Be the administrative head of the State Department of Fish and Wildlife; (b) Have power, within applicable budgetary limitations, and in accordance with ORS chapter 240, to hire, assign, reassign and coordinate personnel of the department; (c) Administer and enforce the wildlife laws of the state; (d) Be authorized to participate in any proceeding before any public officer, commission or body of the United States or any state for the purpose of representing the citizens of Oregon concerning the wildlife resources of this state; (e) Establish such sections and divisions as are necessary to properly carry out the work of the commission; (f) Be responsible for the collection, application and dissemination of information pertinent to the management of the wildlife resources, and to the regulation of the uses of such resources; and (g) Coordinate any activities of the department related to a watershed enhancement project approved by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board under ORS 541.932 with activities of other cooperating state and federal agencies participating in the project. (2) In addition to duties otherwise required by law, the director shall prescribe internal policies and procedures for the government of the department, the conduct of its employees, the assignment and performance of its business and the custody, use and preservation of its records, papers and property in a manner consistent with applicable law. (3) In addition to any other duties assigned to the director, the director shall report quarterly on the activities of the department to the appropriate legislative committee. (4) The director may delegate to any employee of the department the exercise or discharge in the director’s name of any power, duty or function of whatever character, vested in or imposed by law upon the director. The official act of a person so acting in the director’s name and by the director’s authority shall be considered to be an official act of the director. (5) The director may restrict or otherwise limit the participation of an employee of the department in any program administered by the department to ensure that the programs of the department are administered in a fair and equitable manner and that no employee of the department gains an advantage over the public. (6) Notwithstanding the provisions of ORS 496.112 (3), in times of emergency or with respect to regulating wildlife taking, the director may exercise the full powers of the commission until such times as the emergency ends or the commission meets in formal session. [1975 c.253 §10; 1987 c.734 §12; 1993 c.659 §5; 1999 c.697 §3; 2007 c.354 §16]