SE Idaho public meetings for big game proposals

BrianID · Mar 9, 2004

The Idaho State Journal had an article about big game proposals for SE Idaho last Friday. Here's a list of the public meetings that will take place during the next week.

-March 11: Malad, Senior Citizen Center
-March 12: Pocatello, ISU Student Union, Salmon River Room
-March 17: Soda Springs, Senior Citizen Center
-March 18: Preston, Bear River Bowmen range
All of the meetings start at 7 PM.

The biggest change would be turning units 70 & 73 into controlled hunts. Personally I think this is a bad idea because it will displace over 3000 hunters (about 3500 people hunt units 70 & 73 minus 400 hunters that will get tags for the proposed controlled hunt). This will make the surrounding general season units more of a war zone than they already are. All of you guys from Utah that hunt the SE Idaho tag units (75, 76, 77 & 78) should consider going to one of these meetings because you will have to compete with one or two thousand extra resident hunters in the SE tag units if this proposal passes. I know that the controlled hunts would be good for units 70 & 73 but it would be a bad thing for surrounding units that will have to take the extra hunting pressure.

Here is a link to some additional proposed changes.
http://www2.state.id.us/fishgame/news/NewsReleases/view.cfm?NewsID=1952

What are some of your thoughts?

300Winnie · Mar 10, 2004

I said my peace about the meeting in Idaho Falls concerning Region 6 and the proposal to close unit 66 to general deer hunting. I too, think it is a bad idea, but if the hunters of region 5 don't create a stir in the department/commissioners it is a done deal.

Get hold of everyone you can and inform them of what is going on down your way and then bombard the dept/commissioners with comments opposing it.

We tried our best to get it done up here and we will see what comes of it.

Good luck.

By the way, I and a few others that I know of have either mailed or e-mailed our comments to your commissioner as well.

Three100mag · Mar 10, 2004

Yes the makeing of 70 and 73 a controlled hunt will make it crowded in the surrounding units. But will the hunting in 70 &73 be better in a gew years? Of course. Everybody that hunts southeast idaho had better be ready for all units to be a controlled hunt, its the only way doe to buck ratio, consistant mature buck harvest, and hunter distrabution will ever be accomplished. Dont get me wrong i want to hunt bucks every year but the general hunts now are just a meat hunt...period. we need to take a good hard look at our selves and ask if it would be better to draw a tag once evry few years and have a quality hunt or the same ole race to the top of the mountain with evrybody else. just my 2 cents

BrianID · Mar 11, 2004

Three100mag & 300winnie,

In a few years units 70 & 73 will be two of the top units in the state if only 400 October tags (no rut hunting) are issued each year.
The real question is it worth turning units 70 & 73 into controlled hunts?
Personally I think it isn't worth it because it would start a viscous cycle. The surround units in SE Idaho have a hard time maintaining reasonable buck to doe ratios and will likely become controlled hunts as a result. Once all of the SE Idaho units are controlled hunts then the rest of the state will likely have to go to controlled hunts. Controlled hunts state wide would be a very good thing for the deer and hunters IF the F&G manages it correctly. I think it would be very difficult for the F&G to switch over to state wide controlled deer hunts because the F&G will have to cut there budget and/or license prices will increase drastically.

BrianID · Mar 11, 2004

Anyone going to any of the meetings in SE Idaho over the next week?
I will be at the meeting tomarrow night.

300Winnie · Mar 12, 2004

Brian,

Keep us posted on what happens. We bombarded the dept. over here pretty good. Don't know whether it does any good or not.

Three100mag.

Nice call sign.

I don't agree that going to controlled hunts is a good thing overall. If you want to see States that have managed properly without controlling their residents you have no further to go than Montana and Wyoming. Ever wonder why on one side of Star Valley, Idaho can't sell out the nonresident tags in a drawing, but on the other side in Wyoming you have about a 33% chance of drawing. Go figure. Only nonresidents are controlled in that region of Wyoming.

Go to controlled hunts only and see what hunter recruitment is at that time. In a world that is ever changing and the view of hunting becoming more and more scrutinized, do we really want to give up our numbers so that someone can get a set of horns. By the way, what is wrong with a "meat" hunt? Sure, everyone would like to get a big buck, but I think the majority of hunters would rather hunt every year as opposed to have the "chance" at a larger buck every 3,4,5 or 10 years. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't want to have to teach my kids to hunt by having the opportunity to hunt with them once or twice during the years I have them in my home. My experience says people that don't hunt with their kids don't have kids that hunt.

I think before we allow controlled hunts to be the norm in our State we need to give it a good hard look. Once controlled, go ahead and try and get it back.

My .02, or possibly more.

300Winnie · Mar 15, 2004

Well what happened?

BrianID · Mar 16, 2004

I went to the Friday meeting in Pocatello and was surprise that only 20-25 guys that showed up. If you don't go to the meetings or at least let the F&G know what you think about their proposals don't complain about the changes that will be made in a few weeks. I think the F&G did a great job with the meeting and was very open to comments.

The F&G came up with only two new things that I hadn't already heard about. First was decreasing the 75* Muzz hunt from 400 tags to 200 tags and making it a "traditional muzz hunt" (See page 12 of 2003 regs). Second was creating a new youth controlled hunt that would have 1000 tags and allow the youth to shoot a buck or a doe during the general buck season in SE Idaho.

Most of the meeting was spent talking about turning units 70 and 73 into a controlled hunt that would have 400 tags for October and 50 tags for November. Almost all of the hunters at the meeting seemed to be against turning these units into a controlled hunt but the F&G seemed to be in favor of turning these units into a controlled hunt. The F&G told us that our comments would make a difference in what are made but with their past history in considering public comments I don't know what to believe.

Hunters at the meeting and the F&G were in favor of including the ATV restrictions to all big game hunting in units 75, 77 & 78 so this will likely happen.

General any weapon deer season options that the F&G presented were 10/5-10/19(same as last year), 10/9-10/24 or 10/9-10/31. I think that the 10/9-10/24 is what will most likely happen to the SE region and 10/9-10/31 will most likely happen for most of the other units in Southern Idaho.

You could go into or call the SE region F&G office and ask questions/complain but it would be better to go to one of the meetings.