I think there's a very simple solution to all of this to be honest... As an Idaho resident, it's not like I can go over to WA, OR, WY, UT or MT and just buy a tag as long as I get there before someone else. I have to put in for a draw and my chances are so small that it's practically a waste of time. After that it costs me a fortune for the non-resident license and another fortune for the non-resident tag. That's before I park my $45,000 nitrous injected razor machine inside my $120,000 toy hauler which I will then hook up to my $1,000,000 Ford F10,500 to make the arduous trek to another State so I can use my annoying piece of **** SxS to reenact all of my favorite scenes from the Mad Max trilogy and call it hunting, while I ruin the experience for the locals. Oh wait, I am an Idaho Native and I don't have any of those things, it's people from other States coming here to do that to me! Were it up to me non-resident tags would be very tightly controlled and extremely limited. I would also provide extreme penalties for violation of motorized hunting rules, like lifetime license forfeiture for non-residents. I would also require a person who has moved here to live in Idaho at least 9 months out of the year and prove that they generate %100 of their income here for at least 5 consecutive years before they are eligible for "resident hunter status". My little rant here comes from a place of complete and utter heartbreak... I grew up in McCall in the early 2000's and back then hunting was a weekend affair for a local. It was not an "if I fill my tag" type of deal, it was a "I'm going to fill my tag this weekend" type of deal. Nowadays, I can't even hunt in McCall anymore, all the spots I know are either no longer access yes or completely overrun by flatlanders and "hunting tourists". The real problem isn't the out of State hunters though, they are only taking advantage of an opportunity that anyone in their position would take advantage of, the problem is the State of Idaho. It has become abundantly clear that the State views Idaho's wildlife as a tourist attraction and they encourage IDFG to manage it that way. I don't know for certain but I have actually been told by several people that IDFG doesn't even get a State budget, they generate their own budget solely through taxes, sales, fees and fines. Does anyone know if that's true? If it is then it's deeply disturbing because they are certified Peace Officers with powers of arrest. Can you imagine if your local PD or Sheriff's Department had to create their own budget entirely from taxes, sales, fees and fines? I fear that Idaho's game population will be decimated in the near future and the "recovery" will be Idaho becoming just like all the other Western States. Draw only for everyone, ridiculously small number of tags issued, astronomical price. Its truly sad.
Bearpaw Outfitters
Urge 2 Hunt
Jokers Wild Outdoors