Elk permit appeal denied

BLACKFOOT, Idaho –Bingham County commissioners in southeastern Idaho have denied an appeal by former Denver Broncos lineman Rulon Jones of a special-use permit for his private elk hunting reserve.

Jones appealed the permit he received for the “shooter bull” operation last month because of stipulations the county’s planning and zoning board imposed. He questioned whether he even needed to get a permit, saying that only the state Department of Agriculture has the authority to make rules for elk farms.

“I feel we do have that authority,” Commissioner Cleone Jolley said at the Tuesday hearing, the Post Register reported.

The commission’s decision comes as an emergency hunt is under way for domesticated elk that escaped in mid-August at Rex Rammell’s Chief Joseph private elk hunting reserve near Rexburg.