Idaho Fish and Game board dumps proposed rule change

Idaho Fish and Game commissioners jettisoned a proposed rule Thursday that would have increased the length of time hunters who draw tags for bulls and bucks must wait before they can re-enter the annual drawings.

Commissioners were also briefed on an effort by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to update the state’s wolf management plan and began a process that could restrict the use of some trail cameras by hunters.

The commissioners, meeting in Lewiston at the Idaho Department of Fish and Game’s Clearwater Regional Office, opted not to advance the rule they passed in July that would have increased the waiting period for people who draw antlered deer and antlered elk tags. Under current regulations, hunters who draw such tags must sit out of the drawing – for the same species only – for one year.

During the July meeting, they chose to increase the waiting period to two years. The move was made in response to people who would like to see better drawing odds. According to public comment given to the commission, the idea is popular.

“I’ve talked to a lot of sportsmen who agree with the idea of laying out two years. They believe they will have a better chance to draw,” said Greg Cameron, of Rupert.

But on Thursday, commissioners pulled the rule back from a package that will go to the Idaho Legislature this fall for approval over concerns of its effectiveness and possible unintended consequences. Blake Fischer of Meridian said the change to a two year waiting period wouldn’t significantly increase the drawing odds of unsuccessful hunters. But he said it might lead those in the waiting period to enter drawings for trophy species like moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goats.

Last year, about 4,300 people out of 42,500 who entered the drawing received tags for antlered deer and 3,386 people out of about 36,400 won bull elk tags. Deputy Director Ed Schriever said 456 of those who drew tags last year entered this year’s drawing for moose, sheep or goats.

Commissioners voted three to three to pull the proposal, with Commission Chairman Brad Corkill of Cataldo casting the tie-breaking vote that killed the measure. Corkill said he voted against the two-year waiting period because of the possibility those forced to wait would migrate to the trophy species and increase the already long odds for drawing moose, sheep and goats.

The department is in the early stages of re-writing the 2002 wolf management plan. Wolf biologist Jim Hayden said wolf populations have started to stabilize since hunting was instituted in 2011. Fewer wolves are being killed by hunters and trappers each year despite liberalizing of seasons and the average wolf pack size has decreased from 8.1 to 6.1. Hayden told commissioners livestock depredations have declined 57 percent since hunting and trapping were allowed.

He also said there are some signs that elk populations are climbing in many but not all areas of the state. For example, over-winter survival of radio-collared cow elk in study areas across the state was 96 percent last year. That includes survival rates of 97 percent in the Lolo Zone and 100 percent in the Elk City and Dworshak zones.

Hayden said mild winters in recent years could have more do with the good elk survival rates than efforts to reduce and stabilize wolf numbers. The plan, a draft of which will be released for public review in June, is not likely to make any big changes from current approaches, Hayden said.

He noted the department wants to make sure wolves don’t land back on the endangered species list and under federal instead of state control. But he said the department also wants to see elk populations rebound.

“We have a (wolf) population that is in no danger of going back on endangered species list but has come down and alleviated a lot of problems. I think what that is telling us is don’t look for a lot of changes.

“Right now we seem to be on a pretty long path but it’s a very long path.”

Commissioners agreed to work on a future rule that could restrict the use of trail cameras that can transmit live footage to devices like cellphones or computers. Similar to rules restricting the use of aircraft to locate game, the intent of the rule would be to make sure people aren’t using remote cameras as same-day hunting aids.

Deputy Director Sharon Kiefer told commissioners that Colorado and Montana have adopted such rules. New commissioner Jerry Meyers of Salmon, a retired judge, warned enforcing such a rule will be difficult. He said conservation officers would need search warrants to seize cameras and the devises they send images to and predicted that prosecutors would be reluctant to take cases based on the rule.

“If officers can’t put a clear case together, the prosecutor is not going to want to take it,” he said. ”I think we need to have something fairly tight.”

Despite the difficulty, commissioners said they must do something to combat the increasing use of technology in hunting.

“This has to be addressed,” Corkill said. “I’m not sure how to do it.”

They hope to work on the rule beginning next spring to have it ready for consideration by the 2018 Legislature.