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November 2007 Special Bulletin

November 16, 2007 Special FYI Bulletin

IOGA Hunt Section Members:

Here's a report on the Idaho Fish and Game Commission meeting of November 15, 2007, held in Sandpoint, that I attended and provided testimony that was focused on future tag allocation for the Selway Zone and set aside of tags for 2008. See attached testimony.

First and foremost…..

• Selway Zone Allocation for 2008

I won't call this necessarily good news, but the results of Commission action, in my opinion, are better than anticipated. After the public hearing of Wednesday night November 14th, IDFG Director Cal Groen indicated to me that he would see what he could do about restoring some November hunting opportunity. So, come Thursday morning, the IDFG staff presented two alternatives, instead of one, for the Commission to consider. Those alternatives were:

o Original alternative…..eliminate November elk season, cut B tag allocation by 10% from 1255 to 1130 for all user groups with 320 for outfitters and cap the October A tag season at 645 with an allocation of 212 to Selway Zone outfitters.
o Option 2 (new one)….November season, November 1-11, cut B tag allocation by 15% from 1255 to 1,067 for all user groups with 303 for outfitters and cap the October A tag season at 645 with 212 to the industry.

The Commission adopted Option 2 with a caveat that it be revisited after next sightability study of the Selway Zone (flying) in three years.

My analysis: Outfitters who did some last minute contacting of IDFG persons with concerns about the November season, along with the persistent IOGA contact of the IDFG since spring of 2007, combined with my testimony and that of member Mike Branson Wednesday evening, along with a sympathetic IDFG Director and Commissioner, was effective in restoring all but one week of the November season, although the trade off was a 15 % cut of the existing number of B tag allocation instead of a 10 % cut. I feel that the trade off is worth it. It pays to be organized and professional in presenting our analysis and views right up to the end. No one from the public presented testimony on the Selway situation.

• Other Commission Action
o Non-resident deer set asides, not to be confused with allocation

The fall meeting of the IDFG Commission is the one where not only are Elk Tag Caps and Allocation reviewed and/or set (in advance of tag sales which begin December 1 of each year for the next year), but also Nonresident deer and elk tag quotas along with the outfitter set aside. Here's what happened:

- Total NR elk quota for 2008 was set at 12,815 (no change); outfitter set aside set at 2,400 (no change)
 - Total NR deer quota for 2008 was increased by 1,500 to 15,500 with the establishment of a new white tailed deer set aside of 1,500, to be available upon sell out of regular NR deer quota (set aside). At one time, NR deer tags (and NR elk tags) sold out as early as late February in the 1980s,prior to passage of legislation in 1986 promoted by the IOGA that established a set aside for outfitted hunters of up to 25 % of NR elk and deer tags available on a first-come, first serve basis until July 1. If I understood correctly, the new white-tailed set aside tag will be available to hunters north of the Main Salmon river.
- Additionally, the Commission approved getting rid of the SE Idaho deer tag set aside and quota. It is no longer needed and a small administrative “headache”.
- If, in the future, a set aside needs to be re-established for SE Idaho deer and/or a set aside for outfitted clients for the new white tailed deer tags are needed, IOGA will contact the IDFG. The history on the SE Idaho deer tag is 800 total tags set aside in 1995, 1000 in 1996 and 1200 in 1997 with appropriate outfitter set aside. The 2007 SE Idaho outfitter set aside was 85. SE Idaho deer outfitters will purchase 2008 NR deer tags out of the regular NR deer quota.

- The total of outfitter NR deer set aside for 2008 will be 1,985 (no change).

- Remember, set aside is associated with general/open seasons and allocation is associated with capped/restricted elk zones. Also, allocated elk tags are a subset of the total number of nonresident elk tag quota.

o Mule Deer Plan
The Commission approved the draft Mule Deer Plan. Public meetings will be held around the state between now and mid-December. Comments will be due December 31, 2007.
o Wolf Management Plan
The draft Wolf Management plan was approved. Public meetings will be held around the state between November 29 and December 14. Comment period will close December 28, 2007. It is expected that the Commission will approve the final plan during their March meeting.
o Both the Mule Deer and Wolf Management plans are suppose to be up on the IDFG website next week. Outfitters are encouraged to become familiar with both. Outfitters should especially check out the tables in the wolf plan where the range of number of wolf packs for each elk management zone are discussed. This will be table 6.2.
- IOGA member Scott Farr represented the industry on the wolf plan stakeholder group that met a total of three times during the late spring and summer of 2007.
o The temporary/pending rules of the IDFG, including the docket that includes the new language for controlled hunts, were approved for legislative review, which will occur this winter.
o Finally, an observation…..

Expect future Commission meetings to include less “indoor” time and more “field trips”. During this meeting, the Commission visited the Department lands near Lewiston (Craig Mountain) to view the results of the summer Chimney fire and also visited Farragut State Park where Region 1 is attempting to build a shooting range, with partners, for the public. The range has been litigated and the Department is back to the drawing table. This Commission and Director are outfitter friendly. Let's continue to work to nourish this relationship.

The next Commission meetings are scheduled for January 16-18 and March 5-7, Boise.

All of the above topics will be featured during the upcoming annual December meeting of the IOGA—Hunt Section meetings of December 11 and 13, along with the Species Planning Committee meeting of December 11th morning. Additionally, the IOGA Hunt Section meeting will include a session on allocation, especially the validation of tags process. See attached meeting flyer distributed earlier this month.

 IOGA assumes that the IOGLB will be recalculating Selway Zone B and now A tag allocation using the past 5 years of historic use---right away. Selway Zone outfitters are encouraged to examine closely expected formal correspondence from the IOGLB regarding individual A and B tag allocation number for 2008.