Executive Director's Message by John May 11/05
I would like to focus on two main topics this month with the first being a request that all of you consider coming to this year’s annual meeting. We have been working very hard to put together a program that should be worthwhile as well as fun. We have added a couple of new events one being a “Members Bash” on Thursday night that will allow our members a casual relaxed opportunity to catch up. This event will have food, beverage, and entertainment. We have also added our “Guides Of The Year” program and awards, this acknowledgment of those who work so hard to do a great job not only in the guide business but also in their own communities. I encourage you to nominate someone you feel is deserving, and then show up that evening and help us honor them.
The second topic this month is seeking your support for the Idaho Natural Resource Foundation (INRF), IOGA's sister non-profit charitable organization. As the end of the year gets closer many of your customers and clients are looking for ways to donate and what better organization to donate to than our own INRF. Help us support the INRF. Here's a flyer with information and a donation form. This can be mailed or emailed to your clients. Remember just by sending this out you are helping the foundation and all the great work we do. Please see the letter below from INRF President Alison Steen.
Thank you again for your support and see you at the meeting next month.
John May
Grant Simonds continues as the IOGA Government Affairs Liaison after having served 29 years as the IOGA Executive Director. He monitors state and federal agencies, serves as IOGA’s primary contact with the national outfitter organization, America Outdoors Association, and assists the IOGA lobby team of Risch Pisca PLLC with monitoring the Idaho Legislature.
Letter from INRF President Alison Steen
IOGA Members: As President of the Idaho Natural Resource Foundation, I would like to ask for your help in supporting INRF. As a grassroots organization we are constantly working on issues that affect our recreational opportunities. Unfortunately we cannot do this alone, we need your help! Here are a couple of easy ways to become a partner and help us continue this important mission. First, agree to participate in the “Dollars for Outdoors” program. Quite simply by just adding an additional (and optional) line item on your billing invoices you can let your clients decide if they would like to help keep Idaho pristine and accessible. Second, you can send out a personalized “INRF Client Donation Letter” to your customers. The INRF can assist you in putting together a simple and effective communication that can be sent by letter or email to your clients that will demonstrate how they can assist you and the INRF with efforts to maintain, enhance and ensure continued access to Idaho’s public land resources for generations to come. Both of these programs are very simple and can make a big difference in helping the INRF continue its mission. Remember that many of your customers and their companies are constantly looking for ways to give back or make donations especially to causes that are important to them. Why not extend the invitation for them to help out Idaho’s public resources. Your clients will never be put on a mailing list unless they direct you or the INRF to do so. Please let us know if and when we can get you set up. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. Check out the INRF website for more information including our recent accomplishments.Grant Simonds continues as the IOGA Government Affairs Liaison after having served 29 years as the IOGA Executive Director. He monitors state and federal agencies, serves as IOGA’s primary contact with the national outfitter organization, America Outdoors Association, and assists the IOGA lobby team of Risch Pisca PLLC with monitoring the Idaho Legislature.
Momument Politics Takes Twist
Recently, Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) announced during the 31st annual Frank Church Conference on Public Affairs at Boise State University that he has asked President Obama to give him six to eight months to push for wilderness protection for the Boulder and White Cloud mountains in Central Idaho. Simpson’s Central Idaho Economic and Development Act (CIEDRA) which includes 330,000 of wilderness has languished in Congress for over ten years. The Boulder White Clouds is the largest unroaded area in the contiguous United States. Simpson recently told the Challis Messenger that by this time next year either CIEDRA, a wilderness bill developed in Idaho with input from Idahoans, will have passed Congress or a national monument will be designated. Simpson believes that he can obtain support from the balance of the Idaho delegation, something that has been elusive in the recent past and that the new chairman of the House Resources Committee, Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) will be helpful. Simpson explained that CIEDRA has included stakeholder input (including from outfitters who outfit in the area) and is preferable to a proclamation under the Antiquities Act of 1906 that allows presidents to protect areas with or without formal public input. Monument proponents include prominent conservation organizations and others who have become frustrated with a lack of action by Congress. Proponents are pushing for protection of nearly 592,000 acres that overlay most of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area approved by Congress in 1972. IOGA does not have a formal position on CIEDRA, although input from outfitters and the IOGA staff during the formative days of Simpson’s proposal led to changes in boundaries, trail uses and potential disposition of public lands west of Stanley. Regarding the monument notion the IOGA board of directors approved this motion during its April 2014 meeting. For more on this topic from Rocky Barker of the Idaho Statesman click here. For more on the IOGA perspective and/or to provide comment, contact Grant Simonds, the IOGA Government Affairs Liaison.Fish & Game Commission November Topics
The Commission meets next in Post Falls, November 12 and 13. Check out the agenda and staff recommendations on topics such as proposed action to continue discounted nonresident tag fees (the discount is likely to be less than in the past) for mountain lion, black bear and gray wolf. Other agenda items with staff information include pending rules, conibear-style trap restriction for land sets, rain check policy and proposals for trophy species (bighorn sheep, moose and mountain goat).Comment due Nov. 14 - Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest
The forest has extended the comment period to November 14 regarding the public scoping for the proposed action for alternative development for the forest plan revision. The Forest Plan is a programmatic document that sets the big picture course for the next 10-15 years. The full text for the forest revision can be found at this link. Comments can be submitted multiple ways:- Via web form at: https://cara.ecosystem-management.org/Public/CommentInput?Project=44089
- Via email at: [email protected]
- Via hand delivery or U.S. Postal Service at: Forest Plan Revision, Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests, 903 3rd Street, Kamiah, ID 83536
- Via the Collaborative Mapping Website at: https://my.usgs.gov/ppgis/studio/launch/4290