DECEMBER TOWN HALL
On Tuesday, December 5, 2023, the Idaho Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus held their monthly town hall, hosted by Idaho Sportsmen and the Congressional Sportsmen Foundation. Idaho Sportsmen members, Idaho Representatives, Idaho Senators, Idaho Congressional Delegates, Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG), Office of Species Conservation (OSC), Idaho Department of Lands (IDL), and more all joined the town hall for a lively and engaging conversation on natural resources in Idaho.
Idaho Sportsmen Executive Director Benn Brocksome started the meeting by introducing former IDFG Director Ed Schriever as the 2023 Idaho Sportsmen Access and Opportunity Award recipient. President of Idaho Sportsmen, Carl Rey, presented the award and thanked Mr. Schriever for his numerous years of work at IDFG. Mr. Schriever now serves as one of two Idaho Governor-appointed representatives on the Northwest Power Conservation Council to look into the future for adequate power to meet the needs of affordability and other necessary components of the region. The Council is looking for additional types of power that will work long-term and have additional sustainability. Idaho will work on its Five-Year Energy Plan with the Office of Energy and Mineral Resources (OMER) and the Idaho Legislature.
Rep. Petzke presented his legislation on the fair chase for the big game through data public records requests. He has been working for IDFG to create a comprehensive bill to exclude game cameras, remote camera data, GPS data, and more. This is to prevent a few bad actors from using this data to hunt for trophy animals such as elk, big horn sheep, and more. He also touched on the Idaho Outdoor Recreation Council, which will decide what projects will be awarded with the $5M fund. The goal is to create new opportunities for outdoor recreation throughout the state.
Rep. Galaviz then discussed the idea she is working on with Rep. Sauter regarding compensation for grizzly bear depredation on livestock. The goal would be to investigate if a fund exists for this type of grizzly bear compensation, and if there isn’t a fund, then create one for a small amount to be administered through OSC until the Federal Government delists grizzly bears. If grizzly bears are delisted, the depredation responsibility will return to IDFG, but the Representatives want to see the fund continue for education. Wolf depredation funds are federally funded, while the new fund would be from the general fund. The group had a lively discussion on this piece of policy on how best to craft this, some encouraging the Representatives to research past funds and potential caps on the funds to prevent misuse.
Rusty Kramer, President of the Idaho Trappers Association (ITA), spoke on the reciprocity issue between states with more stringent rules and Idaho. Many non-residents want to trap in Idaho, but they cannot due to their state not allowing trapping of the same species or not allowing trapping at all creating a disadvantage for military and families of trappers in Idaho. ITA and IDFG are meeting to have a conversation on what the options are for solving this issue.
Aoibheann Cline, NRA, asked about the semi-automatic rifle ban bill, Senate Bill 25, which is currently under review by the Judiciary Committee. All congressional delegates, Rep. Fulcher, Sen. Risch, and Rep. Crapo, felt confident they would not support the bill and would update us in future meetings.
Director Jim Fredricks, IDFG, gave an update on the nonresident tag sales on December 1, noting that things went far smoother with the new vendor than with the 2022 system. Other updates included detecting chronic wasting disease (CWD) in unit 23, which is near unit 14, where they have previously seen CWD. However, the Department is still optimistic about this unit's low number of detections. Next, the director discussed a lawsuit in Montana regarding wolf trapping; a parallel lawsuit is now in Idaho, but it is estimated that the outcome will be more favorable for sportsmen in Idaho. A petition was also filed to the U.S. Forest Service regarding wolves being hunted on federal land due to a decision made by the Wolf Depredation Board. The Department will keep us informed as we move forward. Rep. Roberts asked about using e-bikes while hunting; Director Fredricks explained this will be a part of the 2024-2025 ZBR rulemaking cycle to allow for public input and negotiations on this subject. We expect to see this negotiated next spring or summer (2024) with significant input from across the state.
Director Dustin Miller, IDL, spoke on IDL’s emphasis on recreation and how to manage endowment land effectively. Rep. Sauter has been working with IDL on an access issue throughout the summer in Northern Idaho, and they hope to see a solution soon. Governor Little hosted a wildfire roundtable in the last week of November to involve stakeholders and state agencies. Workgroups will be formed because of the workshop, and IDL has invited a sportsmen's voice. The Forest Legacy program has been ramping up, and there is a big piece of access to discuss, so IDL will be in touch to involve the sportsmen groups in this component.
This will be the last town hall of the year, but the Caucus can hold one more town hall before the 2024 Legislative Session is in full swing. The town hall meetings will start at 6:00 PM on the first Tuesday of each month in 2024. The next meeting will be Tuesday, January 2, 2024, at 6:00 PM.
