Idaho 2023-2024 Seasons Proposals

[OrangeMan73]

My contrarian opinion: I like almost everything how it is. Keep on rocking in the free world Idaho.

 

[Idagnome]

No to points. As someone who took up hunting as an adult, drawing a good controlled unit with high success rates allowed me a better chance to harvest. And because I harvested, I’m still hunting.

Looking around at other states outside Idaho, I’m so far behind it’s not worth buying into points from my view. I’m just putting in for random draws.

The Dec 1 NR mess was embarrassing and really just not fair for anyone. Just call it what it is and make it a random draw instead of wasting lots of folks entire day. Doesn’t affect my opportunity but doesn’t make me proud to be an Idahoan.

Make NR group apps possible so dad and son can hunt the same unit without the returned/exchanged tag mess we have now.

Do more for habitat restoration/management especially for winter range. I’m in SE Idaho and development is blowing up over here. What was once a ranch/field/etc. is now a 3 acre lot with a house and a dog. I’m all for growth and development, but if IDFG doesn’t start getting involved with how the private is managed, significant winter range will be lost forever. Winter range is our carrying capacity for deer and elk.

 

[Andrew12gauge]

Apparently everyone thinks based on 30 year old data and binocular/scope technology that 3 point or better general tags for 18-64 year old hunters won’t work, but I think it’s our best bet to get a more reasonable age class in our state. It also makes people consider their ballistics and long range shooting which is a positive side effect.

Another one that won’t happen but I think would be better is instead of choosing either 1 OIL species (sheep, goat, or moose) or all 3 apps for deer elk and Antelope - it should be changed to “pick 2 out of 6”. I think that allows more people including youth into the OIL draw which creates more excitement.

Finally, if you draw any tag that had a 4 percent or lower draw odds (1 in 25) that year, you must wait at least 2 years to put into that species again for a non harvest, and 5 years with a harvest.

Leave the OIL draw alone, that idea would only decrease odds on OIL tags and likely not do a thing to increase odds for anything besides maybe antelope.


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[Andrew12gauge]

My contrarian opinion: I like almost everything how it is. Keep on rocking in the free world Idaho.

I agree except that I think they do need to start limiting general deer tags to certain zones/units. I would love to see single unit resident deer tags with caps on tag numbers in about 40% of the units and the other 60% unlimited. I think that would go a long ways toward alleviating the pressure issue as there are many folks bouncing from one unit to the next throughout the season.


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[87TT]

I like the ability to bounce around. Especially when the weather changes.

 

[WeiserBucks]

Some of you guys are giving me heartburn.

 

[dreamingbig]

Overcrowding? I haven’t been able to get an archery tag the past two years! You are welcome.


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[dreamingbig]

Overcrowding? I haven’t been able to get an archery tag the past two years! You are welcome.


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[dreamingbig]

Overcrowding? I haven’t been able to get an archery tag the past two years! You are welcome.


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[dreamingbig]

Overcrowding? I haven’t been able to get an archery tag the past two years! You are welcome.


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[dreamingbig]

Overcrowding? I haven’t been able to get an archery tag the past two years! You are welcome.


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[magnum]

1. Customer experience - nonresident deer and elk tag sale on separate days.
2. Customer experience - improve the online license portal infrastructure.
3. Managing for opportunity vs. herd health - Explore the idea of expanding opportunities and seasons for primitive weapon users and reducing seasons for modern equipment users. Example: rifle scopes allowed during the first four days of rifle season then open sights only after that. Increase preferential seasons for archery and muzzleloading equipment. This would be an attempt to control efficacy while maximizing opportunity. Explore this concept. Conduct hunter surveys to get feedback. Would this practice receive acceptance among a majority of the users? Or would the concept be unanimously rejected? One final time for the people in back - EXPLORE this concept - not that I think it should be implemented tomorrow but begin talking about it.

For everything else - the system works very well right now. I am a proponent of maintaining the current system and only pursuing SMALL annual changes deemed necessary to address herd health.

Thank you for considering my opinion. Wishing for 2023 to be the year of bountiful harvests and joyous memories for you and your camp.

 

[BuckSmasher]

1. Make the IDFG Director an elected position (currently hand picked by governor). Same with commissioners.

2. Post detailed minutes of all meetings (not just an agenda).

3. Revisions to governor and landowner tags - put them on the books (how many per unit etc). Limit land owner tags to their private property.

4. All controlled hunts draw due by May 5th. Draw results due by May 25th.

I prefer quality of quantity, and I know this puts me in the minority of hunters...

Generally - implement similar measures for residents deer tags as NR tags.

5. Incorporate elk zones as deer zones, make residents choose a zone. Stop OTC resident tags, but allow them as 1st choice draw. Apply for that deer tag by zone. If youre not a resident by the draw due date you're SOL.

IDK - but I lean to revising capped elk archery - reduce archery season, make an early and a late archery tag, splitting tags in half.

6. Remove all exemptions to motorized hunting rule units, unless its not legal then allow ADA. (no camping, game retrieval etc)

7. Major revisions to youth hunting. Make all 'general' season opportunities preceded by a 2 day youth only hunt, include DAV, disabled.

8. Require all big game tags to have "CWD endorsement" - $5 - an online/inperson class about IDFG CWD plan. make it short, make it have a test. *Unit 14 had hunters completely unaware of CWD reg changes. This is how CWD spreads... Earmark fees to CWD management.

9. Require all landowners to allow hunting on their property before seeking any damage compensation from big game.

10. Go to a points system.

https://collaboration.idfg.idaho.gov/WildlifeTechnicalReports/IDFG%20Hunter%20Crowding%202019.pdf

Look at the study of perceived overcrowding and low satisfaction. This was published in 2019. Yet IDFG has done little to address the overcrowding and low satisfaction.

Wow!

Sometimes I think all hunters think like me, this proves I am way off. I literally dont like any of this.

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[Andrew12gauge]

I like the ability to bounce around. Especially when the weather changes.

I too like it and have taken full advantage in the past, however the no 1 complaint is overcrowding, and rather than blaming it all on nonresident hunters it’s time we as residents look in the mirror and realize that we too are part of the problem with crowding. Limiting people to a single unit or maybe a zone like we do now for elk could go a long way to alleviating the crowding issue we have now without going to an outright draw only system


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[Fullfan]

Chat about the outfitters buying tags from the nonresident pool needs to be discussed.

 

[BackcountryIdaho]

Drop the newish nonresident quotas per unit DOWN to a round number (if a unit currently has 55 nonresident tags allocated, drop it to 50) and make it a controlled hunt for nonresidents.

That way we get all of the nonresident controlled hunt application fees, the nonresidents stop whining, and the actual controlled hunts (anything not a general season for us residents) would have better odds.

Right now, with all nonresident tags selling out, we lose application fee revenue, and our odds for controlled hunts don't even improve.

And everyone, nonresident and resident, can only apply for one species per year. In theory, this has the potential to increase draw odds for deer/elk/pronghorn by 1/3. Probably not how it would shake out in practice, but it would improve odds overall.

 

[Roguer53]

1. Make the IDFG Director an elected position (currently hand picked by governor). Same with commissioners.

2. Post detailed minutes of all meetings (not just an agenda).

3. Revisions to governor and landowner tags - put them on the books (how many per unit etc). Limit land owner tags to their private property.

4. All controlled hunts draw due by May 5th. Draw results due by May 25th.

I prefer quality of quantity, and I know this puts me in the minority of hunters...

Generally - implement similar measures for residents deer tags as NR tags.

5. Incorporate elk zones as deer zones, make residents choose a zone. Stop OTC resident tags, but allow them as 1st choice draw. Apply for that deer tag by zone. If youre not a resident by the draw due date you're SOL.

IDK - but I lean to revising capped elk archery - reduce archery season, make an early and a late archery tag, splitting tags in half.

6. Remove all exemptions to motorized hunting rule units, unless its not legal then allow ADA. (no camping, game retrieval etc)

7. Major revisions to youth hunting. Make all 'general' season opportunities preceded by a 2 day youth only hunt, include DAV, disabled.

8. Require all big game tags to have "CWD endorsement" - $5 - an online/inperson class about IDFG CWD plan. make it short, make it have a test. *Unit 14 had hunters completely unaware of CWD reg changes. This is how CWD spreads... Earmark fees to CWD management.

9. Require all landowners to allow hunting on their property before seeking any damage compensation from big game.

10. Go to a points system.

https://collaboration.idfg.idaho.gov/WildlifeTechnicalReports/IDFG%20Hunter%20Crowding%202019.pdf

Look at the study of perceived overcrowding and low satisfaction. This was published in 2019. Yet IDFG has done little to address the overcrowding and low satisfaction.

Definitely some good points.

 

[ez_willie]

Chat about the outfitters buying tags from the nonresident pool needs to be discussed.

Yep

 

[Bullzeyez61]

Or 100% draw odds for resident archery general tags but have to apply by April 1. Take that data how many people are hunting each unit and take 10% of that then have the non res draw june 1st for those 10% of tags.

There are much better ways to go about it. Allocating non res tags over a 5 year average of resident hunters isn’t the way to go about it.

 

[Customweld]

1. Customer experience - nonresident deer and elk tag sale on separate days.
2. Customer experience - improve the online license portal infrastructure.
3. Managing for opportunity vs. herd health - Explore the idea of expanding opportunities and seasons for primitive weapon users and reducing seasons for modern equipment users. Example: rifle scopes allowed during the first four days of rifle season then open sights only after that. Increase preferential seasons for archery and muzzleloading equipment. This would be an attempt to control efficacy while maximizing opportunity. Explore this concept. Conduct hunter surveys to get feedback. Would this practice receive acceptance among a majority of the users? Or would the concept be unanimously rejected? One final time for the people in back - EXPLORE this concept - not that I think it should be implemented tomorrow but begin talking about it.

For everything else - the system works very well right now. I am a proponent of maintaining the current system and only pursuing SMALL annual changes deemed necessary to address herd health.

Thank you for considering my opinion. Wishing for 2023 to be the year of bountiful harvests and joyous memories for you and your camp.

Modern archery is no longer primitive. Archery hunters have more than enough opportunity in Idaho. With the advancements made in archery equipment in the last 2 decades, they probably need to reduce their seasons. Archery success rates are bumping close to any weapon success rates. The contractor that IFG uses for online sales and IT management is terrible. But with a state contract, remember , lowest responsible bidder wins.