The Future of Idaho

[Sadler]

Why not sell more NR tags to get more funding to pay for more enforcement options?

Oh wait…

Right? They sell around 13k non resident elk tags a year and according to google that number hasnt changed since 1972. People need someone to blame and nonresidents are an easy target. If people are serious about crowding they’d want resident tags to be capped too (I don’t) because that’s where the increase is at. Up the price as well to help fund access programs and habitat restoration. I’d get behind raising nonresident prices again as well to help fund these efforts. Elk huntings expensive and it costs a lot of money to keep them on the landscape so I’m willing to pay what they’re worth every year as a non resident. Sorry about the rant, but guys blaming nonresidents for crowding annd lack of opportunity is such a tired argument. Colorado I get it, Idaho, no.

 

[WRO]

Native here. I like your approach because there isn’t any reason to bitch and moan about growth because all mountain west states have experienced that. I hope Idaho never goes to points. When it comes to deer It’s time to get realistic and creative.

Realistic:
- more cuts to NR general mule deer tags and turn NR to all controlled hunts.
- 5% reduction in controlled hunt tag quota all around for mule deer

Legislature gets aggressive and starts using surplus for our future (yes more government):
- put millions of taxpayer dollars into access yes
- put millions of dollars into buying access to landlocked state properties
- put millions of dollars into enforcement of illegal off road use including better infrastructure like fences and gates. Also, more game wardens instead of relying on check points (yes I believe people are breaking laws and even hunting wrong units)
- put millions of dollars into cheat grass fight

Here’s a few on the Creative side (if I was the dictator)
- any deer/elk/antelope controlled hunt with less than a 3% draw odds over last decade become once in a lifetime (for that unit/species) moving forward.
- nonresidents drawing a controlled antlered hunt may not apply for that species again for 5 years.
- (A biggie) pick 2 species max to apply for (yes that includes sheep, moose, goat).
- dedicated hunter programs to incentivize adult males from shooting young deer.
- shed hunting seasons

You sound like every other resident of every sate, blame non residents but ignore the giant gorilla in the room of unlimited resident otc options with a resident population that’s doubled in the last 2 decades.

Idaho needs to shorten seasons, cap tags similarly to elk for deer, etc.


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[camelcluch]

Heck of a first post for the OP. By the way welcome to Rokslide. It will get better.

 

[WRO]

It’s habitat gentlemen…always has been and always will be. Improve that or none of the other stuff matters.

The SINGLE biggest impact to mule deer population decline in Idaho is the invasion of cheat grass…followed by habitat fragmentation...which are somewhat interrelated. The sooner we can fix that, the sooner we’ll get more deer back to hunt.

Dave

There’s been cheat grass in Idaho for at least 100 years.


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[eightyeight mag]

Predator control.
Pure and simple.

 

[downthepipe]

You sound like every other resident of every sate, blame non residents but ignore the giant gorilla in the room of unlimited resident otc options with a resident population that’s doubled in the last 2 decades.

Idaho needs to shorten seasons, cap tags similarly to elk for deer, etc.


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Actually the majority of what I said was nothing to do with nonresidents. The part about making the general hunts controlled was simply to get rid of the wacko system that we make nonresidents go through on Dec 1.

 

[idahodave]

There’s been cheat grass in Idaho for at least 100 years.


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Maybe…but its impact the last 35 years in Idaho has transformed the landscape in southern Idaho. The fire cycles that have followed in its wake have destroyed critical winter habitat as well as hiding cover.

 

[Hblazier3]

Any thoughts on lion numbers or any other contributing factors. I’ve read and watched several videos lately where they talk about mule deer numbers dropping way down and rebounding.

I almost think programs like this are worth a shot. https://www.mexicohuntingranch.com/...205795337&mc_cid=cf1bb1c3eb&mc_eid=72114c9986

Everyone and their dog (literally) are lion hunters in that area, you wont drive a block in town without seeing a tacoma or dakota with dog boxes in the bed.

 

[Red Letters]

How are elite private hunting ranches helpful?

Supplemental breeding programs, it seems that ranch has successfully breed hundreds of desert bighorns and brought back an almost extinct mule deer herd to where they have too many. If one side is dead set on releasing wolves that out hunt lions and bears, maybe breeding programs are worth exploring? Create a perfect environment for native herds to thrive in a few thousand acres of fenced sanctuaries.
Just about every game and fish department does this with fish, they have also been reintroducing mammals into areas for decades. Maybe a more aggressive approach to shorten the cycles of low game numbers.

 

[Hblazier3]

Right? They sell around 13k non resident elk tags a year and according to google that number hasnt changed since 1972. People need someone to blame and nonresidents are an easy target. If people are serious about crowding they’d want resident tags to be capped too (I don’t) because that’s where the increase is at. Up the price as well to help fund access programs and habitat restoration. I’d get behind raising nonresident prices again as well to help fund these efforts. Elk huntings expensive and it costs a lot of money to keep them on the landscape so I’m willing to pay what they’re worth every year as a non resident. Sorry about the rant, but guys blaming nonresidents for crowding annd lack of opportunity is such a tired argument. Colorado I get it, Idaho, no.

I'm not knockin' the non residents.

Heck of a first post for the OP. By the way welcome to Rokslide. It will get better.

Thanks, I'll be posting weekly.

 

[Hblazier3]

You are looking at a very good year in Idaho and a very bad one. You can easily correlate these with weather/winter kill and general population fluctuations.

Try harder to find reasons you don’t like nonres hunting Idaho

Where did i say anything about nonres? I like your money to our programs and our rural communities.

 

[rogerthat]

I think without deer population data for the unit it’s hard to really deduct anything as well as trend lines through the time period would help to see the correlation to weather. That being said 2022 should have been prior to last years big winter kill.

 

[roadrunner]

Hilarious how the NR is blamed, it's their fault for killing too many deer while greatly outnumbered by R hunters...

 

[Rifleman86]

You’ve got some weapons grade confirmation bias if you can look at those numbers and think nonresidents are the issue.

 

[Sadler]

I'm not knockin' the non residents.

My comment wasn’t directed at you specifically, just the overall sentiment about non residents ruining everything

 

[Elkangle]

I think that going from 971 hunters down to 922 hunters by reducing nonresident quota by half would have made the biggest difference in my lack of success...that's 100% why I couldn't get it done this year

 

[Jason Snyder]

Two data points without any other context are useless, but makes for good arguing.

 

[Wrench]

Cda picked up 13k residents in that time.

The whole state picked up 440k residents.

Guess how nonresidents have increased in that time......

 

[Wrench]

Ps, how many of these nearly half a million people live in once mule deer range?

 

[ODB]

Ps, how many of these nearly half a million people live in once mule deer range?

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