It’s time to buy a chance at the hunt of a lifetime.

Entries in this year’s first Super Hunt and Super Hunt Combo drawing must be received at Fish and Game headquarters by May 31 with the drawing set for June 15.

Super Hunt is a fundraising drawing for 40 big game tags. The tags are handed out to winners in two drawings. Entries are drawn for elk, deer, pronghorn and moose tags. Winners can participate in any open hunt in the state for deer, elk, pronghorn or moose. That includes general hunts and controlled hunts.

The first drawing in June will be for eight elk, eight deer, and eight pronghorn hunts as well as one moose hunt; one “Super Hunt Combo” entry also will be drawn that will entitle the winner to hunt for one each elk, deer, pronghorn, and moose.

The second drawing will be held in mid-August when another “Super Hunt Combo” and entries for two elk, two deer, and two pronghorn hunts along with one moose hunt will be drawn. The entry period for the second drawing is June 2 through August 11.
Hunters can take an animal or animals on their Super Hunt or Super Hunt Combo tags in addition to any general season or controlled hunt tags they also hold.

All other rules of individual hunts apply.

The special drawings began in 2004 as a way to raise money for the Access Yes! program, which helps assure hunter and angler access to and across private lands by compensating willing landowners.

The first entry costs $6; additional entries for the same species cost $4 each when purchased at the same time. Super Hunt Combo entries cost $20 for one; additional entries are $16 when purchased at the same time. Entries are available at license vendors and all Fish and Game offices, or they can be ordered on the Internet at http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/hunt/superhunt/, and on the phone at 800-824-3729 or 800-554-8685.

Fill out the entry order forms and mail them to: Fish and Game License Section, P.O. Box 25, Boise, ID 83707.

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission on Thursday, November 19, extended wolf hunting seasons in all Idaho wolf zones not already closed to March 31.

Harvest limits and other restrictions were not changed.

The seasons would be extended to March 31 in the Panhandle, Palouse-Hells Canyon, Selway, Middle Fork, Salmon, Southern, and South Idaho zones, which had been set to close December 31. The seasons already were set to close March 31 in the Lolo and Sawtooth zones.

Hunters will need a 2010 wolf tag, in addition to a 2010 hunting license for hunts after December 31.

Idaho Department of Fish and Game set wolf harvest limits by 12 zones. The season closes in each zone when the limit for that zone is reached, or when the statewide limit of 220 wolves is reached.

As of Thursday, November 19, the statewide harvest was 110.

Wolf seasons already have closed in the Dworshak-Elk City wolf zone in north Idaho, the McCall-Weiser zone in west central Idaho, and the Upper Snake zone in eastern Idaho.

Three zones are nearing the harvest limit. The Palouse-Hells Canyon zone is two short of the limit of five; the Southern Mountains, where the limit is 10, is three short; and the Middle Fork zone, with a limit of 17, is four short.

Wolf hunters are reminded to check the harvest limit in the wolf hunting zones they intend to hunt. To find out whether a zone is open, call 877-872-3190. The Fish and Game wolf harvest Web page is updated less frequently, but provides a zone map and other useful information: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/hunt/wolf/quota.cfm.

Hunters are required by state law to report within 24 hours of harvesting a wolf, and they must present the hide and skull to a Fish and Game conservation officer or regional office within five days.

October 5, 2009 (Washington, DC) – The Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSF) was recently awarded Idaho Wolf Conservation Tag Number One, and the Idaho Sportsmen’s Caucus Advisory Council (ISCAC) was awarded tag number six for use during the 2009 inaugural gray wolf hunting season.

The commemorative wolf tags, series one through 10, are being released in the inaugural season to recognize wildlife management success and to help promote gray wolf management in Idaho. CSF and ISCAC will auction both tags with the proceeds from the auctions going to Idaho to help offset much of the cost associated with wolf management including population monitoring, law enforcement, public education, enhanced deer/elk/moose monitoring, and research, Idaho’s management of wolves including regulated hunting, to ensure that gray wolves remain a lasting legacy on Idaho’s landscape for future generations.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt a gray wolf in the beautiful state of Idaho,” said CSF President Jeff Crane. “These tags are invaluable to the Idaho wolf population and Idaho wildlife management programs and so it imperative that supporters of CSF step to the plate.”

The #1 tag is for sale during a live auction at the Richard Childress Whine Wheels and Wildlife event on October 14, 2009.

The #6 tag is for sale during the National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses Annual meeting on October 29, 2009.

Registration for both events is filling up fast and both wolf tags are sure to be hot items for bidding during both live auctions, however, CSF is offering these once in a lifetime wolf hunts via off-sit bidding by contacting CSF Vice President of Development Gary Guinn at 202-543-6907 extension 24.

Spotting an elk while driving along a dirt road is exciting, but finding one after hiking for miles can be so much more satisfying.

It also may mean that the section of forest is in a roadless area with closed roads. These areas with fewer open roads make for good elk habitat.

Elk are increasingly vulnerable as road density increases. Roads allow easy access for hunters and poachers, which can increase harvest rates. When harvest rates go up, bull-to-cow ratios go down, which can lead to more restrictive hunting seasons.

Other recreationalists use roads to gather firewood and berries, take photographs and drive to hiking trails. While it is handy for people to have roads to wherever they might want to go, elk are less likely to use areas within a half mile of roads, even if there is good forage. When ATVs rumble by, elk move away from roads and burn more calories. This means elk need to forage longer when they could be resting.

Building roads or creating off-road trails reduces forage available to elk by converting it to bare ground and causing erosion. Invasive plants, such as cheat grass and spotted knapweed, love to move into areas with disturbed soil and can out-compete native plants.

To reduce elk vulnerability and protect habitat, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game has adopted motorized vehicle restrictions in 31 of the 99 big game units in the state. The Idaho Fish and Game Commission recently added the motorized vehicle rule in two more units – 66A and 76 – where deer and elk populations are below objectives. The rule restricts motorized travel by hunters to only those roads capable of travel by full-sized automobiles. Hunters may pack in a camp or pack out an animal if such travel is allowed by the land owner or manager, and they do not hunt while packing meat or camps.

As hunters head out into the woods this fall, they are reminded that following Idaho’s motorized vehicle restrictions, respecting road closures, and staying on designated roads helps provide better habitat for all wildlife.

Hunters also are reminded that it is illegal to hunt game animals from any motorized vehicle. It is also unlawful to shoot a firearm from, down, or across a public road. Officers will be using artificially simulated animals in high violation areas to help combat this public safety issue.

Idaho’s first wolf hunts began Tuesday, September 1, with few hunters afield and reports of three wolves taken.

By Friday afternoon, September 4, no additional wolves had been reported killed.

Wolf hunters are required to report kills within 24 hours and show the skull and pelt to Idaho Fish and Game authorities within five days.

Deputy Director Jim Unsworth noted that the successful hunters followed the rules and that the system for reporting harvest worked smoothly. Idaho began selling wolf hunting tags for the first time August 24 but no glitches in the licensing system were reported despite a one-week volume of more than 11,200 tags sold.

As of Friday, 12,308 wolf tags had been sold.

A decision from a federal court judge is still pending on a preliminary injunction that would halt the wolf hunt if granted.

But for the first days of the hunt, conservation officers in the field reported no violations and a light turnout of hunters, Chief of Enforcement Jon Heggen said.

From setting wolf seasons through the tag selling process to reporting of wolf harvest by hunters, “the system is working,” Unsworth said. “And hunters are excited to have the opportunity,” he added.

So far, two wolf harvest reports have come from the Lolo wolf hunting zone and one from the Sawtooth zone. These are the only zones of the 12 Idaho wolf zones to open September 1 and are the zones where the impact of wolves on elk herds are documented to be particularly severe. Two other zones open September 15 and the rest on October 1. A harvest limit of 220 wolves has been set for Idaho.

Hunters may encounter wolves with radio collars. They may shoot wolves with collars but are required to return the collars when they check in their wolves with Fish and Game. Hunters are asked not to cut or otherwise damage the expensive collars which can be reused to monitor wolves for management purposes.

Hunters must report a kill within 24 hours by calling 1-877-872-3190. They can call the same number to find out whether a wolf zone is closed. Zones will be closed to hunting immediately when the harvest limit in each zone is met.

Rules pamphlets are available at vendors, Fish and Game offices and online at http://fishandgame.idaho.gov where harvest numbers will be shown for each zone.

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission, Monday, August 17, set harvest limits for Idaho’s first public wolf hunting season this fall.

Fish and Game models indicate Idaho now has at least 1,000 wolves. The population increases at a rate of about 20 percent a year, without hunting.

The commissioners adopted a strategy that would help meet the state’s wolf population objective, as outlined in the 2008 Idaho Wolf Population Management Plan.

Hunters will be allowed to take up to 220 wolves this fall and winter. Wolf tags go on sale at 10 a.m. August 24, at all license vendors. A resident tag costs $11.75, and a nonresident tag costs $186.

One of the commission’s top considerations is retaining state management of Idaho’s growing wolf population. Idaho has an approved wolf management plan, developed with public involvement. The plan was approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and found acceptable by a federal judge.

The commissioners’ decision is consistent with the population goals set out in the plan.

In 1995 and 1996, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service introduced 35 wolves to central Idaho. Since then they have increased in numbers and expanded their distribution.

Fish and Game has a responsibility to manage those wolves in balance with their prey and their habitat – just as the agency manages other fish and wildlife species. As with other species, hunting seasons on wolves would be part of managing the population.

A wolf hunting season gives Idaho Fish and Game an opportunity to learn how public hunting fits into managing wolves. As Fish and Game learns how effective regulated hunting is, seasons can be adjusted in areas where wolves are causing unacceptable problems for big game herds or domestic livestock.

Wolf managers will use the harvest limits the same way already used effectively with other species that Fish and Game manages. When limits are reached, the season ends.

The commissioners set harvest limits for each of the state’s 12 wolf management zones. When the limit is reached in a zone, the season would close in that zone.

Commissioners want to manage the wolf population toward the 2005 level of 520 wolves through regulated hunting (five-times higher than the federal recovery goal). The 2005 wolf population figure was used as a target number because wolf conflicts both with wildlife and livestock increased significantly that year.

Wolves in Idaho and Montana were removed from the endangered species list in May and have been managed under state law since then. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s rule delisting wolves, however, faces challenges in federal court. The outcome of those challenges could affect Idaho wolf hunting season.

For 2009 wolf seasons and rules go to the Fish and Game Web site: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/hunt/wolf/wolfrules.pdf. A printed brochure will be available at license vendors when tags go on sale August 24.

The state is giving too many nonresident bowhunters a crack at bagging an elk in eastern Idaho, some Idaho hunters say.

“I think residents should be given first priority,” Scott Roberts of Pocatello told the Idaho State Journal.

Earlier this spring the Idaho Fish and Game Commission put a cap of 1,817 elk tags issued to bowhunters in the Diamond Creek Zone. Idaho residents will be allowed to buy 1,017 of the tags, leaving 800 tags for out-of-state hunters.

Toby Boudreau, regional manager for the Fish and Game office in Pocatello, said elk numbers have been declining in the Diamond Creek Zone and the cap is intended to reduce the number of elk killed. The Diamond Creek Zone runs from the southeast Idaho border to the eastern portion of Caribou County.

“We realized that not only were we not meeting our cow objective, but we were also not meeting our bull objective,” Boudreau said.

He said the cow elk population has dropped from about 2,500 in 2005 to about 1,200 in 2008. He said the objective is to keep the zone’s cow elk population between 1,300 and 1,900.

“It’s a pretty substantial drop,” Boudreau said. “When you’re not meeting your objective, the first thing you have to do is reduce harvest. Frankly, bow hunters last year took 337 elk, 270 of which were bulls. That was a success rate of 16.3 percent, which is pretty high for an archery hunt.”

Roberts said the reduction in tags is too late, and should have been done five years ago.

“Because of the overcrowding, the elk have become very educated to catching and traditional elk hunting tactics,” he said. “It’s getting harder, and to be honest, it’s not as fun as it used to be.”

Hunter Doug Gushwa of Pocatello agreed that limiting the number of tags is a good idea but Idaho residents should be given more.

“I think it’s a good plan to have a quota,” he said. “I’ve hunted in that area for years, and over the last five or six years, I’m either becoming a much poorer hunter or there’s a lot less elk. (But) it’s inappropriate and unfair that it’s proportioned the way it is. There won’t be any resident hunters. When the tags go on sale (in August), it’s going to be a free-for-all brouhaha.”

But Boudreau said that about half of the elk tags are purchased by out-of-state hunters already.

“It’s not capricious. It’s something that’s set in rule. The law set that number for us,” he said.

He added the policy could be changed in July to reduce the number of elk tags given to nonresidents.