HUNTING — Idaho Fish and Game has updated its Hunt Planner interactive online tool that allows hunters to search for and create maps for hunting areas of interest.

Hunters simply answer a few questions about what game they would like to hunt, how, where and when they would like to hunt it, and a list of all the available hunts that meet their criteria will be generated.

Select a hunt area from this list and the Hunt Planner will create a map that can be printed or provide links to an interactive map that can be customized further.

The Hunt Planner also generates helpful information for the hunt area selected, such as:

• General season harvest statistics.
• Tag, permit and fee prices.
• Landscape characteristics and access.
• Weather.
• Local outfitters and guides.
• Local services, including lodging, camping and restaurants.
• How to get there and current road condition.

In addition, hunters may download current and past controlled hunt boundaries, from the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Information System “Open Data” page. It helps to have a little horsepower in your computer, and you'll need to view the information in Google Earth and GIS programs.

Hunters can also download data for game management units, elk and wolf management zones, generalized game animal distributions and current and past Access Yes! property boundaries.

WILDLIFE AGENCIES — After wading briefly into the world of social media, the Idaho Fish and Game Department has had to “unfriend” itself on Facebook.

Comment threads on issues such as wolves got so ugly, it was taking too much effort to monitor the traffic.

HUNTING — Idaho's 2012 big-game hunting seasons for deer, elk, pronghorn, black bear, gray wolf and mountain lion hunts were set today by the Idaho Fish and Game Commission.

The commissioners adopted Fish and Game staff recommendations and added a few changes of their own.

Read on for details.

WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT — The Idaho Fish and Game Commission will be setting big game and chinook salmon seasons during a meeting Wednesday and Thursday at Fish and Game Department headquarters in Boise.

According to the meeting agenda, the commission will set seasons for this fall’s deer, elk, pronghorn, black bear, gray wolf and mountain lion hunts and a spring season on chinook salmon in the Clearwater, Snake, lower Salmon and Little Salmon rivers.

Read on for the recommedatons the commisisoners will consider:

HUNTING — Idaho Fish and Game wildlife managers have posted their proposals for Panhandle big-game hunting and will be taking comment public meetings starting Saturday.

Of special interest to most hunters are the proposals to reduce elk harvest in some areas.

Click continue reading to see the proposals and the explanation from Jim Hayden, Panhandle Region wildlife manager.

HUNTING — With concern for elk herds still high on the list of issues, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game has scheduled four public meetings in the Idaho Panhandle to discuss 2012 big-game hunting seasons for deer, bear, lion, wolves and elk.

In some cases, the wildlife managers will be recommending more liberal hunting for bears, cougars and wolves and more restrictive hunting for elk to help bring back herds.

• Saturday, March 3, in Pinehurst,  7 a.m. at the Lions Club, 106 Church St.
• Saturday, March 3, in St. Maries, 8 a.m., at the Elks Lodge, 628 Main St.

• Thursday, March 8, in Sandpoint, 7 p.m., at the Bonner County Fairgrounds, Lehman Building.
• Friday, March 9, in Coeur d’Alene, 7 p.m., at the Coeur d’Alene Resort.

FISHING — The Lake Pend Oreille Fishery Recovery Task Force and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game will update the status of trout and kokanee in Lake Pend Oreille at the annual “State of the Lake” public meeting next week.

to discuss the status of fish populations in Lake Pend Oreille, the progress of the fishery recovery effort, and potential rule changes for 2013. 

The meeting is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday Feb. 22 at the Ponderay Events Center by the Bonner Mall north of Sandpoint. 

Wisconsin-based lake trout expert Mike Hansen will offer his perspective on the progress of the program to control lake trout and restore the Pend Oreilee kokanee fishery. 

Presentations will summarize the 2011 predator removal efforts, including lake trout netting, telemetry, and the Angler Incentive Program, and the response of the lake’s fishery to the recovery effort. 

Info: (208) 769-1414. 

FISHING — A free event to introduce people to ice fishing is set for Saturday (Feb. 11) at Cocolalla Lake south of Sandpoint, sponsored by Idaho Fish and Game Department.

Everything about the event is free, including bait and the fishing equipment available to borrow. Free hot dogs and hot chocolate will be served. Volunteers from Fish and Game and Cabela's will be augering the holes in the ice. No fishing license is required during the hours of the event, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Idaho Fish and Game is sponsoring this Take Me Fishing event two weeks after a big crowd flocked to the first ice fishing event at Hauser Lake.

Cocolalla Lake is on the west side of U.S. Highway 95 between Athol and Sandpoint.  The trailer and barbeque will be at the boat launch/campground on the north end of the lake.  Follow the “Sportsman Access” signs on the west side of US 95 just north of the Westmond store. 

Read on for more details.

FISHING — This photo illustrates the crowd that can be attracted by offering the free loan of ice fishing gear.

More than 350 people showed up at Hauser Lake Saturday for an Idaho Fish and Game Department Take Me Fishing event. They borrowed gear, feasted on free hot dogs and hot chocolate and fished through the ice for a few hours with no licenses required.

WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT — Idaho Fish and Game Department Director Virgil Moore delivered the state of the agency report to the Fish and Wildlife Commission last week. 

The annual report, available online, details the agency's funding sources and how officials spent the money.

The report also includes overviews of each bureau.

HUNTING — Idaho's application period for spring turkey controlled hunts starts today and runs to March 1.

The application period for spring black bear ends Feb. 15.

Spring turkey and spring black bear seasons start April 15 – some controlled hunts open later.

Leftover tags for spring turkey and bear controlled hunts go on sale April 1.

See details on the Idaho Fish and Game Department website.

WILDLIFE — Idaho Fish and Game biologists confirmed a recent sighting of a Canada lynx on the Salmon-Challis National Forest.

The sighting is the first direct evidence of lynx presence on the forest since 1991.

Idaho Fish and Game collected hair and scat samples from the animal to determine its origin, according to an agency media release.

“This would be an extremely rare event, and we’re waiting to get genetic test results before we confirm it’s a native, wild lynx,” Fish and Game wildlife manager Tom Keegan said.

A local recreationist reported the animal to Fish and Game after seeing it in a legally set foot-hold trap targeting bobcat. Fish and Game officials arrived at the scene within the hour and assessed the lynx for injuries and potential treatment. With no injuries indicated, officials released the lynx from the trap.

“We watched it wander off in good shape,” conservation office Dane Cook said. “It had all the classic lynx features:  long legs, huge furry paws, ear tufts, and the short black-tipped tail.”

Read on for more details about lynx.

ANGLING — Saturday's free ice-fishing event at Hauser Lake, organized by Idaho Fish and Game, was a huge success in luring people of all ages to try the sport.

Lots of credit to go around, but you have to give a big high five for service beyond the call of duty to the three sportsmen who were ice fishing at the lake when they saw the organizers being overwhelmed by people eager to borrow fishing gear from the Take Me Fishing trailer.

The three anglers put their gear away and helped the newbie anglers for the rest of the day, said Phil Cooper, IFG spokesman.

“The event was scheduled to start at 11 am.  When we arrived at 9:20, we had people waiting,” he said.  “We had them help us set up the trailer and then gave them equipment to start fishing.” 

Cooper counted more than 260 people at one time getting gear or on the solid 8 inches of ice trying to hook a fish. Two IFG biologists were drilling ice fishing holes as fast as they could with a gas-powered auger.

The volunteer crew, which included five IFG employees and three Cabela's employees, helped at least 350 people get a taste of fishing — not to mention a taste of the 496 hot dogs and 23 gallons of hot chocolate served free to the crowd.

“The fish were not as cooperative as we would have liked, however, there were some yellow perch, bluegills and one large largemouth bass caught,” Cooper said.

“One man stopped as he was leaving and said he had a blast and had never ice fished before because he had always been afraid to walk on the ice.  I asked him how old he was and he said he will turn 70 in a week.  So, for him this event helped him overcome 70 years of reluctance to go ice fishing.  He said he was heading from the event to Cabela’s to buy an ice auger!”

People participating did not need a fishing license during the hours of the event, regardless age or whether they were from Idaho or Washington.

ICE FISHING — Nobody will be left out in the cold on Saturday during a free ice-fishing event at Hauser Lake, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., sponsored by the Idaho Fish and Game Department.

The agency will loan free fishing gear from the Take Me Fishing trailer on the fishing access site at the south end of the lake off Hauser Lake Road.

Volunteers will drill holes in the ice for participants and help new anglers get started, said Phil Cooper, IFG spokesman. Free hot dogs and hot chocolate will be served.

The parking area is scheduled to be plowed and the restrooms will be open.

 Youths under 14 years never need a fishing license to wet a line in Idaho, but during the hours of the event, older anglers also can fish without a license, Cooper said.

”These events give their parents, older siblings and friends the opportunity to try fishing without purchasing a license,” he said, noting that the agency held 28 Take Me Fishing events across the state last spring. Saturday’s event will be the Panhandle Region’s first session on ice-fishing.

WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT — Idaho Fish and Game Department officials are organizing the “Idaho Wildlife Summit” Aug. 24-26 at the Riverside Hotel in Boise to discuss how wildlife is managed and whether the agency should engage a broader base of support.

“The Wildlife Summit is all about listening to our hunters, anglers, trappers and other wildlife conservationists,” said Fish and Game Director Virgil Moore.

Legal mandates and public expectations have outgrown funding sources, Moore said.

It's time for all Idahoans to discuss how to meet those mandates and expectations without infringing on the agency’s core mission of stewardship of wildlife to provide opportunities for hunting, fishing and trapping, he said.

The agenda is still being worked out.

WILDLIFE — This video might hurt your feelings if you couldn't find an elk during the hunting season. But it will at least give you hope.

According to the Idaho Fish and Game Department, Josh Hoisington was heading home from a fishing trip this fall and captured video of a large herd of around 200 elk on the run.

“There was a youth hunt going on. A hunter on the west ridge pushed them down into the valley and across the road. There was also a coyote flanking the herd as well. He was running full tilt, but you can’t see him in the video.”

Hoisington moved to Idaho from Colorado just one year ago. His first year in Idaho has also included a successful elk hunt and lots of fishing.

HUNTING — The application period for spring black bear controlled hunts opened Sunday and continues through Feb. 15.

The spring turkey controlled hunt application period opens Feb. 1 and runs to March 1.

Spring turkey and spring black bear seasons start April 15 – some controlled hunts open later. Leftover controlled hunt tags for spring turkey and bear controlled hunts go on sale April 1.

Hunters may apply for controlled hunts at any hunting and fishing license vendor;  Fish and Game office; with a credit card by calling (800) 55HUNT5; or online.

The application fee is $6.25 per person for residents and $14.75 for nonresidents. An additional fee is charged for telephone and Internet applications.

Spring 2012 bear controlled hunt information is in the 2011 Big Game Seasons and Rules book.

Spring turkey controlled hunt information will be available following the Idaho Fish and Game Commission meeting in late January.

Hunters must have a 2012 Idaho hunting license to apply.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS from the great outdoors. This video from Idaho Fish and Game captures some of the beauty of the season.