Hunters Back ‘Spikes Only’ Season To Save Elk Herds

Even longtime Idaho elk hunters accustomed to chasing big bulls every year are willing to try something new if it will help bring the state’s herds back into balance.

Compared with angry public hearings in 1990-91 when the Idaho Department of Fish and Game called for spike bulls-only hunting in some areas, this week’s hearings statewide found a lot of sportsmen worried about the future.

Mike Todd, Fish and Game conservation educator, told a Tuesday meeting in Burley the agency may opt for some new guidelines to restore the number of older, branch-antlered bulls.

They include restricting hunters to one zone in Idaho, setting a quota on older bulls or allowing sportsmen alternate years of older animals and spike bulls.

“It’s time to conclude the studies and take action,” said Ed Kuharske, who attended an Idaho Falls hearing on Tuesday which attracted more than 130 people.

The idea is to boost the number of mature bulls, which are sagging at or below the state’s biological minimum of 10 adult bulls per 100 cows in some areas. That would translate to about 20 old and young bulls per 100 cows.

For outfitters, the concern is that a shift to spikes-only in the general season would not be accompanied by an allocation of bigger-bull permits for their out-of-state clients. Non-residents will not pay the money to come to Idaho if all they can shoot is a young spike, outfitter David Haderlie said.

Recommendations will be passed on to the Fish and Game Commission in December. The panel’s suggestions will be presented to the public in January and February. Most changes will come during the 1998 hunting season.