Slow Sales Of Elk And Deer Tags Threaten Fish And Game Coffers

The cash-strapped Idaho Department of Fish and Game could face new financial woes as a result of lagging deer and elk tag sales to nonresidents.

By March 3 last year, Fish and Game had sold 7,786 nonresident elk tags. This year, 6,536 tags have been sold. Deer tag sales are also down, with 1,112 fewer tags sold this year than last year.

Combined, the slow sales leave the department $787,000 short of expected revenue.

Biologists believe nonresidents are not buying the tags because of pending regulation changes and negative reports about the health of Idaho’s herds. If sales do not pick up, big game management could be in trouble, said Steve Huffaker, head of the department’s wildlife division.

“If we don’t sell the tags at the level we budgeted, then we will not have the money to collect the biological information to appropriately manage big game,” Huffaker said. “More than 65 percent of our income comes from the sale of nonresident deer and elk tags. Losing that money could really hurt.”

The slow sales of elk and deer tags is the latest in a long line of financial headaches for the department. In the early 1990s, nonresident deer hunters stayed away from Idaho, and the department fell $3 million in the hole. To overcome the problem, officials for the past two years have cut programs, capital outlays and staff.

This year, the department is asking the Legislature for a $1.4 million increase in license fees to pay for programs that will help the department better track the state’s big game herds. If approved, the increase would come in the form of a $6 increase on deer and elk tags. Next year, the department plans to go back and ask for more money to restore the department’s part-time staff and capital budget.