Cow Elk Tags Plan Rejected

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission has rejected a proposal to allow sportsmen to buy cow elk tags over the counter in most of the state.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game proposed expanding cow elk hunting in the state as a part of a wide-ranging plan to decrease the number of mature bulls, but the commission decided it was too risky because too many cows could be killed during general hunts.

“I think it is a disaster waiting to happen,” Commission Chairman Fred Wood of Burley said Thursday. “It’s just an unacceptable risk.”

The decision was a significant blow to the department’s new elk hunting plan and flew in the face of a survey that showed the public supported general hunts for cow elk.

General cow hunts are an essential piece of the department’s new plan to manage elk, biologists have argued in the past. Under the plan, the state is split into 28 zones. Hunters would pick a zone and could only hunt in that area. Once they pick a zone, hunters then pick between two types of tags, an A-tag and a B-tag.

With an A-tag, hunters will have an archery season for any elk and a short rifle season for spike bulls. The department’s proposal, before it was defeated, also called for general cow hunts in 14 zones. The commission decided only two backcountry zones would have hunts where sportsmen can buy an over-the-counter tag to hunt any elk, including cows.

With a B-tag, the hunter will have an archery season for any elk and a short rifle season for any bull. In areas where mature bulls, those that are 3-1/2 years old or older, are in jeopardy, the department will cap B-tags.

The proposal was created to remedy problem areas where too many mature bulls were being killed without eliminating general hunting.

To lure people away from hunting mature bulls, biologists crafted the plan so A-tags would be attractive, giving hunters a long archery season, a long spike season and, in some cases, general hunts.

Without the open cow elk hunts, biologists worry hunters will ignore the A-tags and concentrate on big bulls. In the past, biologists said if the A-tags were not attractive enough to lure hunters away from the bulls, the problem of mature bull survival would continue and B-tags would eventually have to be capped, creating de facto controlled hunts.

Turnbull plans fires

Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge is proposing to log dense stands of young trees and pile the debris for burning this spring to reduce fire danger and improve wildlife habitat.

A forest management proposal that discusses the plans is available for public review until April 4. Info: 235-4723.

Tribe wants free camping

The U.S. Forest Service and Nez Perce Tribe are nearing an agreement to provide free camping for tribal members at developed campgrounds on five national forests.

Negotiators representing the federal agency and tribe have been working on the agreement since October.

The pact would address the tribe’s claim under a 1855 treaty, in which the tribe reserved rights to hunt, fish, gather food and use the lands. The pact would exempt tribal members from developed campground fees ranging from $6-$15 a night.

A draft of the agreement lists 42 fee campgrounds on the Nez Perce, Clearwater and Payette national forests in north central Idaho, plus campgrounds on the Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman national forests in Washington and Oregon.

Bob Boston of Lewiston, a retired recreation officer on the Clearwater National Forest, objects to the fee waiver, arguing that all campers in developed campgrounds should pay the same fee because federal money developed them.

Hunter education sign-up

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has scheduled hunter and bowhunter education classes for April and June.

Students should register on March 25 in order to complete the course in time to buy a license to hunt in the 1998 seasons. Idaho law requires anyone born after Jan. 1, 1975 to pass a hunter education course before purchasing a hunting license.

Registration for both courses is from noon to 7 p.m. March 25 at the Idaho Fish and Game office, 2750 Kathleen Ave. in Coeur d’Alene.

The course fee is $3 for students up to 18 years old and $5 for older students. For more information, call 769-1414.

, DataTimes