Elk Tag Bargains Available

Bargain shopping isn’t limited to downtown sales. With a surplus of about 1,000 non-resident elk tags still available for the fall hunting seasons, some Idaho outfitters are offering discounts of $1,000 and more for big-game hunters.

In past years, Idaho’s quota of elk tags reserved for out-of-state hunters sold out between March and June. This year is different. About a third of the available tags are for the Idaho Panhandle hunts while the other two-thirds are for the rest of Idaho, including the Selway-Bitterroot and Frank Church Wilderness areas, where the elk seasons open Sept. 15.

For information, contact the Idaho Outfitter and Guides Association, (800) 494-3246, ext. 2 or check the Internet at www.ioga.org and click “Hot Deals.”

The Idaho Fish and Game Department also has some surplus big-game tags for hunters who don’t necessarily want the services of a guide. For information, call (208) 334-3746 or check the Internet at www.state.id.us/fishgame.htm.

Although all of Montana’s big-game tags allotted to outfitters have been sold, the state still has some deer, elk and antelope tags available for resident and non-resident hunters. These tags will go on sale on Sept. 7.

The licenses will be sold first-come, first-served by mail only from the Helena Headquarters through Sept. 17. After the 17th, remaining licenses will be sold first-come, first-served in the regions for which the licenses are valid.

Hunters who drew an antelope or deer B license or elk permit through FWPs 1999 special drawings cannot purchase a similar surplus license.

Bounty for poachers, vandals

A Spokane-based sportsmen’s group is expanding its condemnation of poachers with a program to draw attention to vandals as well.

The Inland Northwest Wildlife Council is offering a standing $250 reward for anyone who provides information leading to the conviction of people who cause significant damage to private property while hunting or fishing.

The council already offers a $500 reward for tipsters who help convict poachers of moose, bighorn sheep, caribou or grizzly bears.

Confidentiality is assured, said Jamie Layman, the council’s executive director.

Anyone who witnesses rural vandalism should contact the local Sheriff’s department. Game-law violations should be reported to the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department’s poaching hotline at (800) 477-6224.

SIGNUP HUNTER ED CLASS Registration has opened for a limited number of students in the fall hunter education course that runs Sept. 7-25, sponsored by the Whitman County Sportsmen’s Association. Instructors certified by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department will conduct the course on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7-9 p.m. at Washington State University’s Johnson Hall, followed by a field session. Cost: $5. To preregister, call Joe Ford, 334-7665.