Outdoors Briefs

Turkey raffle

A chance to hunt a month longer and take three additional birds will be available to two spring turkey hunters who will be drawn as winners in a new raffle being offered by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department.

The $5 raffle tickets are being sold at department offices to raise money for turkey management.

Deadline for purchasing the tickets is March 10. The drawing will be March 24 in Olympia.

Each raffle-drawn permit holder will be allowed to hunt wild turkeys statewide from April 1 through May 31. The regular spring turkey hunting season runs April 15 to May 15.

Besides the opportunity to hunt twice as long as regular-season hunters, raffle winners also will be able to participate in the regularly scheduled turkey hunt and purchase up to two more turkey tags, thus allowing them to take a total of up to six turkeys.

Big game proposals

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has scheduled a series of open house public meetings to review proposed changes for the 2000 Big Game seasons.

The meetings, from 5-8 p.m., will be in Orofino on Thursday at the National Guard Armory; Tuesday in Lewiston at the Community Center, 1424 Main; Feb. 16 in Grangeville at the Senior Citizen Center; and Feb. 17 in Moscow at the Latah County Fairgrounds Pavilion.

1999 elk season better

Despite warm, dry hunting conditions last fall, hunter success in Idaho’s general elk hunts was higher than in 1998. Estimates based on telephone surveys indicate that the number of elk hunters increased from 80,700 in 1998 to 82,391 last season. The 1999 success rate was 14.4 compared with 12.9 percent in 1998.

The total estimated general elk harvest was 10,983 last fall and 10,386 in 1998.

The survey shows a slight shift toward taking younger bulls with 39 percent being spikes versus 34.4 percent in 1998. The harvest of big bulls, six points or better, was down from 24 percent in 1998 to 20 percent last fall.

The Panhandle Zone had far more hunters than any other of the 28 elk hunting zones in Idaho.

Restrictions on spotlights

Use of spotlights for hunting non-game species in Idaho is allowed with strict restrictions, the state Fish and Game Department in Boise clarified in a news release recently.

“You can hunt unprotected wildlife, including coyotes, with a spotlight, but only on private property and only with permission of the landowner,” said the release. “A valid hunting license is required. Be sure you are not in violation of other state, county, or city laws, ordinances, rules or regulations.”

In Washington, virtually no hunting is allowed with the aid of artificial light.

The only exception is that hound hunters can use portable light when their dogs have treed a legal game species, said Capt. Dick Smith, Washington Fish and Wildlife Department enforcement agent in Ephrata.