You may notice an increase in Fish and Game activity in game management units (GMU) 1, 6 and 10A associated with capture and monitoring efforts. Idaho Fish and Game (IDFG) plans to continue a multi-year research project in these units within the Panhandle and Clearwater regions. The project is designed to better understand how management activities, such as harvest levels influence the interactions of big game populations in north Idaho. Idaho Fish and Game will be monitoring white-tailed deer, elk, moose, mule deer, wolves, mountain lions, and black bears with a variety of methods ranging from satellite radio-collars to remote camera traps. The majority of collared animals will be darted or captured in ground traps.
Ground crews will start trapping in late January to capture and place GPS collars on white-tailed deer and mule deer as well as darting and capturing moose. We will use the collared animals to understand year-round survival and cause of mortality of adult animals, monitor their offspring’s survival from birth through the remainder of the year, and continue to develop new methods of monitoring populations with remote cameras. The collars transmit several locations per day. If a collar stops moving for a set time period, a signal is sent to biologists who will go locate the animal and determine its cause of death. In addition to understanding causes of mortality, the data collected by the collars will provide previously unknown information on seasonal and daily movements, migration patterns, and seasonal habitat use by deer and moose in north Idaho.
If you see IDFG vehicles parked in these units, please give crews the needed space and time to completed the capture efforts and return to their vehicle. We want to minimize the amount of time captured animals are exposed to humans, therefore we attempt to work quietly and quickly, release the animal on site, and vacate the area as soon as possible to minimize stress on the animal. Please do not disturb traps or deer in traps if you find them. If you happen to find a collar, please contact your local Fish and Game office to return it.