Access Yes! bids glean 143,473 acres

JEROME - Landowners in the Magic Valley Region submitted bids on 143,473 acres of land in hopes it will be included in the Access Yes! program this year. "We had 32 different parcels of land offered this year," said Steve Elam, Magic Valley Fish and Game Landowner/Sportsmen Coordinator. "The Sportsmen's Advisory Committee and the Department are going to have a hard time in determining what lands to enroll in the program." The private land bids totaled $163,054. With only $47,000 budgeted for the region, much of the land offered may not get funded for the coming year. "It is a challenge to determine which parcels of land will give us the greatest bang for our buck," said Elam. "We try to get the most for our money, but sometimes that isn't necessarily the most acreage for the least amount of money." In 2004, the public were able to gain access to nearly 80,000 acres of private land for $75,000 in the Magic Valley Region. "Things have changed this year," said Elam. "Last year, several of the regions didn't generate interest from landowners, and didn't spend their allotted share. The Magic Valley Region capitalized on the leftover funds and turned the dollars into additional access for Magic Valley sportsmen. This year that has changed, everywhere in the state we have received more bids than we have funds available." Land bid for the Access Yes! program will go before the five man Sportsmen's Advisory Committee in mid-March. After receiving comments from the group, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game will decide how to allocate the funds for this year's program.