Application for Crane Hunts Begins June 15

The time to apply for sandhill crane controlled hunt permits starts Sunday, June 15, and runs through July 15. In six eastern Idaho counties, 580 sandhill crane permits are available. Of that total, 300 are available to hunters in Caribou and Bear Lake Counties, 100 are available in Teton County, 100 are available in Fremont County, and 40 each in Bonneville and Jefferson counties. Crane seasons run from September 1 through September 7 and September 8 through September 15. The daily bag limit is two cranes, and the season limit is nine. The first tag is offered through a standard controlled hunt drawing and additional tags, up to eight per hunter, may be purchased at any vendor as leftover tags. Once the drawing is complete, leftover permits will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis beginning August 30. Sandhill cranes are hunted in Idaho as an attempt to limit depredation to crops in eastern Idaho counties. Cranes are fully protected outside the three hunt areas, all in southeast Idaho. Applications can be made at any license vendor, Fish and Game office, by telephone at 1-800-554-8685, on the Fish and Game web site at http://fishandgame.idaho.gov, or by mail to IDFG License Section, P.O. Box 25, Boise ID. Applicants pay a $6.25 nonrefundable application fee. Successful applicants then pay $7.75 for a controlled hunt permit and $1.75 for a tag. Hunters also must have a migratory bird validation at $1.75. Each additional permit costs $15.75. Rules for the 2008 crane season are in the 2008-2009 & 2009-2010 Upland Game, Furbearer & Turkey Seasons and Rules available at license vendors statewide and on the internet at http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/hunt/rules/ug/doveCrane.pdf.