Big Game Rules for 2009 on the Web

The Idaho big game hunting seasons and rules brochure for 2009 seasons is available now from Fish and Game and on the Website. The rules brochure is available at http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/. The same brochure is in the printing process and copies will be available at license vendors and Fish and Game offices statewide by mid-April. The primary changes this year include some new caps on general season elk tags, making pronghorn archery seasons unlimited controlled hunts this year, and the game management unit boundaries are back in the book this year. In March the Idaho Fish and Game Commission adopted hunting season dates on wolves statewide, pending removal of wolves in Idaho from the endangered species list, which would take effect May 4. The seasons in the Lolo and Sawtooth zones would run from September 1 through March 31. In the Selway and Middle Fork zones, the seasons would run from September 15 through December 31, and elsewhere from October 1 through December 31. Commissioners would set harvest quotas in August. Hunters will notice no other sweeping changes in the big game seasons for this year, but adjustments have been made in all regions of Idaho, so attention to the rules for specific areas is important. The brochure explains general and controlled hunts. The big game controlled hunt application period runs from May 1 through June 5.