Commission to Meet in Boise next Week

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission will meet on Thursday, August 23, at Fish and Game headquarters in Boise. Agenda items include setting seasons and bag limits for waterfowl, some proposed rule changes and fiscal 2014 budget approval. Commissioners will consider a proposed sage-grouse season, including a recommendation to move opening day to September 15 to correspond with the opening of chukar, gray partridge and quail, set earlier this year. The seven-day sage-grouse season would run through September 21, with a one bird daily bag limit and a two-bird possession limit. The sage-grouse season would be open in sage-grouse reporting zones 1 and 2 in southwestern Idaho, and in zones 3B, 4A, 4B, 5A, 6, 7B, 7C, 7D, 8A and 8B in south-central and eastern Idaho - except the part of zone 4A within Elmore County would be closed. There is no season anywhere else in the state. The proposed waterfowl season would run 105 days plus a two-day youth hunt, with a seven-bird bag limit on ducks - but not more than two female mallards, two redheads, two pintails and one canvasback. The proposed daily bag limit for geese would be four Canada and greater white-fronted geese, and 10 snow and Ross's geese. Commissioners also will consider proposed changes to the motorized hunting rule. Also on the agenda is a proposed change to Landowner Appreciation Program that would adopt a one-year waiting period for antlered deer and elk LAP hunts oversubscribed by a ration of greater than two-to-one. If adopted by the commission, this rule would be subject to legislative review before taking effect. Commissioners also will consider proposed rules for the administration of Governor's Wildlife Partnership tags, should the commission issue such tags for auction in the future. New state law allows the Fish and Game Commission to release up to three tags each for deer, elk and pronghorn, and one tag each for moose, mountain goat and bighorn sheep annually, to be auctioned by a nonprofit organization dedicated to wildlife conservation. A complete agenda will be posted on the Fish and Game website when it becomes available.