Commission Meets October 3-4 in Pocatello

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission will meet in Pocatello October 3-4 with a public hearing and open house set for 7 p.m. October 3. The session will be held at the Holiday Inn beginning at 8 a.m. October 3. The public hearing and open house will be held in the same facility. Subjects on the Commission agenda include a briefing on a recent decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in a case involving an Arizona rule that restricted nonresident hunters to 10 percent participation in some big game hunts. The Arizona rule was held to be unconstitutional. Commissioners will hear what the implications of this ruling are for Idaho's rules restricting nonresidents to 10 percent in controlled hunts. The Commission will also be presented with an action plan for dealing with chronic wasting disease. The results of an extensive public survey conducted by the Idaho Fish and Game will be presented to the Commission in a session running from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. October 3. The "Idaho Citizen Survey" was mailed in June to 7,700 randomly selected households in Idaho. The Idaho Citizen Survey is an important part of a large effort to make sure Fish and Game is serving the people of Idaho as well as possible and in the most effective ways. The survey included questions about participation in wildlife-based recreation, public involvement in decision-making, issues facing Fish and Game, the importance and performance of several management activities and programs, and funding for Fish and Game. Nonresident deer and elk tag quotas and outfitter setasides are also on the agenda along with proposals for implementing the new law allowing nine-year-olds to take hunter education courses and hunt small game. An addition to the Coeur d'Alene Wildlife Management Area through a gift to Fish and Game will be presented to the Commission. Also, representatives of the Fish and Game Advisory Committee will ask for the release of special hunt tags to be used to raise funds for a program to increase hunter access to private lands.