Egin-Hamer Area Closure Starts January 1

The Egin-Hamer Road closure in the Upper Snake Region begins on January 1 and lasts through the end of March on lands south of the and until April 30, north of it. To help keep things straight, the signs marking the area north of the Egin-Hamer road are fluorescent orange, while the signs for the earlier opening southern portion are lime green colored. For the eleventh year, the Egin-Hamer Area Closure places nearly 500 square miles of land off-limits to human entry to protect wintering deer, elk and moose herds. What started out as an idea by local county commissioners to reopen a popular farm to market road a eleven years ago continues to be a success not just for humans, but also for wintering wildlife. The lack of human disturbance created by the closure has allowed herds of deer, elk, and moose to spend more time down on the desert between St. Anthony and Dubois during crucial portions of the late winter and early spring. Fish and Game observations of increased numbers of animals staying down on the desert later into the spring is a sign of the success of the project. Penalties for closure violations range into the hundreds of dollars and result in a Class B misdemeanor. Individual landowners are exempt from the closure. The active St. Anthony Sand Dunes, from the Red Road to Thunder Mountain and adjacent to Egin Lakes access, is also exempt from the closure. Boundaries of the closure are posted and free detailed maps are available from the BLM or IDFG in Idaho Falls. The Fremont and Jefferson County Sheriffs' Offices also have copies of the map available. For more information, including free maps of the closure, contact either the Idaho Fish and Game office in Idaho Falls at 208-525-7290 or the BLM office at 208-523-1012.