Idaho Fish and Game will host a virtual open house at 7 p.m. MST, March 8 to provide information on proposed deer and elk hunt changes for 2022 in response to the detection of Chronic Wasting Disease in Unit 14 and an outbreak of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease in the Clearwater Region.
People can join the meeting by logging onto https://zoom.us/j/98740232387
Fish and Game staff will present information about the current situation regarding CWD and EHD and discuss why season changes are being proposed. People can ask questions before the meeting by posting them online, and there will also be an opportunity for Q&A during the meeting.
Here's information about the difference between CWD and EHD.
Fish and Game officials discovered six cases of CWD in deer and elk in Unit 14, and wildlife managers are proposing hunt changes there to slow, the spread of CWD. The goal is to keep the prevalence low, which is the number of animals within herds that have the disease, and prevent, or slow, its spread into other areas.
Fish and Game’s 2021 CWD testing showed the amount of disease – or prevalence – is estimated to be less than 2 percent for deer and likely less in elk. Research from other states has shown that keeping the prevalence rate less than 5 percent can slow its spread, but when CWD prevalence rates increase above 5 percent, the disease is more likely to spread rapidly within a herd and also expand geographically.
“Structuring hunts to achieve lower densities of deer, and younger age classes within herds, has also shown to slow the geographic spread of CWD and hold prevalence at current levels or lower,” Fish and Game State Game Manager Rick Ward said.
People can see and comment on proposed deer and elk hunting season changes at Fish and Game’s public comment page. Deadline to comment is March 13.
Proposed hunt change options
Increase mule deer harvest in Unit 14
Option 1: Increase antlered mule deer controlled hunt tags from 180 to 400 tags with the hunting season running from Oct. 10 – Nov. 20.
Option 2: Replace existing antlered controlled hunt (180 tags) with a general-season, antlered-only hunt from Oct. 10 – Nov. 20.
Add antlerless mule deer hunt in Unit 14
Add new mule deer extra antlerless hunt with 200 tags from Oct. 10 – Nov. 20. “Extra tags” allow hunters to harvest an additional animal in addition to a regular or controlled hunt tag.
Add White-tailed deer extra tags in Unit 14
Option 1: In addition to the existing general season, either-sex whitetail hunt, add a new extra antlerless whitetail hunt with 250 tags, and a new whitetail, extra antlered tag with 250 tags. Each hunt would run Oct. 10 – Nov. 20.
Option 2: Extend the existing general, either-sex hunt from Oct. 10 – Dec. 31.
Increase elk tags
Increase elk tags in one land owner permission hunt in Controlled Hunt Unit 14-1 from 50 tags to 80 tags and extend the southern boundary of the hunt unit about 3 miles.
In-person meetings scheduled for March 10 in Grangeville
Fish and Game will also host an informational meeting regarding CWD management in Unit 14 on March 10 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Senior Citizens Center, 108 Grangeville Truck Route. Here are more details about that event.