Fish and Game Caps Salmon Zone Elk

The Salmon elk zone is home to more than 7,700 elk. Aerial surveys during February and March showed that the female elk population has dropped only slightly since the previous survey two years ago. However, the number of bulls has shown a sharper decline since 2008. The bull/cow ratio is about 11 elk bulls per 100 elk cows across hunt units 21, 21A, 28 and 36B. In order to bring back the bull numbers seen in the early to mid 2000s, Fish and Game needs to reduce hunting pressure for a few years. So starting this year, caps have been placed on Salmon Zone B tags. The cap is a 20 percent reduction based on the previous five-year average tag sales. Idaho residents can buy Salmon B tags starting July 10. While nonresidents began buying their tags last December, the total number of nonresident B tags available is a set number based on historical use. That means 1,489 Salmon Zone B tags are available for Idaho residents. You can check the Idaho Fish and Game website under elk tag quotas in the Licenses/Tags section to see how many B tags are remaining once they go on sale. If you applied for a controlled elk hunt this spring, drawing results will be available before July 10 so you have time to buy a Salmon Zone B tag if you did not draw a controlled elk tag. While the resident tags are capped at 1,489 tags, last year we sold 1,772 tags, therefore most hunters should be able to purchase a tag for this year. However, don't wait until the last minute to buy your 2010 tag.