Fish and Game, Governor Announce Domestic Elk Hunt

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game and Idaho Gov. Jim Risch announced Friday, September 15, a series of emergency depredation hunts to remove escaped domestic elk in Fremont County on the lam for more than a month. The first hunt will start Tuesday, September 19, and run through Monday, September 25, on national forest land within big game unit 62 south of Fall River and north of Bitch Creek. Risch, in a September 7 executive order, authorized the Idaho Departments of Agriculture and Fish and Game to try to kill an estimated 75 to 160 domestic elk that escaped in early August from a commercial domestic elk operation in eastern Idaho. So far, Fish and Game and Agriculture officials have shot 15 elk, but now the agencies are asking licensed hunters and private landowners for help. A bowhunter also shot one during the archery-only season open in the area. The depredation hunt will include private landowners and randomly selected hunters with valid Teton elk management zone A tags to participate. Hunters who do not have Teton elk tags may sign up at the Idaho Falls Fish and Game office to be put on a list in case additional hunters are needed. Hunters who shoot an ear-tagged, domestic elk need not validate and attach their elk tag, Fish and Game Director Steve Huffaker said. But the department would like to get blood and tissue samples from the domestic elk to test for diseases and genetic origins. The hunt will be conducted in sequences: September 19-25; September 26-October 2; and October 3-14. Fifty hunters will be selected for each hunt. Additional hunts will be conducted if necessary. In the interest of public safety, Fish and Game will order an emergency closure of the current archery-only hunt within the depredation hunt area. State Fish and Game and Department of Agriculture officials have suspended their efforts to shoot the escaped domestic elk. Conservation officers, however, will monitor the depredation hunts and shoot any domestic elk incidental to patrols, said Steve Schmidt, Upper Snake regional supervisor. Elk appear to be dispersing, especially since the rut is on, and a larger number of hunters can now be more effective at removing the domestic elk. The department appreciates the help of landowners and hunters who are willing to pursue and remove the domestic elk. For additional information, contact regional wildlife manager Daryl Meints in the Upper Snake regional office in Idaho Falls at 208-525-7290.