Fish and Game Commission at the March 22 meeting made several changes that big game hunters should be aware of for the upcoming fall seasons, including:
- Eliminated the two tags in mountain goat controlled hunt 6005 in Unit 10-3 because the goats appear to have moved out of the hunt area.
- Eliminated bighorn sheep hunt 7007 in Unit 46-2, which would have offered two tags, and extended hunt 7006 in Hunt Area 46-1 to close Oct. 8 instead of Sept. 14. Biologists are concerned that a disease event may have reduced the number of harvestable rams, so an adjustment in tags was needed.
- Removed the use of second deer tags in Unit 10A and shortened the white-tailed deer season in Unit 10A by moving the closing date from Dec. 1 to Nov. 20. Hunters are concerned about the number of mature white-tailed bucks in the unit.
- Removed the cap on the Weiser River Elk Zone A-tag so there is no limit on the number of those tags available to hunters. The zone is currently above the department’s objectives for total elk population.
- Reduced the number of tags available to nonresident hunters for the November unlimited controlled hunts in Units 26 and 27 down to 10 percent of the five-year average for total participation in each hunt. Controlled Hunt Area 26 (controlled hunt number 1016) will have 13 nonresident tags and Controlled Hunt Area 27 (controlled hunt number 1017) will have 51 nonresident tags.
The Fish and Game Commission has heard complaints about crowding at airstrips, and these hunts had a very high percentage of nonresident hunters. These controlled hunts will remain unlimited for resident hunters. Hunt Area 27 hunt is first-choice-only for both resident and nonresident applicants.