New Deer Management Plan In the Works

Game managers from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game are now crafting a new white-tailed deer management plan with statewide emphasis. Anyone with an interest in this graceful deer species can provide input for the plan via a survey available on Fish and Game's web site. To complete the survey, log onto Fish and Game's web site (www2.state.id.us/fishgame), click on "what's new" and then "new additions." "You'll need about 10 minutes to complete the survey," Fish and Game wildlife manager Jon Rachael noted. The current white-tailed deer management plan deals only with the primary range of whitetails in the state (that portion north of the Salmon River). "We were directed by the Fish and Game Commission to come up with a more comprehensive, statewide plan," Rachael said, "one that deals with several management issues regarding whitetails." Increasing white-tailed deer populations in southern Idaho, depredation concerns and hunter trespass/access issues are just some of the factors to be used in developing the new plan. "Survey participants have the opportunity to weigh in on these issues," Rachael said. The survey has already been sent to 2,000 randomly selected deer hunters across the state. "Still, we wanted to give everyone with an interest in whitetails a chance to provide input and help develop a long-term white-tailed deer management plan," Rachael said.