Idaho Fish and Game’s Managed Hunt Program is looking to enroll properties for the 2024 hunting season.

Since 2022, Idaho Fish and Game's Southeast Region has been working with regional landowners to provide hunting opportunities on their properties for hunters through the Managed Hunt Program. This unique program forms partnerships among willing landowners, responsible hunters, and Idaho Fish and Game to manage hunting access on private lands to benefit landowners and hunters alike. Idaho Fish and Game is looking for more interested landowners to participate in this program this fall!

"Idaho Fish and Game staff often hear landowners stress about their interactions with hunters who are looking for private ground to hunt on," says Dan Garren, regional supervisor for Fish and Game's Southeast Region. "In many instances, landowners are favorable to allowing access, but can get overwhelmed by hunter requests, particularly as hunting season draws close. The Managed Hunt Program is designed to remove the burden of interacting with hunters from landowners and to facilitate limited access to private ground for hunters."

The Managed Hunt Program is not the same as the very successful Access Yes! program Fish and Game already has in place. Unlike Access Yes!, landowners are not compensated for use of their properties by hunters, and Idaho Fish and Game manages the access on behalf of the landowner's rules.

Here's what interested landowners need to know about this special program.

• Idaho Fish and Game serves as the primary contact for hunting requests, thereby reducing the burden on a landowner. Landowners do not have to engage with, take phone calls from, or make arrangements with hunters.
  
• Rules for when/what/how hunters use the property are tailored specifically to the desires of the landowner. Landowners choose what species can be hunted, how frequently, and when hunters can access the property.
  
• The number of hunters allowed to access the property is entirely up to the landowner and is monitored and enforced by Idaho Fish and Game.
  
• Hunters who violate the rules of use for a property can be charged with trespass, which could result in a loss of hunting and fishing privileges. Violators are expelled from the Managed Hunt Program.
  
• Landowners do not receive monetary compensation for participation, but receive in-kind compensation through Fish and Game management of hunter registrations and increased enforcement presence.

"The Managed Hunt Program has been well-received so far with participating landowners and hunters," says Zach Lockyer, regional wildlife manager for the Southeast Region. "We are looking forward to working with landowners to grow this program."

If you are a landowner who is interested in learning more about the Managed Hunt Program, please contact the Southeast Region Fish and Game office in Pocatello at 208-232-4703.