F&G Commission approves six-year elk plan to guide future elk hunting

Idaho Fish and Game Commission recently approved a new six-year elk management plan after staff solicited public review and adapted the draft plan to reflect public input.

The updated elk planis not a complete overhaul of the former management plan. The department and Commission retained the framework of Idaho's elk hunting, which is 28 elk hunting zones with the A/B tag system, and a mix of general and controlled hunts. 

The plan is a blueprint for sustaining healthy elk herds, rebuilding herds that are below objectives, and establishes goals that Fish and Game will work to achieve without determining specifics for hunting in each unit or zone, which is done during biannual season setting.

"This plan will take us into the future to maintain and hopefully improve Idaho's elk hunting," said Toby Boudreau, Fish and Game's Deer/Elk coordinator. "Idaho elk hunting has been on a roll in the last decade or so. Annual harvests have been well above long-term averages, but we know there's always room for improvement, and we wanted hunters to weigh on on their preferences before going forward."

Elk plan priorities

Under the newly adopted plan, statewide priorities include:

• Continuing to offer general-season elk hunting opportunities where sustainable.
• Working with partner organizations and interested private landowners to support the movement of elk between seasonal ranges, improve forage resources, and managingdisturbances on the landscape that affect elk.
• Implementing measures to reduce elk-caused crop and property damage.
• Working with partner agencies, organizations, and private landowners to improve elk habitat across the state.
• Managing disease impacts on elk and livestock.
• Increasing public knowledge and understanding of elk ecology and management by enhancing outreach and education efforts.
• Pursuing methods to improve public participation and the use of public survey data in the elk management process.

Public comment

After the comment period ended in the spring, Fish and Game staff reviewed 231 public responses regarding their level of support of the Draft Elk Plan. Overall, the plan was supported by residents and nonresidents with 87% indicating support for, or support with concerns.

Most of the comment topics hit on issues that were already outlined in the plan, so they did not result in major changes, including:

• Predator management
• Congestion and hunt quality
• Methods of distributing tags
• Private lands and elk

People can see the draft plannow, and the newly approved plan will be available online in fall or early winter.

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