Ithaca 37
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More nails in the coffin!!
http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060217/IDOUT/602170368
"Hunters who use ATVs and motorcycles could see more restrictions on their fatasses in the Southwest Region.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is considering restricting ATVs and motorcycles to designated roads in all hunting units in Southwest Idaho during big game seasons, depending on what hunters say during the public comment period, which ends Feb. 24.
ATV restrictions are currently in place in two of 18 hunting units in the Southwest Region.
"We've put all the other units on the table," said Jon Rachael, F&G's southwest regional wildlife manager. "We're asking folks to weigh in on it."
F&G commissioners will decide on ATV restrictions when they set seasons and hunting rules at their regular meeting March 1-3 in Boise.
Hunters using ATVs and motorcycles would be restricted to roads "capable of travel by a full-sized vehicle."
The restrictions apply only to hunters, not other recreationists.
Hunters could still use the vehicles to haul in camps and retrieve game, as long as they abide by Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and other land agencies' travel rules.
F&G officials have grappled with the explosion of ATV use by hunters. Idaho had about 100,000 registered ATVs and off-road motorcycles in 2005, according to Idaho Department of Recreation statistics. That's nearly double the number that were registered in 2000. Most of that growth has been the four-wheel ATVs that are popular with hunters.
Rachael said about half of all hunters use ATVs or motorcycles, but both users and nonusers have complained about people who abuse them by hunting from the vehicles or to illegally travel cross country.
F&G commissioners started ATV restrictions in 2002 in Unit 47, a small hunting unit near the Nevada border. Since then, the department has expanded ATV restrictions to 28 of its 99 hunting units.
During a public comment period last year on the department's mule deer management plan, "the number one comment we received from hunters was the need for additional ATV restrictions," F&G wildlife biologist Jake Powell said.
In 2004, F&G officials considered restricting ATVs in Unit 39, the popular hunting unit that surrounds the Boise area. But they didn't because the Forest Service was changing its rules on ATV use on national forests, and F&G received only about 200 comments from hunters.
"We had very few people weigh in on it considering how many people would be affected," Rachael said. "We're trying to do a much more intensive (public input) effort this time around," Rachael said.
How to comment
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is holding three meetings next week to gather public comment.
People also can comment at F&G's Web site at fishandgame.idaho.gov. A survey will be on the Web site today.
The agency also is sending out 2,000 surveys to randomly selected hunters to gauge their opinions on the proposal.
The open houses are scheduled for the following dates and locations. Open houses run from 2 to 8 p.m.
• Nampa, Tuesday, F&G regional office at 3101 S. Powerline Road.
• Boise, Wednesday, at the Hunter Education Center at 109 W. 44th St. (Garden City)
• McCall, Thursday, 555 Deinhard Lane.
For more information call (208) 465-8465 or (208) 634-8137.
Commission meeting
The Idaho Fish and Game Commission will consider the additional ATV restrictions at its regular meeting March 1-3 at the F&G headquarters at 600 S. Walnut St. in Boise. The meeting will start with a public hearing at 7 p.m. on March 1.
The public can address the commission on big game season proposals or any other topic pertaining to F&G.
Commissioners are scheduled to set big game seasons and rules from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on March 2. Public comment will not be taken at that time.
Other big game season proposals
Here are other F&G proposals for the 2006 big game hunting season in Southwest Idaho the commission will consider at its meeting in March:
• Eliminating the late antlerless deer hunt in unit 32.
• Ending the deer season on Oct. 24 in units 22, 31, 32 and 32A, which would shorten the season for a week compared with last year.
• Establishing Oct. 31 as the season ending date for antlerless white-tailed deer hunting in units 23 and 24. Antlerless hunting was allowed until Nov. 20 last year.
• Shortening the McCall "A" tag muzzleloader elk hunt by 15 days."
http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060217/IDOUT/602170368
"Hunters who use ATVs and motorcycles could see more restrictions on their fatasses in the Southwest Region.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is considering restricting ATVs and motorcycles to designated roads in all hunting units in Southwest Idaho during big game seasons, depending on what hunters say during the public comment period, which ends Feb. 24.
ATV restrictions are currently in place in two of 18 hunting units in the Southwest Region.
"We've put all the other units on the table," said Jon Rachael, F&G's southwest regional wildlife manager. "We're asking folks to weigh in on it."
F&G commissioners will decide on ATV restrictions when they set seasons and hunting rules at their regular meeting March 1-3 in Boise.
Hunters using ATVs and motorcycles would be restricted to roads "capable of travel by a full-sized vehicle."
The restrictions apply only to hunters, not other recreationists.
Hunters could still use the vehicles to haul in camps and retrieve game, as long as they abide by Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and other land agencies' travel rules.
F&G officials have grappled with the explosion of ATV use by hunters. Idaho had about 100,000 registered ATVs and off-road motorcycles in 2005, according to Idaho Department of Recreation statistics. That's nearly double the number that were registered in 2000. Most of that growth has been the four-wheel ATVs that are popular with hunters.
Rachael said about half of all hunters use ATVs or motorcycles, but both users and nonusers have complained about people who abuse them by hunting from the vehicles or to illegally travel cross country.
F&G commissioners started ATV restrictions in 2002 in Unit 47, a small hunting unit near the Nevada border. Since then, the department has expanded ATV restrictions to 28 of its 99 hunting units.
During a public comment period last year on the department's mule deer management plan, "the number one comment we received from hunters was the need for additional ATV restrictions," F&G wildlife biologist Jake Powell said.
In 2004, F&G officials considered restricting ATVs in Unit 39, the popular hunting unit that surrounds the Boise area. But they didn't because the Forest Service was changing its rules on ATV use on national forests, and F&G received only about 200 comments from hunters.
"We had very few people weigh in on it considering how many people would be affected," Rachael said. "We're trying to do a much more intensive (public input) effort this time around," Rachael said.
How to comment
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is holding three meetings next week to gather public comment.
People also can comment at F&G's Web site at fishandgame.idaho.gov. A survey will be on the Web site today.
The agency also is sending out 2,000 surveys to randomly selected hunters to gauge their opinions on the proposal.
The open houses are scheduled for the following dates and locations. Open houses run from 2 to 8 p.m.
• Nampa, Tuesday, F&G regional office at 3101 S. Powerline Road.
• Boise, Wednesday, at the Hunter Education Center at 109 W. 44th St. (Garden City)
• McCall, Thursday, 555 Deinhard Lane.
For more information call (208) 465-8465 or (208) 634-8137.
Commission meeting
The Idaho Fish and Game Commission will consider the additional ATV restrictions at its regular meeting March 1-3 at the F&G headquarters at 600 S. Walnut St. in Boise. The meeting will start with a public hearing at 7 p.m. on March 1.
The public can address the commission on big game season proposals or any other topic pertaining to F&G.
Commissioners are scheduled to set big game seasons and rules from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on March 2. Public comment will not be taken at that time.
Other big game season proposals
Here are other F&G proposals for the 2006 big game hunting season in Southwest Idaho the commission will consider at its meeting in March:
• Eliminating the late antlerless deer hunt in unit 32.
• Ending the deer season on Oct. 24 in units 22, 31, 32 and 32A, which would shorten the season for a week compared with last year.
• Establishing Oct. 31 as the season ending date for antlerless white-tailed deer hunting in units 23 and 24. Antlerless hunting was allowed until Nov. 20 last year.
• Shortening the McCall "A" tag muzzleloader elk hunt by 15 days."
