The Idaho Fish & Game Commission approved three amendments to send to Idaho's 2012 Legislature.
1. Amend 36-1510 to also allow youth under the age of 12 who are participating in the mentor hunt program to possess a firearm. Create ability to transfer a control hunt tag to a minor child or grandchild.
This makes a lot of sense. It allows a parent (or grandparent) to allow their child to have the opportunity to harvest an animal, while they are out in the woods teaching that child how to hunt, even if the child doesn't have a tag.
2. Amend the Nonresident Season Hunting License to be a Nonresident Season Hunting / 3 Day Fishing License, retaining current fee structure for the nonresident season hunting license.
The 3 Day Fishing License is a nice bone to throw, but I don't know that it's going to draw hoards of out-of-staters to buy hunting licenses. Currently, it only costs an out-of-stater $24.75 to fish for three days.
Most out-of-staters come to hunt deer or elk. To hunt deer here it costs (for license & tag) $465.50, and for elk - $571.50. The hunting license itself costs $154.75.
As I wrote yesterday, IF&G out-of-state sales are way down, and it has resulted in a serious budget shortfall.
I would have proposed this: Lower the non-resident license cost to $100, and include a free wolf tag. And throw in a free 3 day fishing license as well. Then have plans to slowly increase the non-resident license cost back to where it was over the next several years. This would encourage non-resident sales short term, increase income, and perhaps decrease wolves.
But I'm just a creative thinker, not a politician.
Finally:
3. Amend the Sportsman’s Package License to include a wolf tag with an adjusted fee. The new fees would be $114.65 license fee plus $9.60 vendor fees for a total of $124.25. Idaho code requires half vendor fee per item for this license. The license and tags are scaled at about 63 percent of full price. Current total cost is $117.25.
That's a good deal.
Of course, if any of these things has you really creased, call your Legislator.
~ J. Bunch
