Idaho elk management plan being revised |
| March 5, 2013 |
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Idaho Fish and Game has launched a revision of
its long range plan for managing elk. Idaho’s current plan is more than 12 years old. Starting in late 2011, Fish and Game launched an effort to revise and update that plan. Strategies in the plan will be driven by public expectations and changes in elk populations. The 1999 plan divided the state into 29 elk management zones, each made up of a group of units dependent upon habitat similarity, management similarity or distinct populations. Objectives were established for each zone based on elk herd movements, habitat potential, harvest opportunity, depredation concerns, population and survival. Revisions being considered are based largely on a survey of Idaho elk hunters in the spring and summer of 2012, and in part on changes in habitat, predation and agricultural depredation conflicts. Preliminary information sheets on elk status compiled for each elk management zone are being distributed at open house meetings on 2013 big game seasons. A series of open-house meetings is being planned for later this spring. Meeting dates and locations will be announced when they are set. Comments may also be submitted to wildlife managers at regional offices, by e-mail to idfginfo@idfg.idaho.gov; or by mail to Elk Plan Comments, P.O. Box 25, Boise ID 83707. A draft plan will be made available for public review and comment this summer before it is considered for adoption by the commission. Public comment will be solicited through public meetings and online. To stay informed anyone interested may track the elk planning progress online at http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/elkplanning. |