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Hunting around the City of Trees
 You may not be from Idaho, yet you probably know that Boise is Idaho's capital city, also known as the City of Trees.
Boise is a city poised for growth, with a youthful energy that draws people from around the state, country and the world for its great outdoor lifestyle.
What many people may not know about Boise is that you can find challenging outfitted hunting opportunities within a two hour drive of the city and its airport, which is served by national carriers such as United, Northwest, Delta,
and Horizon, to name just a few.
Boise is one of those rare places in the lower 48 states where nature is close at hand. Foothills communities are no strangers to elk, coyote, deer and occasional cougar and bear sightings. Preserving the wildlands is a chief concern to
locals, so it is no wonder that within an easy drive from Boise you can be as immersed in Wild Idaho as anywhere else in the state. The city is part of the southwest region and includes a number Fish and Game Units, including the largest
unit within the state, Unit 39.
Within the Southwest Region units you'll find plentiful hunting opportunities for deer, elk, bear and cougar, as well as outfitted hunts for mountain goat and big horn sheep.
Gray Wolves in Idaho
Recently,
Idaho Fish & Game adopted the state's first regulated hunting season for gray wolves. The 2008 season will run from September 15 in the backcountry, and from October 1 in all other areas of the state, and run through December
31. The limit is one wolf with a valid 2008 license and wolf tag.
 Gray wolves were removed from the endangered species list earlier this year. State wildlife experts predict a
population of around 1,000 wolves based on last year's population and an estimated 20 to 30 percent growth rate. IDFG Director Cal Groen was quoted as saying: "In my opinion, without active management, including hunting, we will have even
more predation, more conflict and more injury to elk herds, livestock, and hunter opportunity and related economies."
For complete rules and regulations, please visit the
Idaho Department of Fish & Game web site.
Great Tools to Plan Your 2008 Hunt
 Looking for the place to find information on hunting and fishing in the great state of Idaho? Check out (
Idaho's Department of Fish and Game They have a Website worth coveting. The site provides many tools for hunters, fishers and wildlife viewers that make it easy to plan your next excursion into Idaho's great outdoors.
From the home page, check out the Idaho Hunt Planner. The information is organized in every possible way, so you can search by game species, season, or location. Under each section are listed restrictions, weaponry permitted and an
interactive map of each game management unit for that hunt. High resolution versions of the maps can be downloaded as PDFs.
Best of all, the pages give you hunt statistics that detail the harvest over past years and drawing odds for tag applicants.
Not a hunter, but like to view wildlife through a different type of lens? No problem. The site is full of information on wildlife habits and habitat, news about conservation and activities for children and families. You can subscribe
on-line or download each issue.
For more up-to-date information, hunters and wildlife viewers can subscribe to a variety of reports issued by the department regularly.
Idaho's Department of Fish and Game Website brings everything you want to know about wildlife in Idaho right to your desktop, except your expert licensed Outfitter and Guide. No one knows the territory like one of Idaho's outfitters
and guides. They'll take you where you'll have the most opportunities to bring home a prize trophy and the experience of a lifetime.
In fact, hunters who book through an Idaho outfitter will find their tags easier to get. Each year the Fish and Game Commission sets aside and/or allocates a number of tags for non-resident hunters who book with licensed outfitters. This
system means that Idaho outfitters have tags long after surrounding states, such as Montana and Wyoming, have sold out.
June 30th is the last day to acquire a set-aside non-resident deer and/or elk tag. July 31st is the last day to acquire an allocated elk tag, although just a handful of Selway "A" tags remain as of this writing.
Super Hunt Drawing Update
The first drawing for eight elk, eight deer, eight antelope hunts, one moose hunt, and one "Super Hunt Combo ticket is to be held on June 16th.
Still time to enter… While the deadline for the first drawing has passed, the deadline for entries into the second drawing to be held on August 15th for another "Super Hunt Combo" and tickets for two elk, two deer, two antelope and
one moose hunt is August 11th.
Single tickets are $6.25 and are available at license vendors, Fish and Game offices, or on the Internet at
http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/hunt/superhunt/ or by phone at 800-824-3729 or 800-554-8685. Tickets must be filled out and mailed to
Fish and Game License Section
P.O. Box 25
Boise, ID 83707 |
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