Winter In Idaho

By Moises Sanchez

WIN FALLS — This summer the Idaho Fish and Game Magic Valley Regional Office shot 206 elk at night in order to study depredation methods and stop elk from damaging crops. When that information went public this winter, many sportsmen were livid. Their anger hasn’t abated.
Several dozen hunters convened at Rosenau Funeral Home recently to brainstorm solutions and ask Fish and Game about its depredation program. “The rules can be changed,” hunter and meeting organizer Byrd Golay said. “The state of Idaho better get it right.”
Conflicts between wildlife and agriculture have become more common in the past 30 years, and shifts in the ag industry are a significant contributing factor.
The Magic Valley’s dairy industry has expanded dramatically in the past few decades which has led to both growth and changes in what farmers are planting. More dairy means more corn. The Magic Valley region holds more private property of any Fish and Game region in the state — and the most private land in ag production. More corn has led to elk moving into areas they previously didn’t visit. The animals don’t just eat the crop; they also hunker down in it. Fish and Game officials say once they’re in a cornfield, they’re virtually impossible to remove, and finding them is like finding a needle in a haystack. In addition to the rise of corn, irrigation offers elk water, and alfalfa and hay serve as a food source.

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It’s illegal — and dangerous — to hunt at night, so Fish and Game couldn’t bring on hunters to help. Instead, agency employees shot the elk in the dark without hunter assistance.
Several hunters at the meeting questioned a wide range of Fish and Game policies regarding elk management and depredation.
But overall, hunters at the meeting were angry about two key issues — hunter cooperation and land access.

First, they said Fish and Game should have gone to greater lengths to team up with hunters to remove the To understand the second complaint, it’s necessary to understand how Fish and Game receives its funding.

Lee Heider, R-Twin Falls, who drove down from Boise to attend the meeting, repeatedly said that if hunters hate Fish and Game’s “The laws are not written in concrete,” Heider said. “They’re pretty flexible.” For now, White said the sharpshooting approach is working. It’s a method the department has used in the past, and for the time being, Fish and Game will continue using it.