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 F&G Commission to Meet in Boise

§ Comments Sought on F&G-Harris Land Exchange

§ Fish and Game Statement on the Sale of Hammer Flat

§ Egin-Hamer Area Closure Goes Into Effect January 1

§ Ask Fish and Game: Spring Turkey Hunts

F&G Commission to Meet in Boise

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission will meet January 25 and 26 at the Fish and Game headquarters in Boise.

The commission’s annual meeting will start with a public comment period starting at 7 p.m. Wednesday evening, January 25. Routine agenda items include setting seasons for upland game, furbearers and turkey; a legislative budget preview; and a big game briefing.

A complete agenda will be available on the Fish and Game website http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/public/about/commission/.

Comments Sought on F&G-Harris Land Exchange

The Idaho departments of Fish and Game and Parks and Recreation are seeking public comments on a proposal to exchange 45 acres of the 34,000 acre Boise River Wildlife Management Area for 180 acres of private land nearby owned by the Harris Family LTD Partnership.

Adjacent urban activities have affected big game winter use of the 45 acre parcel. The replacement 180 acres, about a mile away, are more secluded big game winter range. Its acquisition by Fish and Game would enlarge the Boise River Wildlife Management Area, connect an isolated 80-acre Fish and Game parcel to the rest of the wildlife management area and would prevent development in critical big game winter range.

The 180 acres to be acquired by Fish and Game would become part of the Boise River Wildlife Management Area. Public use of the Homestead Trail, part of the public Ridge-to-Rivers trail system, would continue to be managed by Fish and Game on the 45 acre parcel after it is exchanged to Harris.

Because the 45 acres was purchased with federal Land and Water Conservation Funds in 1964, the “conversion and replacement” land requires National Park Service approval and an environmental assessment of the proposed land exchange.

Fish and Game and Parks and Recreation are requesting public comments on the environmental assessment, which is available for review online athttp://fishandgame.idaho.gov/public/media/harrisLandExchange.pdf (4.4MB).

Public comments will be accepted from December 15 through February 15, 2012. Comments will be submitted to the National Park Service along with the Fish and Game and Parks “conversion and replacement” application.

E-mail comments to:caywoodjs@cableone.net, or mail them to: IDFG-Harris Land Exchange, c/o John Caywood, 8864 Kiowa Drive, Boise ID 83709.

For further information contact John Caywood, exchange coordinator at 208-761-8845 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 208-761-8845 end_of_the_skype_highlighting or atcaywoodjs@cableone.net.

(Map available on request)

Fish and Game Statement on the Sale of Hammer Flat

Southwest Idaho’s deer, elk and pronghorn herds have a much brighter future because of the Boise City Council’s decision Tuesday, December 20, to sell Hammer Flat to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

The 700-acre property east of Boise is an important remnant of historic winter range that once extended from the foothills west to Lake Lowell in Canyon County.

“Hammer Flat’s purpose is to provide critical wildlife habitat and wildlife-based recreation opportunities, including hunting and wildlife viewing,” Fish and Game Director Virgil Moore said. “But we are willing to consider other outdoor recreational activities, including hang gliding.”

Idaho Fish and Game will develop a management plan for the property with public input. The process could start sometime next spring.

Fish and Game plans to use $4.23 million in wildlife mitigation funds provided by Bonneville Power Administration to purchase Hammer Flat. A closing date hasn’t been set.

Mitigation funds are designed to help offset impacts on wildlife habitat caused by hydropower development in the Northwest.

Hammer Flat is adjacent to Fish and Game’s 34,000 acre Boise River Wildlife Management Area.

Egin-Hamer Area Closure Goes Into Effect January 1

What started out as an idea by local county commissioners to reopen a popular farm to market road 14 years ago continues to be a success not just for humans, but also for wintering wildlife.

Even though the winter has been mild so far, the lack of human disturbance created by the closure allows herds of deer, elk and moose to spend more time down on the desert between St. Anthony and Dubois during crucial portions of the late winter and early spring. Though the closure has been around for years, officials from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Bureau of Land Management and Fremont County still make dozens of contacts related to closure violations.

For the 14th year, the Egin-Hamer Area Closure places nearly 500 square miles of land off-limits to human entry to protect wintering deer, elk and moose herds. The closure begins on January 1 and lasts through the end of March on lands south of the Egin-Hamer Road and until April 30, north of it. To help keep things straight, the signs marking the area north of the Egin-Hamer road are fluorescent orange, while the signs for the earlier opening southern portion are lime green.

The arrangement for the closure was agreed upon when county commissioners approached the BLM with the idea of the area closure in return for the re-opening of the Egin-Hamer Road for winter travel. State agencies, such as Fish and Game and the Idaho Department of Lands also are involved in the closure and play an active role in management. Individual landowner access to their lands is exempt from the closure. The active St. Anthony Sand Dunes, from the Red Road to Thunder Mountain and adjacent to Egin Lakes access, is also exempt from the closure.

Occasionally powered parachutes, helicopters and small planes have been sighted flying low over the closure area. While the air space over the closure is not restricted, pilots of all types are cautioned to not harass the wintering deer, elk and moose. If the machines are flying low enough to cause the wildlife to move away, then they are flying too low.

Students from BYU-I are also reminded that the Civil Defense lava caves are included within the closure area boundaries. According to Fish and Game observations, the increased number of animals staying down on the desert later into the spring is a sign of the success of the project.

Maps and information are available at the BLM website:http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/fo/upper_snake/recreation_sites_/St__Anthony_Sand_Dunes.html.

For more information, including free maps of the closure, contact either the Fish and Game office in Idaho Falls at 208-525-7290 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 208-525-7290 end_of_the_skype_highlighting or the BLM office at 208-523-1012 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 208-523-1012 end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

Ask Fish and Game: Spring Turkey Hunts

Q. How soon can I apply for a spring turkey controlled hunt?

A. The application period for spring turkey controlled hunts starts January 15 and runs through February 15. That’s also the time to apply for spring black bear controlled hunts. Spring turkey and spring black bear seasons start April 15—some controlled hunts open later. Leftover tags for spring turkey and bear controlled hunts go on sale April 1.