2026 Legislative Session Recap
2026 Legislative Session Recap: What It Means for Idaho’s Hunters, Anglers, and Public Lands
The 2026 Idaho legislative session has come to a close. This year brought a wide range of proposals affecting Idaho’s hunting, fishing, wildlife management, and public lands in a year that was dominated by the budget and undeniably tense from the start. It was an impactful session. The enforcement of game laws, the appointment of the Fish and Game Director, and regulations around advanced technology in hunting seasons will all look different going forward. As a sporting community, we made good progress on wildlife connectivity and public lands issues.
Below is a summary of the most impactful outcomes from this session and what they mean for Idaho’s sportsmen and women.
Big Structural Changes to IDFG Leadership
One of the most consequential bills this session was Senate Bill 1300, which shifts hiring authority for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) Director from the Fish and Game Commission to the Governor. This represents a significant change to Idaho’s long-standing model, where the Commission, a bipartisan body made up of seven members and appointed by the Governor, has historically overseen the agency, including hiring its director.
Impact this will have:
Moves decision-making authority for wildlife management and hunting, fishing, and trapping closer to the executive branch
Could impact the independence of IDFG
Raises broader questions about the role of the Commission going forward
With the IDFG Director and the Commission now both appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate, sportsmen and women will need to place a renewed focus on ensuring science-based wildlife management into the long term.
Open Fields Doctrine: A Major Shift in Enforcement
Senate Bill 1326 overturns the Open Fields Doctrine. This new system restricts conservation officers’ ability to access private property without a warrant. It also includes a $1,000 civil penalty for conservation officers, while exempting most other law enforcement. Proponents of the bill point to private property rights, while opponents argue that it could lead to an increase in poaching and other wildlife crimes on private land.
Impact this will have:
How game laws are enforced on private property
Creates a different standard for conservation officers compared with other law enforcement with the $1,000 civil penalty
Hunting Technology: From Rules to Law
House Bill 939 replaces previously proposed Fish and Game rules on hunting technology that were debated at length throughout the session. The bill reflects the bulk of the recommendations brought forward by the Hunting and Advanced Technology working group while including carve-outs for many of the most controversial pieces that were in the original rule proposed by IDFG.
The bill would prohibit:
Thermal imaging during big game seasons
Transmitting trail cameras on public land
Night vision and drones for hunting
With important exceptions for:
Wolves and mountain lions as well as predatory wildlife (notably not bears)
Game recovery
Trapping and livestock protection
Impact this will have:
Thermals, transmitting trail cams (not normal train cams), night vision, and drones will be illegal for hunting and scouting ungulates beginning in 2026
Strong Support for Wildlife Crossings
Senate Concurrent Resolution 124 expresses legislative support for wildlife crossings where appropriate and supported by local communities. Wildlife vehicle collisions impact thousands of Idahoans each year, causing injuries as well as millions in property damage. Wildlife crossings can reduce these collisions by more than 80% while helping to facilitate intact migration routes for big game.
Impact this will have:
Reinforces the connection between wildlife conservation and public safety
Can serve as a stepping-stone for a wider discussion of crossings among sportsmen, agencies, local communities, and other stakeholders.
Signals growing bipartisan alignment on this issue
Public Lands: A Clear Message from the Legislature
Senate Joint Memorial 111 affirms that Idaho’s public lands are highly valued and should not be sold or transferred. This is a strong statement reflecting what many Idahoans already believe: public lands are central to our way of life.
Impact this will have:
Reinforces support for keeping public lands public, which will be helpful in any future discussions of potential large-scale disposal
Helps to move the discussion towards how we can improve management of public lands.
While SJM 111 passed, there were two constitutional amendments on public lands that did not make it through.
SJR 103 stated that any lands transferred to or acquired by the state from the federal government into a separate trust - lands in this trust could not be sold, but they could be transferred with approval of 2/3 of the Legislature
HJR 10 would have changed the constitutional mandate for Idaho’s 2.5 million acres of endowment lands from a pure focus on maximizing financial returns to prioritizing income generation as well as other activities such as hunting and fishing
Lifetime License Changes
House Bill 855 increases the residency requirement for lifetime hunting and fishing licenses from 6 months to 5 years.
Impact this will have:
Ensures lifetime licenses are reserved for long-term Idaho residents
Helps to reduce the potential for abuse by individuals who only plan to remain in Idaho for a short time
Transmitting Trail Cameras for Wolf Traps
House Bill 678 allows wolf trappers to use transmitting trail cameras to meet 72-hour trap check requirements, rather than having to make these checks in person.
Impact this will have:
Should make wolf trapping more accessible to a broader range of sportsmen and women
Hunting Named Idaho’s State Sport
In one of the more uplifting moments of the session, House Bill 652—inspired by a 4th-grade student and presented by her in both the House and Senate Committees—was signed into law, officially making hunting the state sport of Idaho.
Impact this will have:
Symbolic, but recognizes the cultural importance of hunting in Idaho
Bills That Didn’t Advance:
As always, there were a significant number of bills that did not move forward. House Bill 677, for example, would have made it illegal to use any kind of blind (including pop up blinds) near water troughs or stock ponds. Given that many of us use this method during archery pronghorn seasons, it raised concerns. Those concerns were heard, and the bill did not advance. Those concerns were heard, and the bill did not advance. There were plenty of others; some that may reappear in different forms next session.
Final Takeaways
This session reflected both strong support for Idaho’s hunting and outdoor heritage as well as ongoing debates about leadership, enforcement, and management. Key issues included a shift toward more political involvement in IDFG leadership, ongoing tension between access, enforcement of public wildlife resources, and private property rights; debates over the proper place for advanced technology in our hunting seasons, and continued broad support for public lands and our hunting heritage. For sportsmen and women, staying engaged remains critical. Many of these decisions will shape not just upcoming seasons, but the long-term future of hunting, fishing, and wildlife management in Idaho.
