November IDFG Commission Recap
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game Commission met in Lewiston for their quarterly meeting on November 20th. Adoption of pending administrative rules, CWD update, Jacks Creek Bighorn Sheep augmentation, and more were on the agenda.
What seemed to be most talked about in sportsmen circles going into the meeting were the rule changes which would prohibit the use of certain technologies for the taking of big game ungulates (moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, elk, mule deer, whitetail deer, and pronghorn), specifically the use of thermal and night vision optics, transmitting cellular trail cameras, and aircraft - including unmanned aircraft for scouting, hunting, and retrieving of said species.
There has been no shortage of opinions on the use of technology in hunting and the feedback IDFG received from this open comment period was no different. As a result of the comments received, IDFG modified the pending rules most notably in two ways. First they changed the dates when this technology would be prohibited from 8/1-12/31 to 8/30-12/31. Second resulted from the numerous comments about the unenforceability of the rule since it only applied to big game ungulates, and there is no way to tell if someone is hunting those species or something else like wolves or bears. In the end, the Department recommended changing the rule from big game ungulates to simply apply to all big game species and make things more cut and dry from an enforcement standpoint.
The public comments around these rule changes have been mixed. The first round of surveys that IDFG conducted following the HAT group recommendations were generally supportive of the changes. However, the significant majority of comments received through the online comment portal that was open after the rules were announced were in opposition. In voting to accept the proposed rules, Commissioners cited earlier comment periods, surveys that were sent to sportsmen specifically asking about technology in hunting, and feedback they had received outside of the comment portal when voting to adopt the modified rules.
Another change that wasn’t as controversial, but may lead to some interesting discussions if or when it is applied was the inclusion of a new weapon type description - centerfire open sights only season. While this changes nothing now, it does allow the Commission to develop hunts where only open sight weapons will be allowed.
All rules approved by the Commission will now go before the Legislature for final approval.
We also received an update on CWD samples so far from this hunting season. These numbers are changing daily as results come back, but as of this meeting 7 new positive samples have come in - 5 deer and 1 elk from unit 14 and 1 deer from unit 1. The good news is all these positives have come from areas where we already have CWD on the landscape. Since 2021, there have been 81 positive cases of CWD found in our wild deer and elk populations.
We got a great presentation about California bighorn sheep in the Jacks Creek portion of the Owyhees. This herd has been steadily declining since the mid 2000’s and after research, a lack of genetic diversity seems to be the most likely reason. In January of 2026, this herd will be augmented by approximately 30 sheep from the state of Oregon. Following this, IDFG will continue monitoring as well as doing predator management targeting mountain lions which are found to be specializing in killing sheep.
The following are a few other updates from the meeting:
The Commission voted to approve a land acquisition that will add 280 acres to the Tex Creek WMA.
Staff gave an update on the IDFG Strategic Plan update which is the guiding document for the Department. This draft will be released in early December for public comment and review.
Nonresident big game tag draw is moving forward as expected with the application period opening up December 5th.
Two great presentations on whitetail deer, one on history going back to the 1800’s and the other from this summer's EHD outbreak in north Idaho.
There will be a public scoping period beginning 11/24 for upland bird, turkey, and furbearer season setting.
As always, if anyone is curious about anything the Commission discussed, we would encourage you to reach out to us, or better yet watch the recording on YouTube when IDFG posts the video.