A resolution is defined as “the quality of being determined or resolute,” and with that, here’s a few of IWF’s 2022 New Year’s resolutions.

Locally-led efforts to prevent extinctions and help at-risk wildlife species across the nation would be funded through new bipartisan legislation in the House and Senate. The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act will allocate approximately $17.6 million to Idaho each year, which the Idaho Department of Fish and Game will use to help hundreds of species of concern, including bighorn sheep, sharp-tailed grouse, and mountain goats.

Roughly 31% of the land in Idaho is privately owned. Wildlife, of course, does not adhere to the same property boundaries as humans. Migratory species especially rely on a patchwork of land ownership to survive from year to year, whether that land is someone’s private ranch, farm, or expansive BLM-managed sagebrush steppe.

Joining the Idaho Wildlife Federation as the Legal Research Intern, Bobby is excited to work with IWF on legal issues relating to Idaho’s fish, wildlife, public lands and outdoor heritage.

Let’s acknowledge off the bat that wolves are a sensitive topic. People love or hate them. They kill livestock, which puts hardship on individuals. Opinions on management typically wedge like-minded folks into two camps: science-based management through the Commission framework or scorched earth. IWF’s stance is this: manage them as game species.

A couple weeks ago, the U.S. Geological Survey released a new report painting an even more dire picture for sage grouse than previously thought. The report finds across its 11-state range, sage-grouse populations have declined 80% since 1965, equating to a 3% annual decline.