Hoping to send a strong message opposing past and future attempts by legislators to force the sale of big-game auction tags, some sportsmen and related groups in Idaho have joined together to start a petition.
Idaho Wildlife Federation (IWF), Backcountry Hunters and Anglers and others are using the online petition to urge Idaho legislators and Idaho Fish and Game commissioners to vote against any proposals that would allow an increase in the allocation of auction tags in the state.
“I do not believe that the best opportunities to hunt Idaho’s wildlife should be sold to the highest bidder,” the petition states. “The big game in the state of Idaho belong to all of us, and we should all be provided an equal opportunity to premium hunting tags.”
Those behind the effort announced the start of the petition on Tuesday, shortly before the Legislature is set to convene.
But Sen. Steve Bair, R-Blackfoot, who was part of a failed legislative proposal last year that would have required the Fish and Game Commission to auction tags, said he’s not aware of any such legislation for 2017.
“There is no legislation to do anything with auction tags this year,” he said.
Still, Brian Brooks, executive director of IWF, wants to make sure that doesn’t change.
He points to emails received earlier through an open records request.
“From the emails IWF unearthed, we know there was collusion to pass auction tag legislation last session,” he said. “We also know that there were meetings in late 2016 to formulate plans to pass auction tag legislation in the 2017 session. If they are backing off that idea now, then the Idaho Wildlife Federation has done its job. But that doesn’t mean that auction tag legislation won’t come back in 2018, or ‘19.’ Legislation rarely passes in one year, so IWF will be there every step of the way to make sure this bad idea stays in the dark where it belongs.”
Lawmakers have disagreed over the best way for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to increase revenue.
In 2012, the Legislature gave authority to the Fish and Game Commission, which supervises the department, to auction up to 12 “Governor’s Wildlife Partnership” big-game tags, including three each for deer, elk and pronghorn, and one each for bighorn sheep, moose and mountain goat.
Yet to the chagrin of many lawmakers, the commission has declined to offer any tag for auction except for bighorn sheep, which has been auctioned annually since 1988. That tag sold for $90,000 last January.
Virgil Moore, director of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, recently announced that he plans to ask lawmakers to approve raising resident fees in 2018. But similar proposals have stalled in the Statehouse since the agency first pitched to lawmakers in 2014.
Those behind the petition say sportsmen overwhelmingly support a marginal increase to license and tag fees to help cover growing wildlife management costs. They do not, however, want to see an increase in auction tags.
“Sportsmen in this state are tired of politicians meddling in wildlife management, especially this gross overstep to drastically increase and mandate auction tags,” Josh Kuntz, the Idaho chapter co-chair of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, said in the news release. “Other states such as Utah have taught us that once you start selling hunting tags to the highest bidder, there is essentially no going back.”
He continued, “Idaho is the land of opportunity for hunters, and if hunters want to keep Idaho hunting opportunities, they need to sign this petition and send a message to our elected officials.”
For more information about the petition, people can visit http://tinyurl.com/zagr5fc.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
