If you are looking to try for a chance at some of Idaho’s best hunts, you have until 11:59 p.m. (MDT) on June 5 to apply for big game controlled hunts. To ensure the best possible experience, don’t wait until the last minute to apply.

Resident Idaho hunters pay a $6.25 application fee, and nonresident applications are $14.75. You can apply online, at any license vendor, at Fish and Game offices or by phone at 800-554-8685. Remember that you will need a 2019 hunting license to apply for a controlled hunt, and mail in applications are no longer accepted. Winners will be posted online by July 10.

A full list of the hundreds of controlled hunts offered can be found in the 2019-20 Big Game Seasons and Rules booklet, which is available at license vendors and Fish and Game offices in printed form.

Meeting by conference call on April 11, the Idaho Fish and Game Commission set seasons for migratory game birds for 2019-20 and amended wolf hunting seasons in Units 51 and 50 for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.

The seasons for migratory game birds will remain mostly the same as the 2018-19 seasons, with a few exceptions:

• Ducks — Daily pintail limit was reduced form two to one
• Light Geese — Butte County and portions of Bonneville, Jefferson and Clark counties west of Interstate 15 were shifted into a different zone to allow late winter/spring hunting opportunities.
• Sandhill Cranes — The number of crane tags was reduced from 306 to 220, in response to reductions in the Rocky Mountain population numbers over the past three years.

Hunters will be able to find exact season dates, zone maps and shooting hours in 2019-20 Migratory Game Bird Brochure later in spring and well in advance of any of the upcoming seasons.

The commission also amended to the 2019-20 and 2020-21 wolf hunting seasons in Unit 50 (excluding the portion in Blaine County) and Unit 51, to allow year-round hunting on private land.

The commission previously set statewide wolf hunting seasons in March and intended to include all of Custer and Lemhi counties to address depredation concerns, but Units 50 and 51 were inadvertently omitted during the process.

The application period for moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat controlled hunts began on April 1 and runs through April 30. Hunters can apply online or at any Fish and Game office, license vendor or by calling 800-554-8685.

Hunters are reminded that Fish and Game no longer accepts mail-in applications.

To apply for moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat hunts, each applicant must possess a 2019 Idaho hunting or combination license. There is a non-refundable application fee of $16.75 for residents and $41.75 for non-residents.

Moose, sheep and goat hunt applicants must pay the tag fee along with the application fee when they apply. The total application fees for moose, bighorn sheep, and mountain goat are:

• Residents under Price Lock: $183.50
• Residents without Price Lock: $216.50
• Nonresidents: $2,143.50

Moose, sheep and goat drawing results will be online in early June. Tag fees will be refunded to those who did not draw.

A person is allowed to apply for one of these three species in a year, and those who apply for a moose, sheep or goat hunt are not eligible for many deer, elk and pronghorn controlled hunt drawings. For more details, consult page 37 of the rules booklet.

Hunters are also reminded that a new rule for 2019 excludes moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat controlled hunt tags from designation by any parent or grandparent to their minor child or grandchild.

Moose, sheep and goat tags are among Idaho’s most coveted hunts, and also among the most successful for harvest.

In 2018 hunter success was:

• Moose: 74 percent
• Sheep: 67 percent
• Goat: 77 percent

The state’s spring black bear season opens on April 1 in a number of units in the state, providing Idaho hunters with a chance to hunt big game in the spring.The balance of units with spring black bear hunts are set to open on April 15.Many parts of th…