Checking in at check stations, why there is a proxy statement in your wallet and a refresher on the motorized hunt rule — here’s what you need to know before you head outdoors.

Deer opener update

Deer season opened under rainy and snowy conditions in Southeast Idaho on Oct. 10, but precipitation didn’t dampen the success of those hunters who hit the hills. In fact, opening day of 2018 showed a modest increase in hunter success over last fall’s opener, a trend that continued over the weekend.

2017 hunting seasons were affected by an exceptionally severe winter that year. Mule deer fawn survival was extremely low in many areas of Southeast Idaho during the winter of 2016-17, and in some parts of the region, adult deer mortality was high. Bottom line, fewer deer — especially two-points — were available to hunters last fall.

Contrast that to the 2018 hunting season thus far — a milder winter of 2017-18 has contributed to a higher fawn survival, explaining the higher number of yearlings coming through check stations. So far, check station data shows that two-points make up a significant portion (48 percent) of the total mule deer harvested, whereas the total percentage of yearlings harvested during the same time frame last year was only 17 percent.

It takes more than one mild winter for a mule deer population to recover or achieve the age class distribution of previous years, but it looks like mule deer numbers are at least heading in the right direction. Final check station data will be provided at the end of the season later this month.

Check stations are not optional

What happens to hunters and anglers who “blow by” a check station on the way to or from the field? They could see the flashing lights of Fish and Game enforcement in their mirrors. That’s because stopping at a check station is required by law for those who are hunting or fishing, even for those without harvested game.

Check stations are a great way for Fish and Game staff to talk to hundreds of sportsmen and sportswomen, and those stopping at check stations should feel free to ask questions or make suggestions. The information that is collected is crucial for understanding what hunters and anglers are seeing in the field, and it allows us to better manage your wildlife resource. Our goal is to get the data we need, answer your questions, and get you on your way quickly.

Here are a few reminders to make your check station visit pleasant, quick and efficient: If you have harvested game, Fish and Game staff will want to look at the animal, and your license and tag. It will save you and them time if the animal is easily accessible. It takes a few minutes to collect all the data we need, so feel free to shut off your vehicle and step out to stretch your legs.

Please use caution when pulling into and out of a check station. Keep an eye out for hunters and staff walking around the station, and be careful if you are pulling out onto a busy highway.

Failure to fill out a proxy statement

A common mistake of hunters is the failure to complete a proxy statement when required. If you’re transporting game for someone else, you must have a completed proxy statement that provides information about whose animal you are transporting and gives you permission to do so.

Don’t have a proxy statement form? Check your wallet. It’s probably there, crammed in with your license and tags. That’s because in 2018, proxy statements were issued to hunters at the same time they purchased their tags.

If you threw yours away, blank statements can be found in any of the Fish and Game regulation booklets available at Fish and Game offices or at your favorite license vendor.

Refresher on motorized vehicle rule

If you are hunting big game in a unit with the Motorized Hunting Rule in effect, you cannot use your motorized vehicle as an aid to hunting. Some hunters think this just means that they can’t shoot a gun or bow from the seat of their four-wheeler. But it also means that you cannot travel on off-road trails with your ATV to transport hunters and hunting equipment, to get to your favorite ridge or to actually hunt or otherwise aid in a hunt. In areas with the MHR in effect, ATVs can only be used as an aid to hunting on roads open to full-sized vehicles, like your pickup truck.

There are some exceptions. Hunters can use their ATVs to retrieve downed game or to take in or pack out a camp — but they must stay on trails open to travel and they cannot hunt while doing those activities.

The MHR does not apply to hunters with disabilities provided they are holders of a valid disabled person’s motor vehicle hunting permit.

Remember, not all hunt units have the MHR, and it does not apply to private property or to those who are not hunting big game.

The MHR is intended to manage conflicts among hunter user groups and address the vulnerability of big game and trophy species.

Still have questions? Visit our website at idfg.idaho.gov/hunt/access/motorized-vehicles or give your nearest Fish and Game office a call.

Jennifer Jackson is the Regional Communications Manager for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, southeast region.

This time of year, Idaho Fish and Game fields questions regarding the various options for hunting in southeast Idaho, many of which are focused on upland game birds.

At higher elevations, hunters can enjoy pursuing wild turkey and forest grouse in aspen and conifer forests or in riparian areas — that section of vegetation that grows right next to a waterbody.

Species such as sharp-tailed grouse, sage-grouse, gray partridge and pheasants are found at lower elevations in sagebrush, grassland and agricultural habitats.

Ring-necked pheasant season runs from Oct. 20 to Nov. 30 in the Southeast Region, with a youth pheasant season (for licensed youth 17 and younger) designated for Oct. 6 to 12. Although pheasant can be found throughout the region, they are most commonly found on private lands on or near agricultural croplands. Additionally, Fish and Game releases pheasants at Sterling Wildlife Management Area, along with eight other WMAs in southern Idaho, to provide additional pheasant hunting opportunity. A WMA Upland Game Bird Permit is required for hunters 18 and older when hunting pheasants at these WMAs. Hunters should expect pheasant populations similar to those seen over the last few hunting seasons.

A portion of the Southeast Region is open to sage-grouse hunting from Sept. 15 to 21. This hunt area includes a large tract of land through central and southern Idaho. See the 2018 sage-grouse seasons and rules brochure for specifics (https://idfg.idaho.gov/sites/default/files/sage-grouse-seasons-broc_2018.pdf). Sage-grouse spring lek counts declined slightly again this past year across the state, but incidental observations this fall indicate productivity from the nesting season in 2018 may have improved. Although overall numbers might be lower, hunters should still be able to enjoy this upcoming opportunity.

From Oct. 1 to 31, hunters can pursue sharp-tailed grouse. This is an opportunity that is unique to Eastern Idaho, and often a focus for hunters near and far. Unfortunately, spring lek surveys suggest that sharp-tailed grouse numbers have declined over the last 10 years. Despite these declines, hunters should still be able to find some success with a little extra work.

Similar to pheasant, gray partridge can be found throughout the region, but are most commonly found in valley bottoms in sagebrush, grassland or agricultural cropland habitats. Gray partridge season runs from Sept. 15 to Jan. 31. Hunters should expect partridge populations similar to those seen over the last few hunting seasons.

The Southeast Region offers general spring (April 15 to May 25) and general fall (Aug. 30 to Dec. 31) turkey hunting in Game Management Units 73, 74, 75, 77 and 78. Additionally, in GMU 71 there is a spring general season April 15 to May 25 and two controlled hunts in the fall, one of which is for youth only. Turkeys continue to thrive in these areas, and hunters who wish to pursue turkey should see robust populations. As a caution, many turkey flocks utilize private lands at various times throughout the year. It is important that hunters understand Idaho’s trespass law (https://idfg.idaho.gov/2018-trespass-law) and be courteous and respectful of private landowners.

Lastly, two species of forest grouse can be found in the Southeast Region: ruffed-grouse and dusky-grouse. This season began Aug. 30 and ends Dec. 31. Fish and Game uses wings from harvested birds collected at wing barrels to obtain data on harvest trends, age and sex ratios of birds harvested, and reproductive rates for some species. Based on wings collected after Labor Day weekend, data suggest that forest grouse numbers should be good this fall.

Jennifer Jackson is the regional communications manager for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, southeast region.

Fall is in the air — and so are bats. This is the time of year when Idaho’s only flying mammals migrate to warmer climates or to suitable roosts for hibernation. Sometimes during this migration, they make temporary “pit stops” and roost in places where people don’t typically see bats. Maybe a business owner finds a bat under an awning over a front entry, or a school may have bats on the side of the building, or a homeowner may find them hanging above a window. Usually these visits only last one or two days, and the bat is on its way again.

In recent weeks, a few stories involving bats and rabies in Idaho have been shared with the public, including cases in Pocatello, Bingham and Bonneville counties and in the Twin Falls area. Around five bats submitted to health departments in these areas tested positive for rabies.

Though the thought of contracting rabies — a fatal disease — is both unsettling and serious, there are some misconceptions about bats and rabies as well as facts that everyone should know.

Rabies in bats is uncommon.

• Prevalence of rabies in bats is half of a percent. That’s because when a bat contracts rabies, it dies. Bats do not “carry” rabies; that is, bats are not asymptomatic carriers of the disease.
• Most infected bats have the paralytic form of rabies rather than the furious form. What does that mean? It means that an infected bat will not usually exhibit signs of excited, hyperactive or overly aggressive behavior followed by a quick death. Bats are, by nature, gentle animals and only rarely act aggressively — even if infected with rabies.
• Rabies is a viral disease that is transmitted through the saliva or tissues from the nervous system of an infected mammal to another mammal, usually through a bite. You cannot contract rabies through bat blood, urine or guano or from touching a bat on its fur (although bats should never be handled with bare hands).
• So why do health departments often find a significantly higher rate of rabies in the bats they test? That is because the bats that are submitted for testing are often sick and were likely more easily captured because they are sick. Let’s look at that another way. People in a community who are seriously sick or injured are often admitted to the local hospital. You wouldn’t make the generalization that most humans in your town must be sick or injured just because most of the patients at the local hospital are.
• Bats are most active at night and even in the early morning hours, but that doesn’t mean that a bat flying around during the day is sick or rabid. Though a sick bat may be active during the day, healthy bats will also fly during daylight hours if they have been disturbed from their roost by a predator, weather or even a person. Bats are even known to use daylight hours to grab a drink of water or a quick bite to eat — their version of a “midnight” snack.
• The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that a total of 25,799 bats were submitted in the United States for rabies testing in 2015, of which 1,704 (6.6 percent) were confirmed rabid. Compare this to other wild mammals. There were 12,359 raccoons submitted for rabies testing in 2015, of which 1,619 (13.1 percent) were confirmed positive. A total of 4,857 skunks were submitted for testing in 2015, of which 1,365 (28.1 percent) were positive, and a total of 1,732 foxes were tested for rabies, of which 325 (18.8 percent) were positive. What this shows is that animals besides bats can carry rabies, and that in spite of a much higher number of bats submitted for testing compared to other mammals, the frequency of rabid animals was far less for bats than for the other species. And remember, the incidence of rabies in wild bat populations is even lower than that of bats submitted to health departments for testing.
• According to the CDC, in this century, the number of human deaths in the United States attributed to rabies has declined from 100 or more annually to an average of two or three annually. The CDC attributes this decline to two programs. First, animal control and vaccination programs that began in the 1940s and oral rabies vaccination programs in the 2000s have eliminated domestic dogs as reservoirs of rabies in the United States. Second, effective human rabies vaccines and post-exposure treatments have been developed.

What to do if you encounter a bat?

• Though the frequency of rabies in bats is extremely low, it is important that if you encounter a bat, don’t touch it. In fact, you shouldn’t pick up or touch any wild animal.
• If you wish to remove a bat from an interior, it may be as simple as providing the bat an escape route by leaving a window or door open. If the bat is in a location you can reach, maybe even clinging to a wall or curtain, you can place a small box over the bat and then slide a piece of cardboard between the box and the wall to trap the bat in the box. Then the bat can be released. Never directly handle a bat, and even when trying this removal method, gloves should be worn. See Idaho Fish and Game’s short video that shows how to safely capture a bat and release it at https://bit.ly/2x7sYW5.
• Keep in mind that bats roosting on the outside of your house, especially this time of year, are just likely moving through the area and will leave within a day or two. Leave them alone, and they will leave you alone. If you see a bat crawling around on the ground and seemingly unable to fly, safely contain the bat (ensuring that no one handles the bat with bare hands) and call Idaho Fish and Game for help.
• If you suspect or know you have been bitten or scratched by a bat, collect the bat if you can for testing and be sure to contact your doctor to discuss post-exposure treatments. These treatment procedures are precautionary and prevent people from developing rabies if the virus has been passed to them.
• Pets may encounter bats and other wild animals in the outdoors or near your home. Always vaccinate your pets for rabies, including dogs, cats and horses.
• All bat species in Idaho are classified as Protected Nongame Species; however, that doesn’t mean you have to live with bats in your attic. If you have some unwanted “roommates,” give Fish and Game a call, and we can provide direction for their removal or exclusion or can recommend certified services that can be hired to do removals and exclusions of bats. Never try to remove bats from your home using lethal methods; humane exclusion and prevention is much more effective. Humane exclusions are best performed in the fall after bats have left your home for the winter.

Bats are extremely beneficial.

• There are 14 species of bats in Idaho, all of which eat insects. The Pallid Bat will even eat scorpions and other larger invertebrates. The Little Brown Bat can consume more than 1,000 mosquitoes in an hour. A pregnant bat can eat almost 100 percent of her body weight in one night.
• Bats are worth about $74 per acre to farmers because they eat agricultural insect pests. In Idaho alone, bats are worth an estimated $313 million annually to the agricultural industry.
• There are nectar-feeding bats in Arizona and California. The Century Plant (a type of agave) from which tequila is made relies on pollination by long-nosed bats.
• Guano produced by bats is an excellent organic fertilizer, and some countries export guano as a commodity.

For more information about bats and rabies, contact your nearest Idaho Fish and Game office, or check out any of the following websites: www.cdc.gov/rabies, www.batcon.org, www.batworld.org, and visit Idaho Fish and Game’s YouTube channel for great videos on bats and bat research happening in Idaho.

Jennifer Jackson is the regional communications manager for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, southeast region.