To continue reduced harvest on hatchery steelhead and protect wild steelhead, Idaho Fish and Game is continuing the one-fish bag limit for steelhead until Dec. 31. The lower bag limit applies in the mainstem Clearwater River, Middle Fork Clearwater River, North Fork of the Clearwater River, South Fork Clearwater River, Snake River, Salmon River and Little Salmon River.

Because of the low returns, fisheries managers need to ensure there are enough steelhead returning to replenish hatcheries with eggs and also protect wild steelhead, which are not open to harvest.

Steelhead runs have been down for several years, due in part to ocean conditions that have not favored their survival. Last year’s return was less than half of the 10-year average, and steelhead returning through early October were tracking at about 28 percent of the 10-year average.

EMIGRANT, Mont. (AP) — U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke approved a 20-year ban on new mining claims in the towering mountains north of Yellowstone National Park on Monday, after two proposed gold mines raised concerns that an area drawing tourists from the around the globe could be spoiled.

As Zinke signed the mineral ban at an outdoor ceremony in Montana’s Paradise Valley, a bank of clouds behind him broke apart to reveal the snow-covered sides of Emigrant Peak. The picturesque, 10,915-foot mountain has been at the center of the debate over whether mining should be allowed.

The former Montana congressman was joined by local officials, business owners and others who pushed for the ban after companies several years ago began drafting plans for new mines in an area frequented by wolves, elk, bears and other wildlife.

“I’m a pro-mining guy. I love hardrock” mining, Zinke said. “But there are places to mine and places not to mine.”

Zinke’s order extends a temporary ban imposed in 2016 under former President Barack Obama on new claims for gold, silver and other minerals on 47 square miles of public lands in the Paradise Valley and Gardiner Basin.

Most of the land is within the Custer Gallatin National Forest, but the underground minerals are overseen by the Interior Department.

The rocky peaks and forested stream valleys covered by the ban are popular with hikers and other recreational users. Wildlife roam back and forth across the Yellowstone border, and the scars of historical mining still are visible on some hillsides.

Mining companies and industry representatives said the area includes historical mining districts that shouldn’t be barred from future development. Mining claims give their holders legal rights to explore for minerals.

Monday’s action does not stop mining on private land or take away pre-existing mining claims on public lands. But supporters said it would make a large-scale mine in the area much less likely because public lands would be needed to make such a project economically feasible.

One company so far has not backed down. John Mears, president of Lucky Minerals, said the company plans to press ahead with exploration work next year on private lands around Emigrant Peak that are inside the area where mining has been banned.

Mears was parked down the road from the site of Monday’s event with a large sign propped against his truck that read, “Sec. Zinke … Why won’t you meet with me?”

“It’s up to the government to decide if we have valid existing rights but in the meantime we’ll carry on,” Mears said. “We won’t be able to acquire any more ground, but we have enough.”

Mining opponents expressed optimism that the ban would make it impossible for Lucky Minerals or any company to develop mines.

“When you take the public lands out of the equation, it really dampens it,” said Bryan Wells, who lives in the small community of Old Chico at the base of Emigrant Peak.

Asked about Lucky Mineral’s plans, Zinke he did not see a path forward for the company. He cited in part the extensive environmental reviews that would be needed for such a project.

The administration’s support for the ban is notable given President Donald Trump’s outspoken advocacy for the mining industry and his criticism of government regulations said to stifle economic development.

The proposal has received bipartisan backing in Montana, where Democrats and Republicans alike have been eager to cast themselves as protectors of the natural beauty of the Yellowstone region.

Colin Davis with the Yellowstone Gateway Business Coalition said the group will now focus on making the ban permanent through pending measures in Congress.

“Our eye is still on permanent legislation,” said Davis, owner of Chico Hot Springs Resort. “The prize is permanent legislation so we’re not doing this again in 20 years.”

The House Natural Resources Committee on Sept. 26 approved permanent withdrawal legislation sponsored by Republican U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last week approved identical legislation from Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester that’s also backed by Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines.

Continuing through next September, visitors to the Boise National Forest may see employees gathering information for the National Visitor Use Monitoring Program, according to a Boise National Forest news release.

The program was developed to gather information about recreation sites along Forest Service roads. Employees will wear bright orange vests and be near a sign that says “Traffic Survey Ahead.” A similar survey was conducted in 2014.

The approximately 10-minute confidential surveys gather basic visitor information. Questions include: where they recreated in the forest, how many people they traveled with, how long they stayed, what other recreation sites they visited, and how satisfied they were with the facilities and services provided. About a third of the visitors will be asked to complete a confidential survey on recreation spending during their trip.

“These well-trained interviewers will use the information about a visit to the national forest to help with forest planning and local community tourism planning,” said Danelle Highfill, Boise National Forest recreation program manager. “It is entirely voluntary, and the information will indicate recreation trends over the years which improve facility development and economic benefit in our local area.”

Information gathered provides an estimate of how many people actually recreate on federal lands and what activities they engage in. It also includes how satisfied people were with their visit and the economic effect on the local economy.

This periodic ongoing national forest survey was last conducted in 2014. The current survey updates information previously gathered and looks at recreation trends over time.

Information collected is used in local forest planning, at the state level and even by Congress. The information helps managers provide better service.

“Although the survey is entirely voluntary, we sure would appreciate it if local and out-of-area visitors would pull up and answer a few questions,” Highfill added.

For more information, visit www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/nvum.

Making your own sausage — instead of dropping your deer off at the processor — extends your hunting experience. Plus, you save some money and enjoy good eating for the rest of the year.

To be an official “sausage maker” means your family has been making sausage for generations. To reach this level of expertise is a lifelong quest. We’re going to short-circuit the system and use Hi Mountain Seasoning. Your old sausage-making granddad will turn over in his grave, but don’t worry — you can hit that level later.

The real sausage makers will do a cold smoke, somewhere around 87-92 degrees. The smoke will flavor the meat and the low heat will dry it out. That is the perfect temperature for incubating bacteria, which is why you must add the nitrates or nitrites that cure the product and add flavor.

Everyone always asks me, “Don’t you think that they used to make better sausage 100 years ago?” No way. In the old days, they smoked with whatever wood was in their locale and used local spices. Where do you think the name bologna came from? Frankfurters? Polish sausage? German sausage? (Answers-Bologna, Italy; Frankfurter, Germany; Poland; Germany).

Now? You can find almost any spice or wood at your local store or order it off the internet. So don’t feel like you’re a second-class sausage maker.

So lest you get intimidated to even try to make your own sausage, let’s go the simple route at first. Use a store-bought mix. Check out Hi Mountain Seasoning. I made two batches last weekend using their Polish and Original Salami mixes. Both were great.

You can make sausage out of any of your big game and even out of birds. Years ago when we were making sausage on the ranch in Sonora we’d run down to Del Rio and pick up pork fat to mix with our sausage. Now I buy a pork top butt. That way I get the fat plus some good hog meat in the blend.

We could argue forever on the lean percentage but I’d say make your sausage somewhere around 75 to 80 percent lean. You may argue that 90 percent is healthier, but let’s be honest. We aren’t eating sausage to be healthy.

Everyone cautions you to trim off all of the wildgame fat; they say that will give it an off odor. But don’t get too picky or you only end up with a handful of meat. Chill out. Do you not think that it is all left in every hamburger and steak that you eat?

Deer itself is probably around 90 percent lean. Mix so you will have a 75 to 80 percent lean finished product.

I coarse grind my pork and coarse grind my deer then sprinkle the spices into the ground pork. Then I mix it all together and grind again. Meat grinds better if it is semi crystallized (semi frozen).

For packaging you can make bulk packages or stuff into casings. There are natural casing made of pork or sheep intestines. These come salted so soak them in warm water to soften and then put the end on your faucet and flush out the salt or it will ruin your sausage.

Or they make collagen casings. I like them because they have a larger diameter and you can blow and go but I don’t think smoke permeates them as good as it does on natural casings. Before you start stuffing, though, make a small patty and fry it up. Does it need more seasoning? Once it is stuffed, it’s too late.

You can use a hand grinder to grind and stuff but it’s a major pain. I recently got a Weston Grinder and stuffer and love them. It’s 10 times easier and faster.

For smoking, you have two choices: cold smoke or hot smoke. When cold smoking, you’re depending on the nitrites to cure the meat. For beginners, I suggest a hot smoke.

Have fun and happy smoking!

Tom Claycomb lives in Idaho and has outdoors columns in newspapers in Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Louisiana. He also writes for various outdoors magazines and teaches outdoors seminars at stores like Cabela’s, Sportsman’s Warehouse and Bass Pro Shop.

The Bureau of Land Management announced Tuesday that the popular Egin Lakes Campground at the St. Anthony Sand Dunes will remain open until Oct. 10.

It’s a reversal of a BLM announcement last week, which said the campground would close Sept. 30 due to staff shortages and other constraints.

According to a BLM news release sent Tuesday, the campground will remain open for another 10 days to “meet the needs of ATV enthusiasts over Columbus Day weekend.”

“We are happy to provide this service to our public,” said Jeremy Casterson, BLM Upper Snake Field Office manager, in the news release.

The campground typically closes during the winter because visitation decreases as the outside temperature drops. Water systems are shut off to avoid bursting pipes. And the closure protects wintering areas for elk, moose and deer.

The site will remain open for day use throughout the winter, the news release said.

The Egin Lakes Campground offers potable water, an RV dump station and 48 improved camp units, including electrical service, according to the BLM’s website.

“The white quartz sand dunes are the largest in Idaho,” the news release said, and the area attracts more than 250,000 visitors per year. “Not only does it create an amazing outdoor playground, it is an important environment for a variety of plants and animals, providing critical winter range for elk, mule deer and moose.”

I love big game hunting — the planning, the hunting, the camping, everything. But if, after the hunt, you drop your game off at the processor, then your hunt is over. Why not extend your hunt and cut it up yourself? It’s going to be a little hard to explain how-to in an article but we can do it.

If you only bone out one deer every few years then it will be hard to get proficient, so if you have a pile of deer you can practice and get good. Before you panic, remember, cavemen have been cutting up game and getting by without knowing all of the cuts for hundreds of years, so even if you screw up but get it in the pot, it’s not a crisis. I’m going to show you how to market it a little better and get some unique cuts off your game.

FORE SHOULDERS

Separate the front shoulders off the carcass. You’ll be surprised. There is a seam that you hit and it’ll practically fall off.

If you bone out the front shoulder for sausage, you’ll only end up with a handful of meat because of all of the gristle and tendons. You’re going to smoke the whole shoulder and all of the gristle will disappear. Check out this e-article: https://amzn.to/2N6T4xN.

Put it on your smoker for three hours and then put it in a turkey roasting pan in your oven on 180 degrees. Add 2-3 cups of water and sprinkle with seasoning salt. If it runs out of water, it is ruined. If low, add more water. The next morning, if it falls off the bone, it’s done; if not, turn it up to 325 to finish it fast. It’s not ready unless it falls off the bone with a fork.

Pull all of the meat off. All of the gristle has disappeared. Chop it into ¼-1/2 inch pieces. Put butter in a black skillet and toast buns on both sides. Slap on a handful of meat and douse with barbecue sauce and Tabasco sauce. It will rival any Texas chopped brisket sandwich.

BACKSTRAPS

Make a cut down the backbone on each side. You’ll hit a bone at the hindquarter which is the pelvic bone. Scoop out the backstrap down to the fourth rib. I make chicken fried steak out of these.

HINDQUARTER

With the stomach cavity facing you, make a cut down the inside of the femur bone starting at the knuckle bone down to the ball joint. On the outside, go an inch or two below the knuckle bone and there is a seam separating the knuckle and the outside round. Remove the knuckle.

On the backside, there is a seam separating the gooseneck and the top round. Make a cut along the femur bone and hit that seam in back. Remove the top round.

I pull the muscle off the top of the top round and slice into chicken fried steaks.

Remove the gooseneck. I used to make deer roasts but now I use the knuckle and outside round for jerky or sausage because they are so lean.

On the chuck (forequarter) bone this out. I use this for sausage.

MISCELLANEOUS CUTS

OK, we’ve covered the major muscles. Now for the fun part. Let’s save some unique cuts. On deer, these will be small, but on elk and moose they will, of course, be a lot larger, comparable to a cow.

First let’s cover the flank steaks, where the stomach wall ties into the hindquarter. Right where you start making the incision between the hind legs to open up the stomach to remove the guts, you will cut between two tear-shaped muscles. (Oblique abdominal muscle). Cut these out and remove the tough tissue on top. Now remove the flank steak from the tough yellow tissue on the bottom.

Before you remove the knuckle as described above, half way down the knuckle under the knuckle bone you’ll see where an ice cream-shaped muscle — tri-tip — is attached. Mark it and remove it.

I sprinkle both with coarse McCormick Steak Seasoning and smoke. On the flank steaks, I lay on them some chopped green peppers, onions and jalapenos. Roll it up and pin together with toothpicks.

Smoke semi-slow until done. Slice paper thin and serve as hors d’oeuvres. You’ll love these!

Hopefully this is enough to get you started.

Tom Claycomb lives in Idaho and has outdoors columns in newspapers in Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Louisiana. He also writes for various outdoors magazines and teaches outdoors seminars at stores like Cabela’s, Sportsman’s Warehouse and Bass Pro Shop.

For the past few weeks, I have been reading everything I could find on big game migration in the Western mountain states, primarily Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. There is a lot of information on this topic available to those who are interested in wading through it all.

I decided to limit this column to what I learned from two articles: one by Arthur Middleton, associate professor of wildlife ecology, management and policy at the University of California, Berkeley, in an article for the New York Times and one by Bryan Brooks, executive director of The Idaho Wildlife Federation, in an article for the Idaho Statesman.

Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke recently signed an order for agencies in his department to identify and conserve migratory routes and crucial winter habitat for deer, elk and pronghorn. Specifically, he ordered those agencies to work with states and private landowners to improve habitat and minimize development and disturbance in migration corridors and winter ranges used by elk, deer and pronghorn antelope.

Since wildlife researchers started tracking game species with radio collars and GPS devices, the extent of big game migration routes has been realized, particularly in and around Yellowstone National Park.

These migration routes are the traditional routes that big game animals have followed for generations and are the lifeblood of many Western landscapes. They sustain apex predators such as eagles, foxes, wolves, grizzly bears and mountain lions.

These migration routes cross what is now a complicated mess of jurisdictional boundaries.

Collaboration between federal as well as state agencies and private landowners is crucial for big game populations and subsequently big game hunting opportunities. It would be good news for all three states wildlife populations who are facing increasingly difficult challenges during seasonal migration and on low elevation wintering grounds.

For example, the Donkey Hills in the Lost River Range in Idaho contain some of Idaho’s most important elk calving habitat. Big game animals rely on this territory before migrating to higher elevations.

However, Zinke’s Department of the Interior doesn’t control all the land that the migration routes cross, making voluntary cooperation among the different agencies and landowners that control the land a crucial element in the success of protecting the migration routes.

Zinke certainly has a challenging job trying to get landowners to protect the migration routes that cross their land as well as getting multiple federal and state agencies to work together to protect the traditional big game migration routes. I, for one, wish him success.

Smokey Merkley was raised in Idaho and has been hunting since he was 10 years old. He can be contacted at mokeydo41245@hotmail.com.

BOZEMAN, Montana — Officials removed a sleepy bear from a Bozeman home after it was found snoozing in a garage.

According to a Facebook post from the Bozeman Police Department, police and members of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks responded to a South Willson Avenue home shortly before 11 a.m. Thursday for the report of a bear.

The 25-year-old female black bear was found taking a nap against the homeowners’ garage door in their detached garage. They said it appeared the bear “partook” in the neighbor’s honey bee hives before lying down to rest.

Homeowners tried to rouse the bear and scare her away, but police said she was “very content” sleeping against their garage door.

The bear was tranquilized and released back into the wild.

“It’s a good reminder to be bear aware,” police said in their Facebook post. “Even if you live near downtown!”

POCATELLO — Officials with a local land trust say they hope to use revenue from phosphate mining and hydro-electric power generation to prevent development of important regional wildlife habitat.

The Sagebrush Steppe Land Trust works to preserve key habitat throughout Southeast Idaho’s seven counties, mostly by purchasing development rights of farm and ranch land from willing owners, explained Matt Lucia, who became the nonprofit’s executive director in February 2017.

The land trust has long been a beneficiary of funding provided by PacifiCorp, in compliance with a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission re-licensing settlement requiring the company to mitigate for its Bear River Dam operations through 2033.

Lucia said the land trust has applications pending with the committee that allocates PacifiCorp’s funding, seeking to buy development rights of two agricultural parcels along a major Bear River tributary, Mink Creek.

The Pocatello-based land trust is also poised to apply for some of the $1.2 million earmarked last fall by the former Agrium agricultural company for conservation projects, Lucia said. The land trust has a couple of projects in mind that would involve securing protective easements and hiring a contractor to make wildlife enhancements on habitat within the so-called phosphate patch.

Lucia explained Agrium, now operating as Itafos, voluntarily agreed to offer the funds as a means of offsetting environmental impacts of its new Rasmussen Valley Mine near the headwaters of the Blackfoot River. Lucia said a Habitat Improvement Team composed of state, tribal and federal resource managers will accept proposals for consideration from October through mid-December.

The land trust was tasked by the committee with recruiting other entities to apply for the Agrium funds and building a website with information regarding the application process.

“It’s going to be competitive, and the committee that will select projects hopes to receive applications from a variety of agencies and organizations and will focus on habitat restoration and enhancement,” Lucia said.

Jon Goode, manager of special projects at the Itafos Conda site, said his company’s desire is for the chosen projects to be as close as possible to the new mine, though Itafos doesn’t serve on the selection committee.

“I believe there’s a lot of opportunities for wildlife enhancement in that area,” Goode said.

Goode said his company started mining ore from the new mine early this year. He said the company also made a cash payment of approximately $500,000 to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to make wildlife enhancements within the Blackfoot Wildlife Management Area it operates in the mining area.

The Bureau of Land Management encouraged such off-site mitigation projects under the Obama administration. Off-site mitigation isn’t a consideration under the agency’s current policy.

Nonetheless, Jeff Cundick, minerals branch chief with the BLM in Pocatello, believes offering conservation funding is a “phenomenal way wildlife may benefit from phosphate mining.”

“We were able to look in our environmental impact statement to show basically when you calculate everything Agrium put together, there was going to be no residual effect to wildlife habitat,” Cundick said.

Lucia admits he’s “wrestled” with the idea of accepting money from extractive industries. But he reasons mines and dams will continue operating, and it’s in everyone’s best interests to help them offset their effects on the environment.

“I know there are critics,” Lucia said.

Regarding the planned Mink Creek projects along the Bear River, Lucia said one parcel encompasses 500 acres, and the farmer and rancher who owns the land has expressed a willingness to also participate in wildlife enhancement work. He said it’s too early to offer details of the second parcel.

“Both properties have tremendous conservation value for fish and wildlife, particularly Bonneville cutthroat trout,” Lucia said.

The land trust received its nonprofit status in 2004. It currently holds 25 conservation easements and owns three properties outright, protecting a total of 5,500 acres from development. Lucia said 18 of those easements are located along the Bear River, where PacifiCorps settlement dollars may be invested.

The land trust updated its strategic plan at the start of this year, emphasizing the need to branch out from the Bear River corridor into a broader area. Lucia said the plan sets specific goals for individual service areas, based on watersheds. He said the land trust has eight projects currently in the works throughout the seven counties.

Partnerships with other nonprofits and governmental entities are vital to the land trust’s success, Lucia said. He said the land trust completed the first phase of a major project in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Governor’s Office of Species Conservation and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, which restored a channelized stretch of Deep Creek through the Curlew National Grassland near Malad.

Work on the second phase of the project — which will restore a lengthy channelized stretch of Rock Creek, thereby bringing back “natural processes” in the adjacent floodplain — will commence within a couple of weeks within the Curlew.

The land trust has scheduled a 6-mile hike to showcase one of its conservation easements, located within Oneida Canyon. Participants will gather at 7:45 a.m. Saturday at the land trust office in Pocatello, 109 N. Arthur Ave., Suite 300. The group will leave at 8 a.m. and return at 5 p.m.