The outlook for elk hunting in Idaho for 2018 is fair to excellent with some zones in the central mountains reporting elk populations below objectives. Elk hunting in Idaho is managed in 28 zones.Hunters can pick up a general A or B tag. The A tag prov…

This past weekend I couldn’t decide whether to go bow hunting for elk and deer or take one last backpacking trip and go fly fishing. It was a tough decision but I finally decided this would be my last chance for a backcountry fly fishing trip before winter hit so fly fishing won out.

I ordered a bunch of Skulls (black wooly buggers) and elk hair caddisflies from flydealflies.com and I was good to go. I’d been doing a deal out of town so I ran home Wednesday afternoon and started packing. I had a bunch of articles I had to get in before I could leave so I hit it until late and got up early so I could wrap things up.

I finally got all the have-to-do projects done, threw everything in the truck and took off. I got to the trailhead and, wow, not one truck was in the parking lot. Bizarre! What has become of America. Are we all just a bunch of indoors, video-playing yuppies now? No backpackers, elk hunters, deer hunters or bear hunters. Oh well — their loss was my gain. Probably setting at home mowing yards and watching the paint dry.

I threw everything in my pack. Dang, I could actually lift it up so I threw on a half-gallon of Lipton flavored tea. By now because of a few luxuries my pack had gained a little weight but I hit it hard and made it to my camping spot in record time.

I hate that it is getting dark earlier now. I slapped up camp and got things settled. The river had really dropped since a few weeks before. I built a ring of rocks on the edge of the river and set my jug of tea in it.

I figured it would be colder this trip so I’d throw in some Carhartt long handles. I’m glad I did because it did get semi-cool at night. I’d passed a lot of bear scat coming in. Obviously the bears were down lower now eating berries. They should have been up on top of the ridges by now. Maybe it is so dry that the berries were history already up high. There had been sign on the trail for the last 20 minutes before I got to camp, some as close as two minutes away.

I went to bed with my pacifiers (My S&W .44 mag and my Coast flashlight) and slept like a baby. I woke up the next morning before daylight and stumbled out. I dipped some crystal-clear water out of the river and boiled up a pot of coffee.

Time to get to fishing. My favorite hole had a huge log jam in it and was messed up. The river has really dropped so the fish were more congregated in the holes than ever. I skipped down the river just hitting the good holes. Wow, this was nice. Not a soul in the wilderness but me.

I started off using black wooly buggers but it was slow. Then I switched to some pheasant tail nymphs and got a few hits. In fact, I netted a couple of nice native cutthroats. Gee, they’re beautiful in the backcountry. I never can capture their stunning beauty on film. Then I got a decent sized Squaw fish that put up a good fight and an OK rainbow.

Speaking of nets. Ugh, I’d forgotten mine. I bet I have six nets, too. I’ve never forgotten a net before. Luckily I wasn’t catching any of the 24-plus-inch bull trout this time or I’d have been in trouble.

Sometime after lunch, it warmed up so I took off my long handles and was just fishing in shorts and a T-shirt. In a bit I saw a hole I wanted to slip down to and try. I didn’t think it was that steep but somehow my feet slipped and flipped up like the bandits in a “Home Alone” movie and I came down hard on the rocks. Luckily my bum took the brunt of the blow and not my back or ribs. Ugh, I already had a broke rib from an incident three weeks earlier. Didn’t need one on both sides!

Well, after a few days, it was time to pack up and leave. Packing out, I finally passed a real live human being. What unique creatures.

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.

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.

The first grizzly bear hunts in decades remain on hold.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen extended a temporary restraining order blocking the hunting of Yellowstone area grizzly bears in Wyoming and Idaho while he mulls restoring federal protections for the large carnivores.

Christensen’s order came a day after hunt opponents requested an extension of the restraining order he granted two weeks ago after a hearing in Missoula. The order was set to expire Thursday. Its expiration could have allowed hunts to go forward in the two states.

The extension will last two weeks. It’s a win for the tribal and conservation groups that sued to restore Endangered Species Act protections for the bears that live in and around the park.

“We are gratified Yellowstone’s beloved bears are once again safe from trophy hunters’ bullets,” said Bethany Cotton, of WildEarth Guardians, in an emailed statement. “We look forward to the judge’s thoughtful resolution of the deep flaws with the feds’ removal of protections from these imperiled bears.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lifted protections last year, arguing that the population of approximately 700 grizzlies is recovered. Following the removal of the protections, wildlife managers in Idaho and Wyoming planned hunting seasons for this fall.

Idaho issued one permit. Its season was to open on Sept. 1. Wyoming’s season would allow the killing of more than 20 bears and was split into two parts — one opening on Sept. 1 and the other opening on Sept. 15.

Opponents of delisting and the hunts argue the bears still face significant threats and should remain protected. They are hoping Christensen will ultimately come out with a decision that returns the bears to the threatened list and prevents hunting from taking place anytime soon.

State and federal officials believe the population is healthy and can survive even with state-managed hunting. They consider the grizzly bear’s recovery a conservation success.

All grizzly bears in the Lower 48 states were listed as threatened in 1975. The Fish and Wildlife Service has six designated recovery zones in the western United States.

The only population that’s recovered as well as Yellowstone’s is the one in and around Glacier National Park. Wildlife officials estimate that about 1,000 grizzlies live there and they’ve started the process of removing protections there.

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.