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New Year, new hunting and wildlife watching
opportunities |
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December 31, 2017 |
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By Roger Phillips
IDFG Public Information Specialist
Welcome to 2018 and all it will bring for
outdoors folks. Many are looking forward to
hunting, and even if you’re not a hunter, you’re
probably a wildlife watcher, so there’s lots of
cool things in the coming months.
It’s tricky to talk about the upcoming hunting
season while it’s still in progress. January 1
is technically the start of the new hunting
season, so don’t forget to buy your 2018
license, but it’s also continuation of 2017 for
a variety of hunts.
Let’s look at what’s currently available, and
then what lies ahead.
As most hunters know, Idaho has some generously
long bird seasons, so shotgunners can continue
to pursue waterfowl and upland game birds.
Waterfowl hunters should take note of extended
seasons for white-fronted geese and snow geese,
which last into February and March,
respectively. You can see details in the
waterfowl rules booklet.
Predator hunters can take advantage of animals
being at lower elevations, and snow provides
easier tracking, and pelts are in prime
condition.
Those aren’t the only things that hunters focus
on during winter. Most are involved in hunting
year round, even if they don’t have a gun or bow
in hand and a tag in their pockets. We’re
watching wildlife and gearing for upcoming
seasons.
So far, weather is pretty mild in comparison
with last winter, but there’s still a lot winter
to get through. It’s a busy time of year for
Fish and Game crews because they’re monitoring
big game herds by flying and counting animals
and trapping and collaring young deer and elk so
they can see how many survive winter.
Winter is a double-edged sword for big game
herds because the habitat they rely on needs
snow and rain to grow forage and sustain
animals, but like last winter showed, there can
be too much of a good thing.
Winter is a critical test for fawns and calves.
If they survive their first winter, they’re
likely to survive many more. Long-term averages
show about 57 percent of mule deer fawns will
survive their first winter, but for adults it’s
typically over 95 percent. Because elk are
larger animals, calves usually survive at higher
rates, but getting through the first winter
isn’t a gimme for them, either.
Fish and Game collars hundreds of young deer and
elk and adult females every winter so they can
monitor their survival and adjust hunting
seasons in accordance. Biologists have been
doing it for 20 years, and it has provided
valuable insight into how herds fare each
winter.
With a little luck from the weather, we may see
our mule deer herds bounce back, or at least,
sustain their current levels. Idaho’s current
elk boom is likely to continue barring something
catastrophic.
While winter has just started, it’s not too soon
to start thinking about spring. Seems like we
barely get the shotguns put away from waterfowl
season and it’s time to break them out again for
turkey season in April.
I also mentioned wildlife watching, and that’s
another cool opportunity for outdoors folks.
Most big game animals are down on winter range,
which makes them easily visible, but people
should always respect how important it is to
leave animals undisturbed. There are many places
around the state you can drive and park and spot
them with binoculars or spotting scopes.
There’s also some amazing waterfowl watching in
late winter and early spring when flocks of snow
and white-fronted geese migrate through Idaho on
their northern journey. The Fort Boise Wildlife
Management Area and Roswell Marsh near Parma are
both amazing places to see (and hear) them. It’s
also a good place to see large flocks of
turkeys, but tags for them are limited to
controlled hunts, so don’t forget to apply in
February.
April general turkey hunts provide an
opportunity to get back in the woods with a 2018
tag in your pocket. I like to hunt turkeys like
big game and get off of the valley floors and
scour the ridges and woods for birds. It gives
me a chance to hike and see animals returning to
the mountainsides as the snow recedes.
It’s also time for spring bear hunting. Many
hunters set up bait stations and see numerous
bears before deciding if they will take one, so
it’s another cool way to watch wildlife and sort
of catch-and-release hunting. There are rules
for setting up bait sites, and you can see them
on pages 67-68 of the big game rules booklet. |
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