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Idaho approves grizzly bear management plan to
manage harvest as part of removing bears as
endangered species |
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August 16, 2016 |
from the Columbia Basin Bulletin
(Used with
permission)
The Idaho Fish and Game Commission on Monday,
August 8 approved a plan to limit the take of
grizzly bears in Idaho as part of removing the
Greater Yellowstone population from the federal
list of threatened and endangered species.
The plan supports an agreement among Idaho,
Montana and Wyoming for state management of this
grizzly bear population upon federal delisting.
Currently, there is no hunting season for
grizzly bears in Idaho, and neither the
commission nor the department is proposing a
grizzly bear hunt. Any grizzly bear hunts the
Fish and Game commission may authorize after
federal delisting would be tightly regulated and
extremely limited.
As part of the federal process for taking bears
off the threatened species list, the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service wanted states to show how
they would conserve the Greater Yellowstone
grizzly bear population if they opt to allow
limited hunting after federal protection ends.
Idaho Fish and Game commissioners proposed rules
to administer hunts they could authorize in the
future. The proposed rules will be published in
the Idaho Administrative Bulletin in early
October for public comment, after which the
commission will decide whether to forward them
to the Idaho Legislature for review.
Proposed hunting rules include:
-- Establish rule to limit harvest of a grizzly
bear in Idaho to once per lifetime.
-- Establish that either sex of grizzly bears
may be taken, except adults accompanied by young
and young accompanying adults may not be taken.
-- Establish that immediately after harvest of a
grizzly bear, the tag must be validated and
securely attached to the hide.
-- Add grizzly bear to the list of species for
which evidence of sex must be left naturally
attached to the hide until mandatory check
requirement has been fulfilled.
-- Establish requirement that any hunter who
kills a grizzly bear must report the harvest
within 24 hours by calling a toll-free grizzly
reporting number.
-- Establish mandatory check requirement for
grizzly bears. Skull and hide must be presented
to IDFG regional office for checking within five
days of harvest.
-- Add grizzly bear to the list of species that
may not be hunted within 200 yards of any
designated dump ground or landfill. |
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