IDFG asks hunters to complete harvest reports

Deer and elk general rifle hunting seasons opened this week in the Idaho Panhandle. Perhaps you have noticed some empty desks at work and in schools this week!

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is encouraging everyone who purchased a deer, elk or pronghorn tag, to report the results of their 2016 big game hunts as soon as possible. Hunters who bag a deer, elk or antelope can complete their report as soon as they take the animal. There is no need to wait until the end of the season if your tag is used.

Reporting is required either 10 days after a deer, elk or pronghorn is harvested; or, 10 days following the end of the last season for which a tag is valid. To submit by phone to a live operator 24/7, call toll free (877) 268-9365 or (800) 824-3729.

This is the second year of a two-year big game regulation cycle. The information contained in the reports is needed to compile big game harvest numbers and reports in preparation for the next regulation cycle covering 2017-2018.

Hunter report statistics, combined with mid-winter aerial flight data are used to develop proposed seasons for the next regulation cycle. Public meetings will be held in late winter when hunters can review and comment on season proposals.

Prior to 2010, hunters had the option of completing paper reports that could be mailed in or dropped off at an IDFG office. Very few hunters were using that option and when they did, each had to be entered manually. Due to the associated costs and the low number of hunters using that process, that option was discontinued.

Tag purchasers will receive a bulk-mailed post card reminding them to report. In most parts of the state, the seasons will have concluded when the reminder cards are sent. With seasons in the Panhandle running later than most of the state, hunters here may receive reminders before seasons end. It is far cheaper to send cards by bulk mail to every tag buyer, than to cross reference who has reported and who has not. If you have already reported and still receive a reminder, you can ignore the reminder card and pat yourself on the back for your timely reporting!

Hunters who do not report more than 10 days after the close of the season will receive a phone call. The caller will ask the same questions that are in the online report, and completion of the call will meet the mandatory report requirements.

Harvested moose, sheep, mountain goats, cougars, bears and wolves must be brought in to a Fish and Game office or check point so that biological samples and measurements can be taken for management purposes. IDFG calls this process a “mandatory check.” During the mandatory check, hides of cougars, bears and wolves are permanently tagged. These tags provide a paper trail to show where and when the animal was taken.

Bobcats and otters must also be checked in and they are also tagged. Bobcats are tagged as a requirement of international trade laws. Otters are tagged because there is an annual regional quota and an annual individual quota on otter harvest.

Bighorn Sheep receive a permanent pin metal in one horn to document when and where the sheep was taken.

For deer, elk and antelope hunters, only the “mandatory hunter report” is required.

Hunting licenses are issued for a calendar year. Trapping licenses are issued from July 1 through June 30. This is done because many trapping seasons continue into the following calendar year. This is a benefit to a trapper who only traps occasionally, because that trapper can trap the entire season on only one license.

Muskrat, beaver, mink and otter trapping seasons open Oct. 22. Trappers need to purchase a new license before starting to trap this fall.

Phil Cooper is a wildlife conservation educator employed with Idaho Fish and Game in the Panhandle Region.