Why It Matters: As emergent technologies potentially allow hunters and anglers to be more efficient and successful in the field, questions of fair chase ethics, and population stability inevitably follow shortly behind. State fish and wildlife agencies across the country are tasked with finding a suitable middle ground, where hunters and anglers can still take advantage of new technologies, without giving them an unfair advantage over wildlife and harvesting too many game species off the landscape.
Highlights:
- The Idaho Fish and Game Commission (IDFGC) voted unanimously in their November meeting to adopt a series of regulations on emergent technology, which now heads to the legislature for debate in the 2026 session before it is codified into law.
- These proposed changes started with the Hunting and Advanced Technology Working Group (HAT Working Group), which then sent a proposal over to the Fish and Game Commission, where the Commission made a few edits based on public input and enforceability.
- The proposed rules will outlaw the use of transmitting trail cameras, thermal and night vision technology, and aircraft (including drones) while big game hunting.
The question of technology in hunting and angling is as old as the system itself. For example, in the 1860’s, states began to regulate the use of punt guns for waterfowl hunting. Modern cartridges, glass technology, clothing, and a wide assortment of gear have allowed hunters to stay afield longer, and Idaho Fish and Game (IDFG) is monitoring these for potential changes in success rates. When concerns like habitat loss and degradation, disease transmission, and climate change, state fish and wildlife agencies may turn to regulating new technologies or decrease hunter opportunities in an effort to maintain harvest projections while utilizing the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation.
For Idaho, their recent efforts began with the HAT working group. This group received over 750 applications from everyday sportsmen and women across Idaho, and 23 were selected to participate. These folks were selected for their diversity of hunting interests, background, age, location, and a myriad of other factors. They met 8 times in late 2024 to early 2025 before producing the HAT Working Group Recommendations, which was sent to Idaho Fish and Game Commission for further review.
The Commission listened to public comments and made a few edits to the proposed rule changes, based mainly on questions of enforceability. The highlights of these proposed changes are that the use of transmitting (or “cellular”) trail cameras, thermal and night vision technology, and aircrafts (including drones) for big game hunting would be outlawed, and some methods of take for wolves would be restricted only during big game seasons.
Ellary TuckerWilliams, Legislative and Community Engagement Coordinator for Idaho Fish and Game, told the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) this about the final product the IDFGC was sending to the legislature: “We knew going into this that the topic of hunting technology was going to be controversial. Just because something is controversial doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be addressed. The Commission looked at the totality of work and data gathered over the past 2 years, including a statewide hunter survey, the HAT Working Group, public comments, and IDFG staff feedback, and made a decision that they believed was in the best interest of wildlife management, conservation, and future generations of hunters. Should the legislature approve our rules, Idaho would be in alignment with other western states like Alaska, Wyoming, Utah, Montana, and others that already have similar, even more restrictive, regulations on these technologies. Idaho is not breaking new ground here. We are honestly doing a little bit of catch up.”
As these proposed statutory changes are considered by the legislature, the conversation will continue. Public feedback has been mixed since the Commission’s adoption of these proposed changes. Some members of the public feel as if their voice wasn’t heard in the process, and others see this proposal as a way to protect hunting opportunities and uphold fair chase ethics. As noted in CSF’s 2026 Issue Briefs, the questions of fair chase and technology are nuanced and complex, and the conversation in Idaho is far from over.
