State: ID

By Zach Widner, Northwest States Senior Manager On January 24, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) Northwest States Senior Manager Zach Widner joined the Idaho Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus, a bipartisan and bicameral group of sportsmen-legislators, for its annual kick-off breakfast in Boise with the Idaho Sportsmen’s Alliance. The Idaho Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chairs Senator Lee Heider and Representative…

By Zach Widner, Northwest States Senior Manager On December 7, the Idaho Fish and Game (IDFG) Commission announced that the state’s steelhead season will remain open, after initially voting on November 14 to close the spring season. The initial closure had been announced after a number of environmental organizations threatened to sue the state, alleging…

By Zach Widner, Northwest States Senior Manager On November 6, Director of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) Virgil Moore, announced that he will be retiring from the position in January of 2019. Moore will be staying on in his role as Director until the Idaho Fish and Game Commission announces his replacement….

By Zach Widner, Northwest States Senior Manager On August 24, the Idaho Fish and Game Commission voted unanimously to finalize a recreation policy Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Idaho Land Board to protect access for hunting, angling, trapping, and other forms of recreational access on Idaho’s state endowment lands. The Land Board, which consists…

By Zach Widner, Northwest States Senior Manager On July 26, the Idaho Fish and Game Commission voted to ban the importation of elk, deer, and moose from chronic wasting disease (CWD) endemic states. The rule, which is takes effect immediately, also applies to the importation of such animals from other countries and Canadian provinces in…

On August 1, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation voted to pass S. 3119, the Endangered Salmon Predation Prevention Act. Sponsored by Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chair Senator Jim Risch (ID) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (WA), this bill would authorize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to issue permits to state fish and…

By Zach Widner, Northwest States Senior Manager On June 23, the Idaho Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus (Caucus) and the Idaho Sportsmen’s Alliance (ISA) hosted a sporting clays shoot and lunch at Black Dog Sporting Clays in Boise, ID. The event brought legislators and the sportsmen’s community together to celebrate Idaho’s rich hunting, angling, recreational shooting, and…

By Zach Widner, Northwest States Senior Manager  On March 14, the Idaho Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus and the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) hosted an informational briefing for legislators on the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA).  RAWA would dedicate $1.3 billion annually in existing funding from the royalties and fees collected from offshore and onshore energy and…

On February 14, the Idaho Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus, along with the Caucus advisory council and the Idaho Sportsmen’s Alliance, hosted an informational briefing for legislators on Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). CWD is a contagious neurological disease affecting members of the cervid family, including deer, elk and moose. Once contracted, the disease is always fatal. Zach…

On January 16, the Idaho House Resources and Conservation Committee introduced a bill, based on a legislative proposal developed by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, that would further protect hunting and fishing opportunities for Idaho’s sportsmen and women on private and public lands in the state. A hearing on the bill was heard…

On January 25, the Idaho Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus, a bipartisan group of sportsmen-legislators working to safeguard Idaho’s hunting, angling, trapping, and recreational shooting traditions, hosted its annual kick-off breakfast in Boise with the Idaho Sportsmen’s Alliance to celebrate the state’s outdoor pastimes and discuss sportsmen’s priorities for the 2018 session. The Idaho Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chairs…

Recently, Idaho Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chairs Representative Mat Erpelding and Senator Lee Heider penned an op-ed celebrating the 80th Anniversary of the American System of Conservation Funding (ASCF). Eighty years ago, the ASCF was initiated by the hunting community with the passage of the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (Pittman-Robertson Act). The Act directed…