Big Game
High quality and wide variety describe big game hunting in Idaho. Outside Alaska, only Idaho’s Northern Rocky Mountain neighbors Montana and Wyoming deserve mention in the same breath when talking about big game hunting in the United States.
The fundamental reason for that is habitat. About 68 percent of Idaho consists of rugged mountains and high deserts managed for the public by federal and state agencies. Idaho still has room for big animals and for the people who pursue them.
Elk bring Idaho most of its renown as a big game hunting state, with a herd of around 200,000 animals. Elk herds have been expanding steadily since the mid-1970s even while harvest records have been set nearly every year of the last decade. Unlike the situation in some other western states, antler point counts have consistently shown an upward trend, too.
Concern over increasing demand for elk hunting has spurred Fish and Game to look for ways to maintain high percentages of mature bulls but this is not because Idaho’s elk herds are in trouble overall. It is because Idaho Fish and Game wants to step out ahead of a potential problem its biologists see five to 25 years down the road. Conservative management has strengthened Idaho’s elk herds over the last 25 years and game managers are dedicated to keeping them strong. (We will be posting updates on elk hunting rules changes as they develop.)
Mule deer have always been a staple for Idaho hunters and nonresidents alike. All western states have seen a long, slow slide in mule deer numbers for more than a decade, a trend many biologists suspect is tied to subtle alterations in habitat. Idahoans see the same trend here, though herds are recovering now from losses suffered in the winter of 1992-93. Hunters willing to invest the leg work it takes to look for the old big guys in steep country are still finding them. The general rule is mule deer south of the Salmon River, whitetails north. A scattering of each species violate the rule, however.
Whitetail deer has traditionally been north Idaho’s secret. So many other states are known for whitetail hunting that Idaho’s outstanding opportunities have belonged to the locals. These herds seem to be stable north of the Salmon and gradually encroach further south, even as far as the Boise River corridor.
Pronghorn numbers jumped in the late 1980s, crashed after the infamous winter of 1988-89, and have since stabilized. Southeast Idaho holds the largest portion of Idaho antelope but they are doing well in the high desert of Owyhee County. Idaho cannot compete with Wyoming in antelope numbers or entries in the record books but our big-bodied pronghorns delight those lucky enough to draw a permit.
Bighorn Sheep come in two varieties in Idaho, one of the few places in the country where Rocky Mountain and California bighorns are found in huntable numbers. A vigorous program of trapping and transplanting has brought bighorns back to most of their historic range in Idaho. California types inhabit the rugged plateaus and canyonlands of the Owyhee County desert. This population of desert sheep reproduces well enough to provide a few animals for transplanting to other states. Rocky Mountain sheep occupy the rest of the bighorn territory. Our Rocky Mountain bighorns have taken a hit in recent years from respiratory diseases and are now in a rebuilding mode in some important areas, a situation keeping permit numbers down until herds come back and young rams mature.
Mountain goats maintain a fairly stable to slightly declining population in the most rugged parts of Idaho. Goats are carefully managed, hunted quite conservatively, and are transplanted where possible to try to fill their historic ranges.
Moose provide one of the brightest spots in game management in Idaho. A long-term program to reintroduce them into historic range is paying off as herds expand steadily, mostly in eastern and central Idaho but some in the north. Hunting remains restricted to Idaho residents. Little more than a decade ago, fewer than 300 permits were issued in a season. Now nearly 800 permittees take to the field each fall.
Black bear hunting in Idaho still allows for use of bait, hounds and spring as well as fall seasons. Bear numbers remain stable at a level that pleases bear hunters but seems to some to be too high. Bears inhabit all but the most urbanized and intensively farmed areas but are most common in the central mountains and north Idaho.
Mountain lions may be pursued or hunted with hounds. Populations are maintained with strict control over the taking of female cats. Like bears, they are found in most of Idaho wherever development is not too intense. Also like bears, their numbers are stable or slightly increasing.
Check out the latest Big Game Update.
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