The release of steelhead in the Boise on Tuesday, November 22, will be the last for 2011.

The trapping rate at the Oxbow Dam has slowed, and the post Thanksgiving release has been cancelled.

Idaho Fish and Game already has released about 1,000 steelhead in the Boise River from Glenwood Bridge to Barber Park. The river is open for steelhead harvest from its mouth upstream to Barber Dam

The sale of the popular Selway B tags is being delayed because many license vendors and Idaho Department of Fish and Game offices will not be open at midnight. By delaying the sale timing, hunters will have an equal opportunity to buy the tags.

Nonresident hunters can buy their licenses and tags at Fish and Game offices, any license vendor, or by credit card by calling 1-800-554-8685. They can also buy them online at the Fish and Game Website at http://fishandgame.idaho.gov.

Go to any Idaho Department of Fish and Game regional office around the state and buy them a gift certificate for a 2012 hunting and fishing license. They make good stocking stuffers.

A gift certificate is the best way to get them their hunting and fishing license for Christmas. Adult residents age 18 and over have to buy their own license because they need to show proof of residency.

Idaho Fish and Game gift certificates can be redeemed only at Fish and Game regional offices.

The MK Nature Center's fifth annual Holiday Bird Seed Sale will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, December 3.

Stock up on winter bird seed and find that special gift for the outdoor person on your list. Purchase premium bird seed in 5, 20 or 40 pound bags. Other items for sale include quality bird feeders, nature books, apparel, jewelry and children's gifts. Many of the items are made in Boise

All three paid thousands of dollars in fines and restitution, while forfeiting two hunting rifles before the long plane trip back home.

Anton Kapeller, 58, Darren Tubb, 43, and Samuel Henley, 18, all from Tasmania, Australia, were contacted and later arrested by Idaho Fish and Game conservation officers on Thursday, November 3, near Atlanta. Eleven charges were filed against the trio; most serious were the charges of killing a six-point bull elk four days before the November 1 opener and leaving the animal to waste.

While trapping has long been part of the landscape in Idaho, Fish and Game reminds hound hunters, hunters with bird dogs, and people with pets that trappers have an increased interest to be in the woods because of the wolf trapping season.

The wolf trapping seasons open Tuesday, November 15,and run through March 31 in the Lolo zone; Selway zone; Middle Fork zone; Dworshak-Elk City zone, except Unit 10A; and the Panhandle zone, except for units 2 and 3. All other zones are closed to trapping, subject to commission review in January.

In a normal water year - and with the end of irrigation season - the valve controlling water flow through Black's Creek Dam is closed, allowing the reservoir to refill and maintain a modest pool of water through the winter months. This allows for the survival of bass, bluegill, crappie and yellow perch populations, all of which are pursued by anglers in the summer and winter months.

Sometime this summer, the mechanism used to regulate water flow through the dam was damaged by vandals; the damage was not discovered until workers from Pleasant Valley Irrigation Company went to close the outlet this fall. Jammed in the open position, the outlet continued to allow water to flow from Black's Creek Reservoir, quickly draining the water body.

The hunts have been established to reduce herd numbers prior to winter to help ease pressure on remaining habitat, minimize deer collisions on nearby roadways, and alleviate some depredations on private croplands.

The first controlled hunt will occur December 1 - 14, while the second will occur December 20-31. Each hunt will have 250 tags for antlerless deer only. These tags represent an extra deer hunting opportunity; hunters who already hunted or harvested this fall are eligible to apply for these hunts.