IDFG may put tags up for auction

Idaho Fish and Game will hold a meeting tonight to gather input on offering five additional tags for auction: one each for elk, mule deer, pronghorn, mountain goat and moose.

The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at IDFG's regional office at 2885 W. Kathleen Ave. in Coeur d'Alene. Funding from the tags would support wildlife management programs.

"The meeting will allow the public to comment on the possibility of creating auction tags for additional species," said Phil Cooper, IDFG wildlife conservation educator. "There have been auction tags for bighorn sheep in the past, but not for mule deer, elk, antelope, moose and mountain goat."

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission will make a decision on the proposal during a teleconference meeting on Thursday at 7 a.m. The meeting is open to the public and can be attended at the regional office. However, public comment will not be taken at that meeting.

IDFG has auctioned a single tag for a bighorn sheep each year since 1988. That tag sold for $90,000 in January. It has sold for as much as $200,000 in some previous years.

The Legislature gave authority to the commission in 2012 to auction as many as 12 "Governor’s Wildlife Partnership" big-game tags, but the commission has not offered any tags for auction except the bighorn tag.

Cooper said he did not immediately know when the auction or auctions would be held, if it is an all-or-none proposal on the tags or if the auction would be open to those who have already filled "once-in-a-lifetime" tags.

The proposed tags would be auctioned by nonprofits dedicated to conservation. At least 95 percent of the proceeds from the tags would go to Fish and Game, which could use 30 percent of the proceeds for sportsman access programs. The remainder would be used for wildlife habitat projects, wildlife management projects to increase the quantity and quality of big game herds and other research and activities supported by the commission.

IDFG conducted a random survey about auction tags in 2015 and found there was support for them. Fifty-five percent of the hunters in the survey agreed it was acceptable for IDFG to auction tags to generate funds for wildlife management programs, while 38 percent disagreed and 8 percent were neutral.

Asked if Fish and Game should release up to 12 big-game auction tags to help fund wildlife management and hunter access programs, 51 percent agreed, 38 disagreed and 11 percent were neutral.

Some hunters oppose allowing big money to buy a tag when some have been entering drawings to no avail.

Some states such as Utah have been auctioning tags for years to support wildlife management programs.

People can comment online on the proposal by going to http://fishandgame.idaho.gov and looking under the "Public Involvement" on the right side of the home page. The deadline to comment online is tonight at 5. People can also contact their commissioners directly.

The Press received a press release about tonight's meeting on Monday.

For more information about the auction proposal, call 769-1414.