HUNTING: No to auction tags

We oppose the sale of any Governor’s Big Game Auction tags for Idaho’s wildlife. Recently Idaho’s legislators and IDFG are talking of selling 12 more “Governor Auction Tags.” The selling of these tags is for only a special interest group of people. This plan would be an abuse of Idaho’s hunting heritage, of Idaho’s wildlife by Idaho sportsmen and would create additional resentment and distrust for the legislators and IDFG.

If you think Governor Auction tags are so great, take a look at our neighbor state of Utah. They started off with a few auction tags and now they are selling between 300-400 tags a year. The tags sold are mostly in controlled hunt areas along with a few resident and non-resident draw tags. The folks who get the draw tags are hunting with those who paid big bucks for the auction tag. Most residents call these hunts “A HUNT FROM HELL,” coping with all those who paid big bucks for hunts in prime units. Back in the ‘80s, Utah’s resident license sales were 220,000; now they are only 80,000 with three times the population. The idea of family and friends being able to purchase over the counter tags to hunt together is a thing of the past and the same thing will happen in Idaho. Then in Idaho, like in Europe, only the rich get to hunt.

JIM HAGEDORN

Idaho for Wildlife Foundation

Viola, Idaho