Hunt applications open for controlled units

The application period for fall 2023 deer, elk, pronghorn, swan, fall black bear and fall turkey controlled hunts begins May 1 and runs through June 5. Successful controlled hunt applicants will be notified by July 10.

Hunters can also apply for the first Super Hunt drawing through May 31.

Hunters with a valid 2023 Idaho hunting license may apply for controlled hunts online at gooutdoorsidaho.com, at any license vendor, Fish and Game office, or by calling 1-800-554-8685. There is an additional fee for online and phone orders.

Controlled hunts are a chance at some of Idaho’s best buck and bull hunts, antlerless hunts, extra hunting opportunities or tags set aside for youth hunters. The new 2023 Big Game Seasons and Rules booklets are out now and can help to determine the right controlled hunt.

Controlled hunts typically have higher success rates than general hunts, fewer hunters in the field, and many hunters feel they have a better chance of harvesting a mature bull or buck during a controlled hunt. The tradeoff is that controlled hunts typically limit where and when people can hunt, as opposed to a statewide general deer hunt or general season elk zone tag that typically includes several hunting units.

Utilize Fish and Game’s Hunt Planner

For controlled hunts, which are limited to a specific area, more specific information is required — and that’s where Fish and Game’s Hunt Planner comes in. The harvest stats for individual units and zones from the 2022 big game seasons, including both controlled hunts and general season hunts, are available on the Hunt Planner.

Hunters can also find controlled hunt draw odds from recent years in the Hunt Planner. While the draw odds vary from year to year depending on the number of applicants, these statistics can give hunters a general idea of how much interest there is in a specific controlled hunt.

Looking back at 2022 and ahead at 2023

It’s a little early to make predictions about the 2023 fall big game seasons, but hunters are likely to see noticeable changes both good and bad. Last year's harvest data and winter survival monitoring of elk and mule deer herds, especially fawns and calves, provide a glimpse of what might happen in 2023 if harvests and survival continue on their current trajectory, from a statewide perspective.

While it was another good year for elk hunter harvest, both mule deer and white-tailed deer saw drops in overall harvest and remained below the 10-year average.

For the ninth consecutive year, Idaho elk harvests came in over 20,000. Elk hunters took home 20,952 total elk in 2022, roughly a 3% boost in animals harvested compared to 2021. Roughly 88,551 elk hunters — just 1% fewer than in 2021 — took to the mountains in 2022 in search of elk, with 23% of those individuals successfully harvesting an elk, which is consistent with the last four years.

As for mule deer, a total of 79,516 hunters headed out in 2022, with 23,588 of those successfully packing out a mule deer, accounting for a 29% success rate. Last year’s near 9.5% decrease in total mule deer harvest is the sixth consecutive year below the 10-year average, and perhaps the biggest takeaway of 2022 was 2,498 fewer mule deer harvested by roughly the same number of hunters.

An estimated 47,286 white-tailed deer hunters harvested 19,182 whitetails in 2022 — still on par with a 38% success rate. The success of white-tail hunters has been largely on track for the 10-year average, and Fish and Game wildlife managers believe that the white-tailed deer populations are beginning to rebound after an epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) outbreak that rocked the Clearwater Region in 2020.

Winter monitoring of fawns and calves

Early each winter, Fish and Game staff place GPS collars on hundreds of mule deer fawns and does (as well as cow and calf elk) to get a sense of how they are surviving throughout the winter. Biologists collar animals mostly in the southern and eastern parts of the state and are able to track animals throughout winter to see how many survive.

Through March, the statewide average mortality rates for GPS collared mule deer fawns was sitting at 55%, which is above the long-term average of about 40% fawn mortality. However, in southeast Idaho, mortality of collared fawns is ranging from 74% to 83% in some of the hardest-hit units.

“In some places, we’ve lost as many as 8 out of 10 collared fawns this winter,” Fish and Game’s Deer and Elk Coordinator Toby Boudreau said.

By mid-April, the southeast Region had roughly 182% to 237% of the long-term average snow and had several late-season storms with few warm days that help melt snow and sprout new vegetation that’s critical for deer.

While most people probably didn’t predict the severity of this winter, Fish and Game did take some measures to help vulnerable wintering deer and elk herds, including proactively eliminating most antlerless hunts initially proposed for the 2023-24 season-setting process.

“We recognized the sensitivity of antlerless mule deer hunts, and ultimately didn’t feel comfortable offering antlerless opportunities in the eastern part of the state,” Boudreau said.

Boudreau added that winter could set rebounding herds back a few years, and the department will continue to monitor the effects in the upcoming years.

Super Hunt provides additional opportunities, the deadline for the first drawing is May 31.

Hunters wanting more opportunities for the best tags in the state can apply for Idaho’s Super Hunts. Entries cost $6 each for residents and non-residents, you can buy as many as you want, and you don’t have to buy a hunting license prior. A Super Hunt tag allows the winner to hunt in any open unit for the species they drew – general or controlled hunts – for deer, elk, pronghorn and moose. All Super Hunt tags are considered “extra” tags, so you can also hunt with a general hunt tag or a controlled hunt tag.

Last year, hunters’ contributions to the Super Hunt drawing totaled about $1.4 million, and Fish and Game use that money to fund sportsmen’s access programs.

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T.J. Ross is a regional communications manager for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.