MY TURN: Idaho's hunting and angling community stands as one
The recent attempt to sell off up to 3 million acres of public lands during Congressional budget reconciliation was a serious threat to one of the cornerstones of our outdoor lifestyle in the American West. But it did come with a silver lining in the historic showing of the support among Idahoans for our public lands. Sportsmen and women often get stuck in our own circles, arguing about how we like to enjoy the outdoors. One side wants you to practice catch and release fishing while the other wants to enjoy a nice trout cooked over a fire. Some rifle hunters want the “long range” guys to get closer to their target, while muzzleloader and archery hunters say rifle hunting is too easy. Even archers are often split between compound and traditional shooters. The list goes on, with the result that we spend more time discussing our divisions than our common ground.
But when public lands were on the chopping block, the story was different. Instead of arguing about the “right” way to do something, we saw fly fishermen and gear fishermen unite with long range rifle and traditional bowhunters to push back our elected representatives in the House and Senate to let them know that we unequivocally do not want our public lands sold off through a rushed budget reconciliation process that gave no real opportunity for the public to weigh in.
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