Idaho Fish & Game postpones decision to auction more tags

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission met on Thursday morning via conference call to decide whether or not it would auction off five more big-game tags at the governor’s auction.

The new tags being considered for auction would include one each for elk, mule deer, mountain goat, pronghorn and moose.

Lane Clezie, the Fish and Game commissioner for the Southeast region, said the result of the conference call was to defer the decision until the March meeting.

Clezie said the reason for this is they don’t feel like they had enough public input to make a decision at this point.

The commission felt it was too short of notice to get enough feedback for it to make an informed decision. No public meeting or open house was held on the issue.

“As a consideration for our sportsmen, we’d really like to have more feedback and input before we make this kind of decision,” Clezie said. “We want to hear more from our sportsmen and women first.”

He said it’s a decision that affects the community, and so they want a lot of community input.

In 2012, the Idaho Legislature authorized the commission to auction up to 12 big-game tags. Currently the commission only offers one for bighorn sheep, which it auctions every year. It sold for $90,000 in January.

The committee will make its decision at the March meeting.

If you would like to submit an opinion on the decision, you can go to the commission’s website:http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/

You can also find and contact the commissioners directly at:http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/public/about/commission/?getPage=183

The commission also unanimously opposed a Senate bill mandating there be more big-game tags auctioned.