Elk: By and large, the elk forecast is really good. Despite general hunts that include antlerless elk with any weapon, the zone is still over its objectives for elk. All things considered, it will likely to be a good year for mule deer hunters — although they shouldn’t expect any harvest records to be broken in 2020. “While it was above average, the overwinter survival of this year’s crop of fawns is not going to make up for the poor survival we saw in 2016-17 and 2018-19 in one fell swoop, particularly in those areas that were hit hardest in those years,” Ward said. With several mild-to-moderate winters in the Clearwater in recent years, hunters should see a fair-to-good number of mature bucks. Hunt details by game unit, harvest statistics, detailed maps of each unit, and hunt areas showing ownership and access can be found using Fish and Game’s Hunt Planner, or hunters can also contact regional Idaho Fish and Game offices. That may impact the upcoming bucks in those hunting units, but the region’s holding pretty strong. The Idaho Hunt Planner provides all information the hunter needs for a successful Idaho hunt: regulations, seasons, drawing odds, harvest statistics, and hunt boundaries in one location. These variations in winter conditions have resulted in negligible changes to deer populations since the severe winter of 2016-17. The Idaho Hunt Planner provides all information the hunter needs for a successful Idaho hunt: regulations, seasons, drawing odds, harvest statistics, and hunt boundaries in one location. The lone exceptions were units 21 and 21A, where we saw a little more winter fawn mortality in each of the last two years than the rest of the Salmon Region. Elk: Elk herds are stable in most of the region, and hunters will also see similar hunting to recent years, but there’s some signs of growing herds in the Selway and Lolo elk zones, but modest growth. Hot, dry weather can result in game using green agriculture fields or high elevations and timbered areas.  Rainy conditions can result in more availability of quality native forage and natural water sources, which in turn can lead to big game being more widely dispersed on the landscape. Hunters should also note Potlatch Deltic requires special permits for camping and ATV use on its lands. As a result they are doing well across the region as evidenced by recent aerial surveys conducted the past few years. Biologists surveyed the area in 2010 and again last winter and saw about 30 percent fewer deer. Biologists saw excellent fawn survival last winter, which will boost the number of young bucks available for hunters, but overall deer populations are still down. It should be noted that fawn survival was not consistent throughout the state, so some areas were closer to average, and a few fell below. The Pioneer Fire is just getting to the place now where it just cranking out deer and elk food, so it’s worth mentioning that elk and deer are continuing to move back into the area and hunting should continue to improve this year, particularly in areas near the edge of the burn where good cover remains. In the grand scheme of 2020 hunting season, that could be significant, because yearling, or two-point bucks (which were born last year), typically make up a significant portion of the buck harvest. Adult winter survival has been consistently high. If you’ve ever tried to wrestle a whole […], If an elk hears you sneaking through the woods, you might be ok. Box 7249, Boise, ID, 83707. That includes eliminating youth antlerless opportunity in Unit 66 and 69, and limiting the youth antlerless mule deer season across the rest of the region to the first week of the any-weapon season. Elk zones east of U.S. 93 (Beaverhead, Lemhi, and Pioneer) are above objectives outlined in the elk management plan for both cow and bull elk. But over the years, that proportion has shifted and whitetails now represent nearly half of the statewide deer harvest, despite 90 percent of whitetail harvest coming out of just two regions: the Panhandle and Clearwater. Fish and Game is currently meeting or exceeding its population goals for bull elk in 17 of 22 elk zones, and 16 out of 22 for cow elk, Ward said. In 2019, Idaho hunters harvested 23,679 mule deer, 3,294 fewer than 2018, which is a decrease of about 12 percent. Idaho elk hunters enjoyed another year of excellent hunting in 2019, harvesting 20,532 animals statewide. That’s particularly true the eastern portion of the region, which is basically missing an entire age class of animals because of extremely low survival in the 2016-17 winter, and had a couple years of below-average survival since then. If we get some weather, we’re probably going to have pretty good harvest rates on cow elk; if not, it will be pretty similar to last year, which was a little bit frustrating. Elk are simply more resilient to harsh winter conditions than deer. The statewide elk harvest has exceeded 20,000 annually for the last six years, which has not happened since the all-time high harvests between 1988-96. “We are in the second Golden Age of Idaho elk hunting,” Ward said. We did not have weather last year that was conducive to harvesting cow elk. Hunters can also use preseason scouting to check road and trail accessibility and conditions as well as make landowner contacts if they are planning to hunt on or near private property. Couple that with the fact that, despite poor-to-average fawn survival from 2016-19, overwinter survival of does remained high (above 90 percent), and Fish and Game reduced antlerless hunting opportunities to further protect breeding-age does and prime the state’s mule deer herds for a rebound. So far, there’s no sign of an EHD or blue tongue outbreak, which are two diseases that can hit in late summer and kill lots of whitetails right before hunting season. What hunters should be aware of for the fall: Hunters in the Clearwater are reminded that 567,000 acres of Potlatch Deltic timberlands are open to the public due to Fish and Game’s Large Tracts access program, which pays private landowners to provide public access for hunting, fishing, trapping and other outdoor recreation. Elk hunters in 2020 can expect that trend to continue. Elk zones west of U.S. 93 (Salmon, Middle Fork) are at or near objectives. The Idaho Hunt Planner provides all information the hunter needs for a successful Idaho hunt: regulations, seasons, drawing odds, harvest statistics, and hunt boundaries in one location. White-tailed deer: There’s no reason to believe the whitetails are in a bad place, and whitetail hunting should be about normal, or average to what it has been over the last number of years. “The distribution of elk has definitely changed since the 80s and 90s, when there was that first pulse of high elk numbers and the Lolo Zone was leading the way. While there should be more young bucks this year, there will still be limited numbers of older bucks because the harsh winter of 2016-17 essentially wiped out the 2016 fawn crop, which would now be mature bucks had they survived. The state has nearly 25,000 farms and ranches which produce more than 185 different commodities . Winter fawn survival over the past winter was about 61 percent, which indicates a stable, not increasing population. Too many elk? During 2019-20 winter, Fish and Game managers monitored 704 radio collared elk in various parts of the state. Unit 39 has been a very productive mule deer unit, and has been for a long time, but biologists are starting to see fawn production go down, and the herd composition in December and fawn weights in the winter are starting to decline — all of which is used to measure the carrying capacity of our deer and elk herds. The Idaho Hunt Planner provides all information the hunter needs for a successful Idaho hunt: regulations, seasons, drawing odds, harvest statistics, and hunt boundaries in one location. Together, agriculture and food processing generate 28% of Idaho’s total economic output in sales and 13% of GDP. All of the region’s elk herds are at least meeting our objectives. However, if the speed at which nonresident general deer tags sold out this year (two months sooner than they did in 2019) is any indication, deer hunter numbers could also be up this year after dropping a bit from 2018 to 2019. That typically makes elk populations easier for biologists to manage through hunting. It was the lowest total since 2011, and about 15 percent lower than the 10-year average harvest of 27,964 animals. Idaho ranks in the top ten in the nation in 30 of those commodities Idaho is the third-largest agricultural state in the West and second in net farm income. When will the 2013 mule deer harvest statistics be available for southeast Idaho? “But it is a positive sign for our mule deer herds and for hunters.”. Fawn survival over this past winter was about even with the 10-year average, and biologists are now seeing that herds have absorbed the effects of the winter of 2016-17, which is partly due to the fact that fawn survival over the past couple winters has been decent. Fawn survival over this past winter was actually pretty good, and managers expect herds gained a little in the mule deer population, which is a good thing, and there should be a good age class of yearlings for hunters to pursue in the fall. Fish and Game offers 1,500 either sex deer tags for Units 39 and 43 (Controlled Hunt No. What hunters should be aware of for the fall: The one tip that is pretty good in this part of the state is to get away from roads. Mule Deer: The region is at objectives, but there was pretty good fawn survival last winter, and there are probably going to be a lot of yearlings in the deer herds this year. The Idaho Hunt Planner provides all information the hunter needs for a successful Idaho … Elk: Elk numbers in the Panhandle also remain strong with Units 1 and 4 being among the top elk units in the state, ranking fourth and third in 2019, and Panhandle units accounted for half of the top 10 elk units in the state with the Units 3, 6 and 5 joining Units 1 and 4. The Salmon Region offers a little bit of everything for general season elk hunting, ranging from areas with ample over-the-counter antlerless or either-sex opportunities, to areas allowing the harvest of brow-tined bulls only. The Idaho Hunt Planner provides all information the hunter needs for a successful Idaho hunt: regulations, seasons, drawing odds, harvest statistics, and hunt boundaries in one location. Anyone else wondering why it's May 2nd, and the info from 2011 still hasn't been posted? Be the first to hear about our latest news and events. Only does are collared in the Owyhees as part of a research project, and overwinter doe survival there was good. The Bear River Elk Zone was last flown in 2017, and was up by about 40 percent from the last survey in 2010. As elk populations have redistributed and continue to grow in these “front country” areas, in some cases pushing the boundaries of social tolerance, it has presented wildlife managers with unique challenges. Mule deer account for most of the deer in the area, but about 40 percent of the deer in Unit 23 are whitetails, and whitetail herds remain stable in that unit. Adult cow survival was 97 percent and calf survival was 73 percent — up from 66 percent in the 2018-19 winter. It also contributes significantly to the state’s economy: 2018 Agriculture Cash Receipts: $7.4 billion, Processed Food and Beverage Sales: $8.4 billion. The allotment of nonresident elk tags sold out by June 17 this year. The Idaho Hunt Planner provides all information the hunter needs for a successful Idaho hunt: regulations, seasons, drawing odds, harvest statistics, and hunt boundaries in one location. Despite lots of elk, they can often find refuge on private lands, or on steep, rugged public land that is difficult to access. Elk: The Boise River Zone has seen consistently high winter calf and cow survival rates during the past six years. Overall deer numbers have been increasing in Unit 39 for the last several years. P: (208) 332-8500 info@isda.idaho.gov M – F; 8 am – 5 pm 2270 Old Penitentiary Road, Boise, ID 83712 Mailing Address P.O. While 2019-20 wasn’t a great year for fawn survival statewide, the region probably dodged a bullet last year, followed by about average fawn survival over the most recent winter. Mule deer hunting in the eastern part of the region is probably going to be a little down, whereas the western part of the region, west of Interstate 15, should be decent. The Idaho Hunt Planner provides all information the hunter needs for a successful Idaho hunt: regulations, seasons, drawing odds, harvest statistics, and hunt boundaries in one location. The Idaho Hunt Planner provides all information the hunter needs for a successful Idaho hunt: regulations, seasons, drawing odds, harvest statistics, and hunt boundaries in one location. Biologists have seen an increase in large wildfires in portions of the Clearwater, which historically has benefited elk herds, so they’re hopeful they could see improved forage for elk and a corresponding increase in elk herds. Biologists surveyed the Diamond Creek Zone in 2018 and the population estimate was dramatically higher than the previous survey in 2013, and the bull:cow:calf ratio indicates that it is still a stable to increasing population. There’s a bit of irony when it comes to Idaho’s whitetail hunting. 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