Gov. Butch Otter set Feb. 15 as the deadline for The Idaho Bighorn/Domestic Sheep Working Group to get to him its Interim Policy for the Management of Bighorn Sheep and Domestic Sheep in Idaho.
The plan calls for buffer zones between domestic sheep and bighorn sheep, which by itself isn’t so controversial. But when wild sheep cross into the zone it appears Fish and Game could kill them to prevent contact with the domestic sheep, Matt Christensen reported in the Twin Falls Times-News
Research suggests that contact with domestic sheep passes deadly disease to the wild sheep that are among the most prized trophies for hunters and wildlife watcher in North America. Idaho Department of Fish and Game officials have been meeting with federal officials and others seeking to find common ground, at least on an interim basis.
But since a federal judge ordered ranchers to move their sheep out of portions of Hells Canyon last year to keep them away from wild sheep there is little common ground on which to build. Ranchers have expressed no interest in buyouts to move their operations. Fish and Game has also has not calmed the concerns of hunting groups and the Nez Perce tribe, which view the entire effort as a way to get around the federal policies that increasingly favor wild sheep over domestic.
I’ll be writing more about this later this week.
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Do you suppose it will look like this?
This is a draft but essentially they want to kill OUR bighorn sheep so they can run their diseased, hooved locusts on OUR LAND.
INTERIM POLICY
FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF
BIGHORN SHEEP AND DOMESTIC SHEEP
IN IDAHO
Introduction
In November 2007, Governor CL “Butch” Otter directed the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (“IDFG”) and the Idaho State Department of Agriculture (“ISDA”) to assemble and co-chair a working group to develop a state-wide strategy for managing the interaction between bighorn sheep herds and domestic sheep in Idaho. The working group was directed to develop this state-wide strategy in two phases. First, develop an interim-policy focused on the managed separation of bighorn and domestic sheep. This interim-policy is targeted for implementation on or before February 15, 2008. Second, develop a long-term policy that will integrate disease transmission issues between the species.
The Idaho Bighorn/Domestic Sheep Working Group understands its role to be advisory and presented this Interim Policy to the IDFG for consideration for adoption and implementation pursuant to its statutory mandate to manage wildlife, including bighorn sheep, in Idaho. The Idaho Bighorn/Domestic Sheep Working Group further understands the constraints of state and federal laws and various Tribal Treaty requirements and recommends the implementation of this Interim Policy and any policy hereafter conform to such requirements.
Recitals
Whereas, bighorn sheep are native to Idaho and have been restored on public lands in partnership with federal land management agencies;
Whereas, as indigenous wildlife, bighorn sheep are historically, culturally and economically valuable to the citizens of the State of Idaho;
Whereas, the domestic sheep industry is historically, culturally and economically valuable to the citizens of the State of Idaho;
Whereas, it is in the public interest to maintain and restore bighorn populations, where appropriate;
Whereas, it is in the public interest to maintain and restore access to public lands for grazing by domestic sheep, where appropriate;
Now therefore, it shall be the interim policy of the State of Idaho to manage the interaction between bighorn sheep and domestic sheep that will provide, to the extent practicable, physical separation between bighorn and domestic sheep according to the following provisions:
Bighorn sheep populations on public lands shall be managed to avoid contact with domestic sheep under guidelines developed and approved by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) to reduce potential risk of disease transmission between bighorn sheep and domestic sheep.
Bighorn sheep populations on public lands shall be identified by IDFG, in consultation with ISDA, and mapped to identify potential conflict areas with respect to current grazing allotment areas.
Potential conflict areas between bighorn sheep populations and domestic sheep shall be managed by IDFG, in consultation with the ISDA, and with the cooperation of the permitee(s) to achieve physical separation during the season of use of the grazing allotment by the following methods:
i. Identify and define sheep-free areas where bighorn sheep and domestic sheep will be immediately removed upon entry;
ii. The size of the sheep-free area will be determined on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration natural barriers, existing and proposed artificial barriers, and the risk of disease transmission.
IDFG, in consultation with ISDA, and in cooperation with permittee(s) shall develop a procedure, on a case-by-case basis for the removal of bighorn sheep straying into defined sheep free areas. Actions may include hazing, capture, or lethal removal. Bighorn sheep that stray into and inter-mingle with domestic sheep shall be immediately removed.
IDFG, in consultation with ISDA, and in cooperation with permittee(s) shall develop a procedure, on a case-by-case basis for the removal of domestic sheep straying into defined sheep free areas. Actions may include capture or lethal removal.
In areas where the potential for interaction is high, IDFG in cooperation with permittee(s) and federal land management agencies will work at the allotment level to develop specific domestic and wild sheep management plans that will reduce risk to agreeable levels.
DUDE!
I'm so NOT hiring you as a lawyer!
Foreignoregonian, Do you
Foreignoregonian, Do you ever say anything that makes any sense?
Affirmative.
Do you?
Maybe they are trying to jack up the price of a bighorn tag.
From http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/apps/releases/view.cfm?NewsID=4264
Bighorn Sheep Tag Auction Brings Record Bid
The winning bid in an annual auction for an Idaho Special Bighorn Sheep permit set a record this year.
Frank Miles of Cecil Lake, British Columbia, bid $65,000 for the tag in the auction Friday, February 8, at the annual convention of the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep in Salt Lake City.
That's the most paid for an Idaho bighorn sheep permit that did not allow hunting in Hells Canyon.
The highly-valued Hells Canyon hunt is rotated each year between the auction tag sold at the national convention and the lottery tag sold by the sheep foundation's Idaho chapter.
The record for an auction tag is $180,000 in 2005 when a Hells Canyon permit was up for bid.
Idaho's auction tag is sold along with others from western states and Canadian provinces at the annual Foundation for North American Wild Sheep convention.
Two Idaho tags are approved each year by the Idaho Fish and Game Commission to raise money for bighorn programs.
The auction and lottery permits raise money for sheep research and management. Since their inception, these permits have raised nearly $2 million for bighorn sheep management.
The bids are "a clear example of hunters supporting bighorn sheep conservation and management," bighorn program manager Dale Toweill said. "This benefits all Idahoans, whether they hunt or not. These funds, raised by sportsmen, help ensure that Idaho's bighorn sheep prosper now and in the future."
Kill the Natives
No question the native wildlife will be killed by our game and fish dept. (purposely not capitalized). what a bunch of scuzzes our fish and game are. They want to kill the wolf, bear, and anything else that threatens hunters maximum kill.