25/06: Trappers Inn Party
Well, our first party at Trappers Inn was a success. Over 300 people came for food, fun, booze and dancing. We served hamburgers, chorizos and hot dogs. Sound County, formerly U-Turn was the band and they did a great job. If you weren't hear, you missed out. Our next party is on July 21st. You better be there!
I'll be posting some party pictures soon. Check back.
I'll be posting some party pictures soon. Check back.
Recent scientific and economic continue to be cranked out by both proponents and opponents of breaching of the three dams on the lower Snake River downstream of Lewiston, Idaho.
Legislation entitled the Salmon Economic Analysis and Planning Act (SEAPA—H.R. 1507) has been introduced in Congress. SEAPA would authorize independent studies form the National Academy of Sciences and Government Accountability Office to provide Congress with up-to-date information to make timely decisions regarding the future of the Columbia-Snake River Basin salmon recovery. SEAPA seeks a thorough analysis of salmon recovery measures including dam breaching in order to develop a complete picture of what’s necessary to protect and restore salmon and steelhead populations. SEAPA can be read at www.thomas.gov
Legislation entitled the Salmon Economic Analysis and Planning Act (SEAPA—H.R. 1507) has been introduced in Congress. SEAPA would authorize independent studies form the National Academy of Sciences and Government Accountability Office to provide Congress with up-to-date information to make timely decisions regarding the future of the Columbia-Snake River Basin salmon recovery. SEAPA seeks a thorough analysis of salmon recovery measures including dam breaching in order to develop a complete picture of what’s necessary to protect and restore salmon and steelhead populations. SEAPA can be read at www.thomas.gov
June 1, 2007, 10:55 am
Working Group Fights for Vista Values
By Jake Putnam, Idaho Farm Bureau Federation Writer
BOISE—From the Tetons to Priest Lake, to the Owyhees, Idaho landscapes are breathtaking but threatened. An unlikely group of Idahoans have joined forces to preserve the scenic beauty of Idaho and they want legislation passed that will set aside the state’s valuable vistas for generations to come.
“If you look at the Tetons and see the rolling foothills in front of them,” said farmer Emma Atchley of Ashton. “Those lands are farm and forest lands. If you cover them with houses we will never have that wide open view again. It’s gone forever; these are the lands we want to preserve.”
The Ranch, Farm and Forest Working group is made up of farmers and ranchers, conservation groups and sportsmen. Joining forces back in 2005 with the goal of preserving Idaho, the group got to work and did their research. They found the same old story in Bonner, Boundary, and Bonneville counties; that Idaho is slowly losing its rural character with developers buying up parcels at an alarming rate. The group proposed a tax credit to landowners that set aside valuable lands.
“In other words they would agree with the state not to develop their land,” said Will Whelan of the Nature Conservancy. “Landowners would get an income tax credit half of the value of their donation to keep the land open and that would provide wildlife and water quality benefits and in exchange they would get the income tax credit, worth half the value of the donation on the development rights on the land.”
Rancher Jim Little of Emmett has seen his county go from rural to urban almost overnight. “As I have watched the Helter, Skelter direction we're going in my area, I think what’s this going to look like in 50 years and I don’t think any of us are going to like it, a lot of people are going to be disappointed with it."
Last session the House Revenue and Taxation Committee printed House Bill 262 but that’s as far as it got. Lawmakers thought the bill complicated and a tight budget turned lawmakers away. This year the working group vows to get the legislation passed because time and land is slipping away.
Rancher Margaret Soulen-Hinson raises cattle and sheep outside of Weiser she says the Ranch, Farm and Forest Protection Act could save Idaho’s greatest assets and values.
“You think about what people in Idaho value, they value the wildlife,” said Soulen. They value the large open landscapes, they value the ability to be outdoors and have room to recreate on.”
The group says Idaho is losing wildlife habitat and that affects not only hunting but the Endangered Species Act, tax incentives for open space would ease Idaho’s growing pains and its ESA problems.
“A lot of the game that we find so valuable relies on private lands to grow them, to provide them the habitat, the winter range that they need,” said Nate Helm Executive Director, Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife Idaho.
The group says the impact on the state budget is minimal, just $3 million year and the group says it works like this:
- The Ranch, Farm and Forest Protection Act would provide a tax credit to owners of agricultural and forest land who voluntarily agree not to develop lands important to fish and wildlife.
- Eligible lands must continually be used for agriculture and forestry.
- An advisory committee will review each proposed use of the tax credit to ensure it meets the needs of wildlife and to safeguard against misuse of the credit.
- The advisory committee will include three government offices — the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the Office of Species Conservation and Department of Lands — and representatives from the agriculture and recreation communities.
- The committee will select only the highest priority projects because the maximum amount of tax credits offered by the state is $3 million per year.
- Prioritization will be given to the highest value of land critical for wildlife, such as migration corridors or spawning areas.
- A landowner who meets the criteria set by the advisory committee will receive a transferable income tax credit equal to only 50 percent of the appraised value — not the full value — of a voluntary conservation donation. The maximum credit is $500,000.
Courtney Washburn of the Idaho Conservation League says incentives will help keep working lands working and good stewards will be rewarded. “So its time for policy makers to set fourth and start protecting some of those natural resources which largely are in private lands in Idaho.”
The bill's supporters have until January to make their pitch to lawmakers. They’re inviting lawmakers’ summer field trips and outings to show off where the tax breaks would be used. Landscapes with snowcapped peaks, elk grazing in a meadow, and seeing the state’s wide open spaces should inspire lawmakers to act in 2008.
Working Group Fights for Vista Values
By Jake Putnam, Idaho Farm Bureau Federation Writer
BOISE—From the Tetons to Priest Lake, to the Owyhees, Idaho landscapes are breathtaking but threatened. An unlikely group of Idahoans have joined forces to preserve the scenic beauty of Idaho and they want legislation passed that will set aside the state’s valuable vistas for generations to come.
“If you look at the Tetons and see the rolling foothills in front of them,” said farmer Emma Atchley of Ashton. “Those lands are farm and forest lands. If you cover them with houses we will never have that wide open view again. It’s gone forever; these are the lands we want to preserve.”
The Ranch, Farm and Forest Working group is made up of farmers and ranchers, conservation groups and sportsmen. Joining forces back in 2005 with the goal of preserving Idaho, the group got to work and did their research. They found the same old story in Bonner, Boundary, and Bonneville counties; that Idaho is slowly losing its rural character with developers buying up parcels at an alarming rate. The group proposed a tax credit to landowners that set aside valuable lands.
“In other words they would agree with the state not to develop their land,” said Will Whelan of the Nature Conservancy. “Landowners would get an income tax credit half of the value of their donation to keep the land open and that would provide wildlife and water quality benefits and in exchange they would get the income tax credit, worth half the value of the donation on the development rights on the land.”
Rancher Jim Little of Emmett has seen his county go from rural to urban almost overnight. “As I have watched the Helter, Skelter direction we're going in my area, I think what’s this going to look like in 50 years and I don’t think any of us are going to like it, a lot of people are going to be disappointed with it."
Last session the House Revenue and Taxation Committee printed House Bill 262 but that’s as far as it got. Lawmakers thought the bill complicated and a tight budget turned lawmakers away. This year the working group vows to get the legislation passed because time and land is slipping away.
Rancher Margaret Soulen-Hinson raises cattle and sheep outside of Weiser she says the Ranch, Farm and Forest Protection Act could save Idaho’s greatest assets and values.
“You think about what people in Idaho value, they value the wildlife,” said Soulen. They value the large open landscapes, they value the ability to be outdoors and have room to recreate on.”
The group says Idaho is losing wildlife habitat and that affects not only hunting but the Endangered Species Act, tax incentives for open space would ease Idaho’s growing pains and its ESA problems.
“A lot of the game that we find so valuable relies on private lands to grow them, to provide them the habitat, the winter range that they need,” said Nate Helm Executive Director, Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife Idaho.
The group says the impact on the state budget is minimal, just $3 million year and the group says it works like this:
- The Ranch, Farm and Forest Protection Act would provide a tax credit to owners of agricultural and forest land who voluntarily agree not to develop lands important to fish and wildlife.
- Eligible lands must continually be used for agriculture and forestry.
- An advisory committee will review each proposed use of the tax credit to ensure it meets the needs of wildlife and to safeguard against misuse of the credit.
- The advisory committee will include three government offices — the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the Office of Species Conservation and Department of Lands — and representatives from the agriculture and recreation communities.
- The committee will select only the highest priority projects because the maximum amount of tax credits offered by the state is $3 million per year.
- Prioritization will be given to the highest value of land critical for wildlife, such as migration corridors or spawning areas.
- A landowner who meets the criteria set by the advisory committee will receive a transferable income tax credit equal to only 50 percent of the appraised value — not the full value — of a voluntary conservation donation. The maximum credit is $500,000.
Courtney Washburn of the Idaho Conservation League says incentives will help keep working lands working and good stewards will be rewarded. “So its time for policy makers to set fourth and start protecting some of those natural resources which largely are in private lands in Idaho.”
The bill's supporters have until January to make their pitch to lawmakers. They’re inviting lawmakers’ summer field trips and outings to show off where the tax breaks would be used. Landscapes with snowcapped peaks, elk grazing in a meadow, and seeing the state’s wide open spaces should inspire lawmakers to act in 2008.
We just got back from the IOGA Sportsmans Show in Boise. On the last day of the show, George entered Cory in the elk calling championship. He didn't have any of his calls, so he bought one from the booth accross the isle from us (Deep Timber Sounds) and went out in his Jeep to practice for a few minutes. He was the last one up and we could tell he was nervous, but after it was all over he won the adult division! Check out his buckle.
By JOHN MILLER
Associated Press writer Saturday, February 17, 2007
BOISE, Idaho -- An industry-backed plan to regulate Idaho elk ranches trumped stricter proposals Thursday during Senate debate that included talk of "grain-fed monsters" and "French-kissing" elk spreading disease through fences.
The Senate Agriculture Affairs Committee voted 7-1 for a licensing program for Idaho's nearly 80 elk ranches, 17 of which offer "shooter-bull" fenced hunts. The ranches have come under scrutiny since up to 160 animals bolted from an eastern Idaho preserve last year.
If it becomes law, the plan passed Thursday calls for a $5 licensing fee for the state's nearly 6,000 farm-raised elk, a $200 fee for state Department of Agriculture inspections, and the authority to shut down operations not abiding by the rules. Ag officials could also order double fences where needed, according to the bill now headed to the full Senate.
Three measures failed: To ban penned elk hunts; require double fences; and start a 5-year moratorium on new elk ranches. Democrats who backed them raised the specter of a citizen initiative to ban elk-hunting ranches.
"If anybody is under the illusion that this is a major improvement of our control and oversight of these facilities, I want to dissuade you," said Sen. Kate Kelly, D-Boise, of the bill that passed.
Elk ranchers who helped come up with the bill say it's an effective way to put maverick operations out of business while not penalizing those who follow the rules.
"This gives them (the Department of Agriculture) the armament to deal with people who may be outliers," Ted Rea, president of the Idaho Elk Breeders Association, told The Associated Press after the vote.
The furor over farm-raised elk, sold for meat, antler velvet or as trophies, was rekindled in August when up to 160 escaped a private hunting preserve near Rexburg. An emergency hunt was ordered to prevent interbreeding or the spread of disease to wild elk that bring $300 million annually to Idaho's economy from hunting and related activities.
Idaho is pursuing a legal case against that preserve's owner, Rex Rammell, for alleged violations of existing rules, including improper tags required to mark domestic elk from wild ones.
Fair-chase hunting activists such as the Idaho Conservation Officers Association have argued that breakouts from private preserves will eventually spread disease to Idaho's wild herds.
They also contend that bulls raised on farms for gigantic antlers and sold to wealthy shooters for up to $30,000 cheapen the experience of stalking game in the wild.
"The 300-pound bull I shot a few years ago, after 38 years of fair-chase hunting, would fit inside most of those grain-fed monsters," Senate Minority Leader Clint Stennett, D-Ketchum, said Thursday.
Rea, of the Elk Breeders Association, ridiculed the notion that Idaho hunters who drive pickup trucks into the woods to shoot big game were somehow preserving a sacred heritage. Defenders of traditional hunting should be open-minded to fenced operations that have thrived in countries such as South Africa and New Zealand, he said.
"We're not trying to appeal to the Idaho local," Rea said.
Elk-ranching proponents also downplayed the threat of disease from domestic elk herds, pointing out testing for brucellosis, tuberculosis and chronic wasting disease has turned up nothing in 12 years. Meanwhile, Idaho's wild herds have brucellosis, and Wyoming and Utah deer and elk herds have tested positive for chronic wasting disease.
If disease gets spread through elk "French-kissing through the fence," as Sen. Tom Gannon, R-Buhl, put it, then "the disease will walk across the border ... in the form of a wild elk," he said.
Kristy Sterns of Black Canyon Elk Ranch near Emmett said she expects industry foes to attempt a voter initiative like the one that was passed in Montana in 2000 to ban shooter-bull hunts.
"We'll just continue to educate the public," Sterns, whose ranch doesn't offer hunts but sells bulls to ones that do, told the AP.
Matt Compton, lobbyist for the Idaho Sportsman's Caucus Advisory Council, said that while his group won't spearhead an initiative, individual members might.
"There are going to be a lot of sportsmen who are going to take it into their own hands," Compton said.
Associated Press writer Saturday, February 17, 2007
BOISE, Idaho -- An industry-backed plan to regulate Idaho elk ranches trumped stricter proposals Thursday during Senate debate that included talk of "grain-fed monsters" and "French-kissing" elk spreading disease through fences.
The Senate Agriculture Affairs Committee voted 7-1 for a licensing program for Idaho's nearly 80 elk ranches, 17 of which offer "shooter-bull" fenced hunts. The ranches have come under scrutiny since up to 160 animals bolted from an eastern Idaho preserve last year.
If it becomes law, the plan passed Thursday calls for a $5 licensing fee for the state's nearly 6,000 farm-raised elk, a $200 fee for state Department of Agriculture inspections, and the authority to shut down operations not abiding by the rules. Ag officials could also order double fences where needed, according to the bill now headed to the full Senate.
Three measures failed: To ban penned elk hunts; require double fences; and start a 5-year moratorium on new elk ranches. Democrats who backed them raised the specter of a citizen initiative to ban elk-hunting ranches.
"If anybody is under the illusion that this is a major improvement of our control and oversight of these facilities, I want to dissuade you," said Sen. Kate Kelly, D-Boise, of the bill that passed.
Elk ranchers who helped come up with the bill say it's an effective way to put maverick operations out of business while not penalizing those who follow the rules.
"This gives them (the Department of Agriculture) the armament to deal with people who may be outliers," Ted Rea, president of the Idaho Elk Breeders Association, told The Associated Press after the vote.
The furor over farm-raised elk, sold for meat, antler velvet or as trophies, was rekindled in August when up to 160 escaped a private hunting preserve near Rexburg. An emergency hunt was ordered to prevent interbreeding or the spread of disease to wild elk that bring $300 million annually to Idaho's economy from hunting and related activities.
Idaho is pursuing a legal case against that preserve's owner, Rex Rammell, for alleged violations of existing rules, including improper tags required to mark domestic elk from wild ones.
Fair-chase hunting activists such as the Idaho Conservation Officers Association have argued that breakouts from private preserves will eventually spread disease to Idaho's wild herds.
They also contend that bulls raised on farms for gigantic antlers and sold to wealthy shooters for up to $30,000 cheapen the experience of stalking game in the wild.
"The 300-pound bull I shot a few years ago, after 38 years of fair-chase hunting, would fit inside most of those grain-fed monsters," Senate Minority Leader Clint Stennett, D-Ketchum, said Thursday.
Rea, of the Elk Breeders Association, ridiculed the notion that Idaho hunters who drive pickup trucks into the woods to shoot big game were somehow preserving a sacred heritage. Defenders of traditional hunting should be open-minded to fenced operations that have thrived in countries such as South Africa and New Zealand, he said.
"We're not trying to appeal to the Idaho local," Rea said.
Elk-ranching proponents also downplayed the threat of disease from domestic elk herds, pointing out testing for brucellosis, tuberculosis and chronic wasting disease has turned up nothing in 12 years. Meanwhile, Idaho's wild herds have brucellosis, and Wyoming and Utah deer and elk herds have tested positive for chronic wasting disease.
If disease gets spread through elk "French-kissing through the fence," as Sen. Tom Gannon, R-Buhl, put it, then "the disease will walk across the border ... in the form of a wild elk," he said.
Kristy Sterns of Black Canyon Elk Ranch near Emmett said she expects industry foes to attempt a voter initiative like the one that was passed in Montana in 2000 to ban shooter-bull hunts.
"We'll just continue to educate the public," Sterns, whose ranch doesn't offer hunts but sells bulls to ones that do, told the AP.
Matt Compton, lobbyist for the Idaho Sportsman's Caucus Advisory Council, said that while his group won't spearhead an initiative, individual members might.
"There are going to be a lot of sportsmen who are going to take it into their own hands," Compton said.
We didn't have a booth of our own, but Jim Brockman of Brockman Rifles allowed us to hang out in his booth with him. We would like to thank him for his generosity.
Jim specializes in re-engineering Marlin Guide Guns. He slicks up the action, tunes the trigger, mounts serious sights of his own design, finesses the feeding, installs a cartridge trap in the buttstock, replaces the factory lever with a large-loop design that admits even a gloved hand, and on, and on. Prices depend on which nifty options you choose. His work is not cheap, but neither is it all that expensive. One of our good friends and business partners bought a 45-70 Guide Gun from him at the show and we have already killed a mountain lion with it. Cool gun. Check out his work at: Brockmansrifles.com.
We saw a lot of our friends and past clients at the show and made some new ones in the process. It was a good time and we'll be back next year.
Jim specializes in re-engineering Marlin Guide Guns. He slicks up the action, tunes the trigger, mounts serious sights of his own design, finesses the feeding, installs a cartridge trap in the buttstock, replaces the factory lever with a large-loop design that admits even a gloved hand, and on, and on. Prices depend on which nifty options you choose. His work is not cheap, but neither is it all that expensive. One of our good friends and business partners bought a 45-70 Guide Gun from him at the show and we have already killed a mountain lion with it. Cool gun. Check out his work at: Brockmansrifles.com.
We saw a lot of our friends and past clients at the show and made some new ones in the process. It was a good time and we'll be back next year.
Muzzleloader Rules
Effective January 2007
Muzzleloader hunt rules require that weapons must:
- Use all-lead bullets at least within 10/1,000 (.010) of the bore diameter.
- Have open sights.
- Use only loose black powder or loose synthetic black powder.
- Have an exposed, pivoting hammer, either side-lock or in-line.
- Have an exposed ignition using only flint, musket caps or percussion caps.
- Be at least .45 caliber for deer, antelope or mountain lion.
- Be at least .50 caliber for elk, moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goat or black bear.
- Muzzleloader weapons that don’t meet these restrictions may be used in 'short range weapon' and 'any weapon' seasons.
Effective January 2007
Muzzleloader hunt rules require that weapons must:
- Use all-lead bullets at least within 10/1,000 (.010) of the bore diameter.
- Have open sights.
- Use only loose black powder or loose synthetic black powder.
- Have an exposed, pivoting hammer, either side-lock or in-line.
- Have an exposed ignition using only flint, musket caps or percussion caps.
- Be at least .45 caliber for deer, antelope or mountain lion.
- Be at least .50 caliber for elk, moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goat or black bear.
- Muzzleloader weapons that don’t meet these restrictions may be used in 'short range weapon' and 'any weapon' seasons.
