The Senate Resources and Environment committee this week heard testimony regarding off-road motorized vehicle use by hunters. Except for disabled hunters with the appropriate vehicle tags, it is illegal to hunt from a motorized vehicle, including ATVs.* Idaho Departments of Fish and Game, Parks and Recreation and Transportation testified to specific points of the IDFG rule, and the US Forest Service and the BLM presented as well (* unfortunately, sometimes in our hurry to get information published, we make misstatements like this one, please see comments below).
Hunters says that IDFG should not be able to apply this rule where the Land management agency or owner say otherwise. They questions whether hunting from a vehicle had any appreciable difference in game populations, and how there is any difference between hunting from and ATV or horseback.
“It’s time to stop restricting people from using their public lands in a reasonable manner,” said one Soda Springs resident offered his testimony in opposition to the rule.
Others testifying against the rule noted that senior citizens needed the additional access to hunting areas provided by ATVs, and remarked on the disparity between registration fees paid by ATV users versus hikers and those traveling on horseback.
“We are paying fees and taxes for these motorized vehicles, the horsemen and the hikers pay nothing. I don’t think that’s fair at all.”
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I testified at this joint committee meeting. The author of this article has their facts WRONG!. The issue is NOT if hunters should be allowed to hunt "from their ATV" or motorized vehicle. The issue is the ID Fish & Game rule IDAPA 13.01.07, sec 101 Motorized Vehicle Use Restriction that restricts "TRAVEL" by a hunter on open federal (USFS/BLM) property. These are open trails that F&G do not allow hunter to travels, but anyone not hunting can travel.
The public needs to know the truth, so lets get the facts straight before we post articles. No one at that meeting was saying they want to, or should be allowed to hunt from a motorized vehicle. We are challenging the legality of F&G to restrict a mode of travel on open federal trail systems.
Let me add, there was not one single person(the public) at the meeting that was in favor of this rule.
* To clarify: It has always has been and continues to be illegal to hunt from an ATV. The new rule applies to using an ATV as an aid to hunting. There were two scenarios presented in testimony by IDFG:
1. A hunter carrries camping equipment and his/her hunting weapon on his/her off-road vehicle, off an established roadway, unloads the camping equipment, parks the off-road vehicle and continues from the camp on foot to hunt. This IS NOT a violation of the rule.
2. A hunter travels with her/her off-road vehicle, off an established roadway (with his/her hunting weapon). parks the vehicle along the trail and hunts on foot the remainder of the day. This IS a violation of the Motorized Vehicle Rule.
To be clear, no one testifying at the hearing was in favor of shooting an animal while sitting on an ATV. What they were objecting to was the requirement that you cannot travel off an established roadway, park your ATV and hunt on foot unless you are hauling in and unloading camping gear.
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