Joint Committee hears testimony on ATV-riding hunters bills

Senator Tim Corder presented Senate Bills 1015 and 1016 to a joint session of the House and Senate Resources and Conservation Committees Monday. The bills would eliminate what he calls a basic inequity between hunters and the classes of vehicles they ride. The purpose of the joint session was to hear testimony on the bills, and no vote was taken.

The legislation targets rules that allow Fish and Game officers to cite those they deem to be hunting from an ATV. Proponents of the bill say that ATV users are being unfairly targeted by Fish and Game officers arbitrarily making decisions about whether a person is actively engaged in hunting while riding an ATV. Some of those testifying in favor of the bill say they have had experiences with Fish and Game officers harassing ATV users.

Other proponents note the absurdity of assuming one might successfully hunt from an ATV, noting that as a method of take, an ATV would be highly ineffective because of the noise, and riding off trail is already illegal.

There were also those testifying in favor of the bill who expressed a belief that the Idaho Department of Fish and Game is colluding with the US Forest Service and/or the Bureau of Land Management to restrict access to public lands through road closures.

Opponents of the bill say that hunting from an ATV is tantamount to utilizing an aid like dogs, spotlighting game at night, or hunting from an airplane. Several testified that they have witnessed hunters chasing game from an ATV, improperly accessing winter range areas, or otherwise traveling off trail. They say the rule is necessary to allow Fish and Game officers the latitude to manage for conflict between ATV users and others.

Idaho Fish and Game Commissioner Randy Budge says the rule does not apply to one using an ATV to retrieve game, set up or taking down a camp, or someone holding a disability license.

“We are not opposed to four-wheelers in any way,” he said, noting that Fish and Game officers have to judge whether or not an ATV is being used as an aid to hunting based upon personal judgment: is the person transporting a stowed, unloaded weapon, and not dressed in hunters’ orange? One can reasonably assume, Budge says, he is not hunting.

Budge said the original rule was not enacted to restrict the right to bear arms or to ride ATVs, but was to regulate aids to hunt. This is, he said, part of Fish and Game’s statutory authority, and allows the department to:

- deal with conflicts between hunters with ATVs and those without,
- manage the resource--big game has increased vulnerability to hunters on ATVs, and
- maintain the quality of Idaho’s big game population.

“We’re convinced that those who oppose this rule are a very small, yet a very vocal minority,” Budge said. “Surveys show that hunters feel overwhelmingly that too many unregulated ATVs diminish their quality of hunt.”

Several members of that “vocal minority” were on hand to testify in favor of the bills. They noted several instances of harassment by Fish and Game officers of those using ATVs.

“Fish and Game officers look for people who have weapons on their ATVs and harass them,” David Clairborne said. Clairborne testified on behalf of the Idaho State ATV Association, and said he thinks there is an additional objective to this rule besides managing game.

“We think this rule is an attempt by the Fish and Game to restrict the access to public lands,” he said.

Danny Cohn testified that he believes this is indeed the case, saying that closures of roads that have been accessible by ATV for decades are often done arbitrarily, poorly marked as such, and that Forest Service maps are unclear or out of date, leaving hunters vulnerable to citation.