01-28-2004, 11:29 PM
Idaho Fish and Game Commissioners have approved a lottery for premium big game tags to help fund the program that provides new access to hunting and fishing properties.
The Access Yes! program began last year with limited funding taken from other Fish and Game programs. In its first year, the program provided access to some 107,000 acres of private lands and 240,000 acres of public lands where access had been blocked by private ownership. The Commission asked the department to come up with a plan to increase funding for Access Yes! before the January 21-23 meeting in Boise.
Access Yes! cost about $117,000 in 2003 with $300,000 set as the 2004 budget for the program. The Commission approved a department plan to raise a portion of program funding through the sale of lottery tickets for special big game tags, an approach suggested by the Fish and Game Advisory Committee.
The department proposed an initial program that will offer 40 tags - 12 deer, 12 elk, 12 antelope and four moose - valid for the 2004 hunting season. There will be two drawings for the tags in 2004, June 15 and August 16. One "Super Slam Pak" will be available in each drawing with four tags - one each for antelope, deer, elk and moose.
The tags can be used in any open hunt (general or controlled) for the species drawn and are "extra" tags, that is, in addition to any other tag the applicant is eligible to obtain. Controlled hunt eligibility is not affected; the applicant can apply for any controlled hunt in that year or subsequent years.
Applicants must either have a valid Idaho hunting license or be eligible to buy one. One supertag application will cost $6.50, a package of six will be $26.50. "Super Slam Pak" applications will cost $21.50 for one, $101.50 for six. Deadline for receipt of applications for the first drawing is May 31 and for the second drawing, July 31. Application sales will end July 28. The applications purchased from the license vending machine will be "ticket blanks" to be filled out with name, address etc. and mailed to Fish and Game for a drawing. The purchaser can give the tickets to someone else such as a spouse or child.
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The Access Yes! program began last year with limited funding taken from other Fish and Game programs. In its first year, the program provided access to some 107,000 acres of private lands and 240,000 acres of public lands where access had been blocked by private ownership. The Commission asked the department to come up with a plan to increase funding for Access Yes! before the January 21-23 meeting in Boise.
Access Yes! cost about $117,000 in 2003 with $300,000 set as the 2004 budget for the program. The Commission approved a department plan to raise a portion of program funding through the sale of lottery tickets for special big game tags, an approach suggested by the Fish and Game Advisory Committee.
The department proposed an initial program that will offer 40 tags - 12 deer, 12 elk, 12 antelope and four moose - valid for the 2004 hunting season. There will be two drawings for the tags in 2004, June 15 and August 16. One "Super Slam Pak" will be available in each drawing with four tags - one each for antelope, deer, elk and moose.
The tags can be used in any open hunt (general or controlled) for the species drawn and are "extra" tags, that is, in addition to any other tag the applicant is eligible to obtain. Controlled hunt eligibility is not affected; the applicant can apply for any controlled hunt in that year or subsequent years.
Applicants must either have a valid Idaho hunting license or be eligible to buy one. One supertag application will cost $6.50, a package of six will be $26.50. "Super Slam Pak" applications will cost $21.50 for one, $101.50 for six. Deadline for receipt of applications for the first drawing is May 31 and for the second drawing, July 31. Application sales will end July 28. The applications purchased from the license vending machine will be "ticket blanks" to be filled out with name, address etc. and mailed to Fish and Game for a drawing. The purchaser can give the tickets to someone else such as a spouse or child.
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