Unit 11A Whitetail Deer Tag Refund 2021

ATTENTION ALL IDAHO RESIDENT HUNTERS

SUBJECT

Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) response to the decimated Unit 11A Idaho Whitetail Deer population was too little, too late and NOT at all transparent to the residents of Idaho.

IDFG offered refunds to ALL Nonresident whitetail deer hunters for the 2021 season in only Unit 11A near the end of the season, allowing ample time (40 days) for these nonresidents to hunt and still receive a full refund for unfilled deer tags. This refund was in response to multiple events culminating in a calamitous impact on the whitetail herds. Severe drought, EHD and EHD2 virus breakouts and blue tongue ravaged the deer population, with public mass die-offs reported as early as July 2021. From a biological standpoint, IDFG should have been far more active in curtailing hunting for ALL hunters in Unit 11A. The devastated herds simply shouldn’t have been subjected to more loss. From a public process standpoint, IDFG should have scoped season changes with input from the public.

BACKGROUND

In late November last year, Northern Idaho Whitetails Forever (NIWF) received a phone call from a nonresident whitetail deer hunter. He indicated he received an unsolicited email from IDFG on November 18,2021 (40 days into the 2021 season with only 13 days left), offering a full refund for his unused Unit 11A deer tag. According to the 2021 Idaho Big Game Regulations, that amounts to a refund of $351.75 for each unused tag. The email then stated: “….the IDFG feels that hunting opportunity in Unit 11A may have been negatively affected, and would like to offer you a refund of your unused Whitetail deer tag to compensate for this situation.” The individual was not asked, nor was he required to sign an affidavit stating whether he had already hunted and didn’t fill his tag (confirmed by IDFG Staff email).

NIWF began reaching out to Idaho residents throughout the State and found no one had any knowledge of this tag refund offer.

As a review of the 2021 whitetail deer season, the Clearwater Region experienced a devastating loss of whitetail deer due to a severe drought, fires and loss of habitat, EHD, EHD2, blue tongue as well as the loss due to usual predation. Reports of extensive deer mortality first began back in late July. The reports coming into the NIWF Office of dead and dying deer increased dramatically in August and went off the “charts” in September, well into late October. The combination of all of these maladies devastated large segments of the deer populations in several Units. In fact, some IDFG emails (obtained through Idaho Public Records Request) indicate there were reported estimates by private landowners of over 90% deer loss in portions of Unit 11A. IDFG didn’t respond during the season in any way to try and curtail season length or invoke any emergency measure to try and slow down further loss of the remaining deer herds due to overharvesting.

NIWF feels this “nonresponse” by IDFG is a very important point. This huge die-off that had just occurred over the last 5 months was now further complicated by the discovery of Chronic Wasting Disease in the Whitebird area.

For eight months NIWF has gathered information from IDFG emails, given several newspaper interviews and reviewed four IDFG audio tapes (public meetings). Whitetail Deer Tag Refunds were offered by IDFG to only nonresident whitetail deer hunters in Unit 11A to compensate these hunters for a “negative hunting opportunity.” They never scoped this issue, engaged in any discussions with the Idaho residents at any public meeting, didn’t mention it at the “season setting” Commissioners March meeting (Boise) and never notified the public through any social media platform about the unprecedented number of  tag refund offers by IDFG due a “negative hunting opportunity” in just one Unit.

In early May, it was decided to reach out and question IDFG in a public forum since this entire issue was not handled in a transparent manner with Idaho residents. The result was a newspaper article that appeared in the Outdoor Section of the Lewiston Morning Tribune on May 13, 20. It states: “…the move (refunds) was discussed during an open Commission meeting at Lewiston in November 2021.” IDFG also stated: “…no Press release was issued to the public ….there was nothing happening behind the scenes.”

BUT that isn’t TRUE. The audio tape of this meeting contains no such public discussion. NIWF called IDFG spokesperson Roger Phillips about this situation. He responded with an email that stated he “misspoke” and that a written report was simply handed over to the Commission but not discussed before the public as he had stated in the article. The Lewiston Morning Tribune later printed a correction on July 15, 2022 stating IDFG had not discussed the issue publicly as previously claimed.

Idaho residents should have been made aware of this entire situation so they could make informed comments and fully discuss the health of these deer herds prior to the season setting meeting in March. The Commission instead made a decision to cut 1,500 EXTRA doe tags spread across the entire Clearwater Region. It should also be noted that there is still no limit imposed on Idaho resident tags that can be issued for these Units.

OUR OPINION

In retrospect, NIWF strongly feels that this entire matter was handled VERY poorly and in a direct violation of being transparent with the Idaho residents. By conducting game management in this manner, IDFG has eroded a trust with the Idaho residents in the following ways:

• IDFG withheld pertinent information from the public about its decision to declare the aftermath of the virus was so bad that they decided to offer full refunds to 225 nonresidents in just Unit 11A (99 refunds were eventually processed…..#s from an IDFG email, Lewiston).
• Lacking this information, the public was denied any chance to discuss this matter in an open forum at the March meeting and give a balanced perspective for responding to all of the devastating events of 2021.
• Other Units also reported extremely large #s of deer mortality (Units 8,8A,10A,11).
• Nondisclosure of deciding to offer an unprecedented number of refunds in just one Unit.
• IDFG Staff provided misleading information in a public newspaper article about this entire matter and how it was handled.
• Stating that: “IDFG discussed in an open session of a Commissioner meeting …..and nothing was happening behind the scenes”…..when in fact EVERYTHING was done without the public having any knowledge of these decisions that were being made by IDFG.
• Final consequence of no public involvement: NO CHANGES were made to shorten the season or curtail the harvest in this “devastated and negatively affected” whitetail deer Unit 11A for the 2022 season (Source: 2022 Idaho Big Game Regulations, General Season – Unit 11A).

NIWF wanted to inform the Idaho residents about the information we gathered. We would like you to respond to our web site, FB page and text us at 208-791-2149. We will listen to you since none of us were given that opportunity by IDFG.

~ William Samuels    NIWF President