WATERFOWL HUNTING
Duck hunt for youths Saturday and Sunday
The hunt, Sept. 29-30, is open to kids 15 or younger. The regular waterfowl season opens across most of the state on Oct. 13.
Bag limits for ducks and geese are the same as for the general season. The daily limit is seven ducks, which may include no more than one canvasback, two pintails, two redheads or two mallard hens. Youths also may harvest four dark geese.
Hunters must have a 2012 Idaho hunting license and a federal migratory game bird harvest information program validation. A federal duck stamp is not required for those 15 or younger.
At least one adult with a valid hunting license must accompany each youth hunting party at all times. Adults are not allowed to hunt.
SHARP-TAILED GROUSE
Season opens Oct. 1, runs through Oct. 31
There is a daily bag limit of two birds and a possession limit of six.
The season is open only in eastern Idaho; check Idaho’s Upland Game Regulations for details.
Any person hunting sharp-tailed grouse must have a valid Idaho hunting license with a sage/sharp-tailed grouse permit validation at $4.75.
PAYETTE NATIONAL FOREST
Stop to take a survey while passing through
The survey, which starts Oct. 1, has been conducted in the past, once in 2003 and again in 2008. It provides forest managers with an estimate of how many people use federal lands and what activities they pursue.
Survey takers will be working in developed and dispersed recreation sites and along Forest Service roads. They will be wearing bright orange vests and their location will be marked with a sign, “Traffic Survey Ahead.”
The basic interview lasts about 8 minutes. Every other visitor is asked a few additional questions.
FIRE UPDATES
Stanley area
• Bear Valley Creek Trail 012 is closed on the north side of the Fir Creek Campground bridge as a result of the Halstead Fire.
• Access is closed to the Bear Valley Creek Hot Springs and the location known as Big Hole.
• Access to Blue Bunch Mountain via the Blue Bunch Trail is still open.
• The Loon Creek Road 172 remains closed from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. from the Hecla Mine to the Loon Creek Guard Station.
• The Nip & Tuck Road 033 is open for nonmotorized traffic only. All spur roads leading to the north of the main road are still closed.
• Along the Idaho 75 Salmon River Corridor from Stanley to the Sawtooth National Recreation Area boundary, the following campgrounds are open and will be managed by the SNRA through the end of hunting season: Casino, Mormon Bend, Upper O’Brien, Holman, and Whiskey Flat.
For information and maps of the closure area, visit fs.usda.gov/sawtooth.
Riggins area
• The Salmon River from Lucile to Twin Bridges has reopened after being closed this summer because of the Sheep Fire.
Idaho City / Pine
• Almost 272,000 acres in the drainages of the North and Middle forks of the Boise River are open, with access to Atlanta, Rocky Bar and Twin Springs Resort.
• The roads in the Trinity Ridge Fire closure area are open for through traffic only. Motorists should drive with headlights on at all times.
• Because of fire hazards, motorists should not leave their vehicles while driving through the area.
• The Idaho National Guard continues to staff control points within the closed area.
• Recreation facilities that remain closed include: all sites in the Trinity Lakes Recreation area, Troutdale Campground, Ninemeyer Campground, and Hot Creek Trailhead near Forest Road 156.
• All trails within the closure area remain closed to public use.
• The Idaho City Landing Strip is not open.
Go to fs.usda.gov/boise for details.
New Meadows
• The Wesley Fire is burning near the headwaters of upper Lick Creek, upper Rapid River and upper Boulder Creek. It crossed Twin Lakes Creek and Echols Creek into the northeast slope of Echols Mountain to Lake Fork Creek.
• Boulder Creek, Upper Lick Creek, Upper Bear Creek, Echols Mountain and Echols Creek, and upper Rapid River are closed.
• Huckleberry Campground, the road to Black Lake and the entire Black Lake area are closed.
• The Forest Service reports that the Kleinschmidt Grade and Council/Cuprum roads are open. Horse Mountain is also accessible.
For details, call (208)253-0178.
Compiled by Pete Zimowsky
