Carlson letter: License fee bill

On Jan. 27 , in a meeting not in the published agenda and therefore not readily available to the public, Rep. Marcus Gibbs, R-Grace, returned to the Idaho Fish and Game Commission the bill that IDFG had submitted proposing to raise license and tag fees paid by Idaho sportsmen/women.

Gibbs returned the proposed bill saying it would not be printed nor considered unless changed to include increased dollars for depredation payments to landowners caused by wildlife damage.

If this increase in payments of sportsmen/women’s dollars is such a great and deserving idea, then Gibbs should introduce it himself, taking full credit for the measure.

As a longtime Idaho sportsman and former IFG commissioner, I sense that this idea would not be well received by the sporting community, and Gibbs, knowing this, wants the IFG Commission to do his dirty work and take the blame.

This does not appear to be the way that most Idahoans expect the “People’s Business” to be conducted.

This story was originally published February 19, 2017 at 6:07 PM with the headline "Carlson letter: License fee bill."