Last week the Idaho Department of Fish and Game proposed a number of regulations surrounding a potential grizzly bear hunt if the bears wind up being removed from the endangered species list in the coming year.
The regulations, now open for public comment, would allow hunting in the eastern region of the state, closely situated to Yellowstone National Park and would allow Idaho hunters the opportunity to kill one grizzly bear in their lifetime.
Under the proposed rules, hunters could kill either a male or female bear, but all grizzly kills would come with mandatory reporting within 24 hours after the kill. As part of the reporting process, successful hunters would be required to display the bears hide and skull to conservation officers within five days.
No word on how long the actual hunting season would last, many believe that any approved grizzly season would end up being very limited. As far as number of tags that would be available to Idaho hunters; that has yet to be decided. That being said, Idaho along with Montana and Wyoming also endorsed a plan that would halt the hunting of grizzlies should the population dip below the prescribed level of 600 bears.
Among the three states encompassing Yellowstone, Wyoming is proposing to allow the most bears to be killed.
The proposed hunting season is open for public comment until July 27th.
H/T: SF Gate