End of Summer Roundup
September, 2023
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Welcome Hardy Bender
IOGA's New Development and Events Manager
Hello!
My name is Hardy Bender and I am an Idaho Guide living in Boise, Idaho. I studied Management Information Systems at the University of Alabama with a minor in Computing Technology & Applications and a specialization in Business Information Technology.
I am originally from Mobile, Alabama and moved to Idaho during college in order to become a river guide. I come from a lineage of raft guides and outfitters and have been floating Idaho's rivers since long before I was able to remember the trips, let alone run a boat. However, I always knew that I would wind up guiding in Idaho.
I have now been working in Idaho's backcountry for almost a decade on many of our beautiful rivers. Throughout my time as a guide, I have developed a passion for our wild places and the outfitters/guides that enable people to experience them. I have come to appreciate Idaho and the Pacific Northwest in ways that I never thought I could. Working as a guide presented me with the challenges and gave me the tools that I needed to become the person I am today. Now it is my turn to give back to the outfitters and guides of our great state.
I look forward to meeting and working with you all.
Sincerely,
Hardy Bender
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Support the Organization That Supports You!
Thank you to all of you who have already paid your dues! If you haven’t, please RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP or JOIN IOGA and support our efforts on behalf of the Outfitting and Guiding Industry in Idaho. |
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If you have any questions or need a copy of your dues invoice, please contact Hardy at Hardy@ioga.org or (208) 342-1438. Read Executive Director Aaron Lieberman’s annual report here.
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SAVE THE DATE.
The 2023 IOGA Annual Meeting & Conference will be held December 12-14th, 2023 at the beautiful new Mountain America Center in Idaho Falls.
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The Agenda, Exhibitor, and Lodging information are in the works. So keep an eye out and block your calendars!
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Outfitting & Guiding Survey Information Needed!
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Whether it’s tags, launches, camps, regs, fees, closures (…you name it), good data for this analysis is critical for our ability to:
- highlight the economic significance of our industry in Idaho,
- support our advocacy efforts, and
- better understand the modern profile and patterns of the outfitted client in Idaho
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The survey data we get from both of these will help us show, with solid statistical clarity, the huge economic importance of your businesses to communities of all sizes all over Idaho. This will enhance our ability to advocate for our industry in a big way.
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Idaho Travel Council Awards IOGA $ 223,722.50
One of the many benefits IOGA offers is using grant funds to promote Idaho as the premier destination for guided adventures, and more specifically, driving clients to your businesses. Over the past 4-5 years, we have developed a very robust Idaho Brand 'ecosystem' including but not limited to the connected: websites, social profiles, catered content, lead generation and funneling, and targeted marketing.
Our plan, which has performed exceedingly well thus far, has been to create interest-specific and high-conversion websites, with automated lead generation, that become the launching pad for travelers to plan their vacations to Idaho by connecting with an in-state outfitter for an Idaho adventure. We drive traffic to these sites through social media, SEO efforts, and SEM efforts. You can review IOGA's most recent grant application here.
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To take advantage of this promotional, member benefit, please make sure that you have submitted your business information for listing on the appropriate "brand" sites (Raft Idaho, Fish Idaho, Hunt Idaho, Ride Idaho, and soon to [re]launch Guest Ranch Idaho and Jetboat Idaho).
We will be [re]sending followup emails out soon with links to forms to fill out for each of the respective sites.
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Public Hearing on Draft Revisions to OGLB Rules
The Idaho Outfitters and Guides Licensing Board is making Rule revisions for the 2024 Legislature and welcomes feedback on the current draft of the Rules. The Public hearing is scheduled for September 18th, 2023. You may provide comments in person or via video during the meeting, or you may submit written comments at any time. The meeting agenda and rule proposals can be found on the website towards the bottom of the home page, link here.
A draft of the proposed changes can be found by clicking the following link: Proposed Rule Changes
TAKE NOTE: the "Proposed Rule Changes" linked to above is different from the changes to rules that were approved by the Legislature last session. A summary of those changes, which are already in place (at least "on paper" if not yet being implemented) can be found here
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OGLB Quarterly Meeting October 5, 2023
In addition to the rulemaking hearing above, the Idaho Outfitters and Guides Licensing Board will be hosting their Fall public meeting October 5, 2023, beginning at 9:00am MST. Check back on the Board's Website for more details and a meeting link as they come available.
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IFGC Reappoints Brad Compton to the OGLB
At their quarterly May meeting, the Idaho Fish & Game Commission moved to re-appoint Brad Compton to serve as the Commission's representative on the Outfitters and Guides Licensing Board for another 3-year term.
The Idaho Outfitters and Guides Licensing Board (Board) is comprised of 5 members, including 1 member of the Fish and Game Commission or a person selected by the commission, 1 member selected from the public, and 3 members who are qualified and licensed outfitters and guides with not less than 5 years of experience outfitting and guiding in Idaho. Except for the member appointed by the Fish and Game Commission, Board members are appointed by the Governor. All appointees are subject to the advice and consent of the Senate. All board members serve at the pleasure of the Governor and serve 3 year terms.
IOGA encouraged Chairman Compton's reappointment, as expressed in this letter to the Commission.
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Goodbye and our wholehearted thanks to Anne Lawler
September 1 marks Anne Long's last day in her role as Bureau Chief for the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing and Executive Officer Outfitters and Guides Licensing Board. She has accepted a position working with the Federation of State Medical Boards, the national association for all the Boards of Medicine in the US.
We thank you, Anne, for your dedication and support of Idaho's Outfitters and Guides during a challenging transitional period for the Board. Your resilience and commitment have been instrumental in guiding our community through these changes. We are sincerely grateful for your efforts.
Note to Outfitters & Guides: Please direct any questions or communication to Zac Clifford or Greg Loos moving forward until the Division names a new Executive Officer for OGLB.
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Idaho Political Updates
Though not strictly industry related, IOGA's advocates at Risch-Pisca provide consistent updates for us. Here are the past three editions for the wonks among you:
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Saying Farewell to Shannon
"Join us in wishing Shannon Walton all the best as she steps down from her position as the Redside Foundation’s Executive Director. She recently moved with her family to the Gulf Coast and recognized it would be too difficult to the support and grow a foundation centered on a community so far away. Shannon started this position in January 2020, just months prior to the onset of the global pandemic that caused turbulence and uncertainty, both in the outfitting and guiding community as well as in the nonprofit sector. As a new Executive Director, Shannon embraced the challenges with unmatched energy and humility, and by the close of 2021, The Redside Foundation had recorded its most successful fundraising and programming to date. Another impressive goal reached is the expansion of our services." - Jenni Chaffin, Board President & The Redside Foundation Board & Staff
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"It's been an incredible experience to lead The Redside Foundation over the last three and half years. I'm proud of how we've built a more robust and expanded community thanks to our dedicated board, staff, guide liaisons, and network of providers. It's been an honor and a privilege to do this work, and through it, I've met so many remarkable people who have given me a tremendous amount of hope for the world. While it is difficult to leave, I know the future is bright for The Redside Foundation, thanks to all of you. Thank you all for letting me serve in this role." - Shannon Walton, Outgoing RSF Executive Director
It's not often we encounter someone like Shannon. Her unwavering dedication to The Redside Foundation was evident in every project and endeavor she undertook. However, Shannon's true impact was felt and will abide most deeply within Idaho's guiding community. She was more than a colleague or partner; she was a torchbearer, illuminating the path of camaraderie and mutual growth. Her partnership and synergy with IOGA epitomized her belief in collective success. In every interaction, it seems to me that Shannon lives by a profound principle: to leave everyone better than she found them. And that she did, in ways both big and small, within our community. I will very much miss working with Shannon, but am so grateful for all she has done for all of us, and wish her all the happiness in the world in her next chapter. - Personal note of thanks from IOGA's Aaron Lieberman
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Carol Hennessy Moves into New Role
A fixture at IOGA meetings and recipient of our prestigious "Resource Manager of the Year Award," Carol is moving into a new role as R1 Trails, Travel Management, and Dispersed Recreation Program Manager.
Carol has spent many years on the combined Nez Perce-Clearwater NF, in many interesting and engaging positions, including serving as the last Clearwater NF Recreation Staff (detailed), Lochsa/Powell RD Recreation Staff, Clearwater NF Forest Silviculturist (detailed), Clearwater NF Trails Coordinator, Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Coordinator, and Recreation, Wilderness, Trails, Rivers, and Outfitter Program Manager with details to the Forests’ Forest Plan Revision and Travel Management Teams.
Read Carol's [informal] "not-goodbye" letter here.
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2023 Deer & Elk Hunting Outlook
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Fish and Game recently published the 2023 Deer & Elk Hunting Outlook, with "Everything deer and elk hunters need to know heading in to the 2023 big game season." Read more on IDFG's website here.
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F&G seeks public comment on proposed Draft Snake River White Sturgeon Management Plan 2023-2032
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People are encouraged to review the draft plan here and submit comments by Sept. 24 at 6 p.m. MDT. |
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Brief Summer '23 Allocation & Designation Recap
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On July 27, 2023 the Fish and Game Commission set the number of outfitted hunter tags in [NR only] limited hunts, and the number of non-resident tags in those hunts for the 2024 hunting season. For elk hunts statewide, the number of A tags available as outfitted tags increased by 73. The number of B tags available as outfitted tags increased by 2. The number of outfitted hunter tags for regular deer decreased by 248, while the number of outfitted hunter tags for Whitetail deer increased by 27.
The number of outfitted allocated tags was determined by the Commission in relationship to the number of outfitted tags reported by Outfitters during the 2021 and 2022 seasons by each hunt (limited elk zones and limited deer units/hunts) and then selecting the highest number of these two years as the number of allocated tags for the 2024 season. The breakdown of these allocated tag numbers by elk zone and deer unit is available here.
IOGA supported this action with a letter to the Commission and through communiction with staff prior to the Commission meeting.
As we all know, the allocated tag number [by hunt] is subsequently transferred to the Outfitters and Guides Licensing Board for designation to Outfitter operating areas and ultimately individual outfitting operations. The designation process is defined in the Rules of the Board.
The Board met on August 21, 2023 to approve each Outfitter’s designated tag numbers. All hunting Outfitters with designated tags should have received an email from the board identifying those numbers [by hunt]. Outfitters should check their numbers and follow directions in the letter if they wish to object to the designation numbers/orders by September 7th. After that date, the numbers will be final for limited hunts for the 2024 hunting season, except for those contested designated tag hunts.
Please remember that this allocation and designation discussed above only affects limited deer and elk hunts. Capped elk hunts and controlled hunt allocated tag numbers will remain the same as 2023 for the 2024 season.
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Idaho Steelhead Update for 8/30/2023
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From Joe Dupont:
"Hi everybody. Idaho’s steelhead harvest season starts on September 1 or September 10, depending on where you fish, so I thought it was about time that I let people know what the runs are looking like and remind people of what the regulations are..." Continue Reading here.
For some related commentary from a friend of the Org, Danny Ritz, take a look at his article "If Nothing Changes, Everything Changes."
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This Just In...Sept. '23 is National Wilderness Month
Below are some highlight excerpts from the Proclamation. For the full text, go here
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August 31, 2023
NATIONAL WILDERNESS MONTH, 2023
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
America's natural wonders are marvels of the world. People travel across seas and continents to behold the spirit of this great land embodied by our majestic mountains, breathtaking deserts, emerald valleys, and mighty rivers. During National Wilderness Month, we celebrate the power and promise of our country's extraordinary natural gifts and renew our commitment to protecting them for generations to come.
When we conserve our country's landscapes and wilderness, we do more than preserve their beauty for our own enjoyment. We safeguard the future of people who depend on and sustain the land as a way of life -- Indigenous peoples, farmers and ranchers, recreation businesses, and rural communities. We enshrine landmarks that identify the places where the history of our Nation was made. We protect sacred spaces that have been stewarded by Tribal Nations since time immemorial. And we mitigate the impacts of climate change to help make our country more resilient...
...My Administration has protected the Boundary Waters in Minnesota and Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, and we are accelerating efforts to restore the Great Lakes, the Chesapeake Bay, the Everglades, and the Columbia River Basin....
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It's been a heck of a season.
The 2023 Idaho rafting season has been another one for the books, presenting both awesome opportunities and serious challenges. This year saw an above-average snowpack, with impressive figures like 285% of the norm in the Owyhee River Basin and 265% in the Bruneau River Basin, which provided for an exceptional spring rafting season, maybe especially on the Owyhee and Bruneau rivers.
But the goods weren't limited to the desert. Rivers statewide enjoyed healthy flows and extended runoff. The Payette River, Lochsa, and Middle Fork Salmon and Main Salmon Rivers were particularly sought after, it seems, with many outfitters already fully booked for the season.
However, as we all know, the season wasn't without its [ongoing] challenges. In early August, the Elkhorn wildfire blew up and burned over the top of the Allison Ranch on the Main Salmon River, taking out seven buildings including the main lodge, cabins and museum, resulting emergency closures affecting rafters and landowners alike (though the river quickly reopened to floating, by August 3, with some cautionary measures in place). As of August 25, the Elkhorn Fire was at 26,048 acres and 88% complete. Structure defense equipment on values in the Salmon River canyon above Arctic Lodge has been removed by helicopter and boat. Firefighters and heavy equipment will continue suppression repair on mechanical line, handlines, and roads. See more information about the Elkhorn Fire on the Forest Service inciweb site.
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Wild footage out of Idaho where TikTok user Courtney Ammons took a rafting trip down the Main Fork of the Salmon as the Elkhorn wildfire scorched its banks.
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But the fun didn't stop there. "On the evening of August 2nd, 2023 heavy rains near the Boundary Creek Launch Site on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River triggered several landslides (aka “debris flows” or “blowouts”) that blocked the river. These landslides brought trees down to the river which floated down and created several river wide logjams." (read on at Zach Collier's Blog). These served to make the upper end functionally impassable (at least as of the day this was written), shifting launch traffic on the MFS to Indian Creek. These blockages were reminiscent of last year, highlighting the ongoing environmental challenges faced by the region.
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Thanks to Brian Olsen for the video. His notes: "*EDIT It was not “Sulphur Creek” that blew out at Sulphur Rapid it was a different creek that comes off of Big Solider Mountain. I mistakenly said “Sulphur Creek” when I was describing the creek coming into Sulphur Rapid. Hiking in to look at the new slides that happened on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River around August 3rd-4th, 2023 The slides happened at Sulphur Slide Rapid, Hells Half Mile Rapid and Velvet Falls. The slides have changed some of the rapids (at least for the time being) and caused numerous log jams along the river. Hiked on August 12th, 2023 12 Mile Hike"
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While so far free from significant fires and landslides, this season has also presented challenges to outfitters and guides in Hells Canyon, where Idaho Power is operating the Hells Canyon Dam for nighttime generation at 20 K cfs water release then ramping down to 6500 cfs water release for the daytime. This change in water is disruptive to navigation by both power boats and rafters (not to mention potentially harmful to the sturgeon populations). The ramp rate and timing of the ramp rate are key concerns for outfitters and private boaters, both for operational reasons and for safety considerations. In addition, there seems to be a good amount of--understandable--frustration associated with the fact that power generation (moreso profitability than sufficiency) is driving the regime, but the river section itself is both designated wild & scenic in addition to being a National Recreation Area. IOGA has been and is going to continue working with outfitters, partners, etc. on this issue, in particular as we approach dam relicensing .
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In sum, though there have been hurdles, Idaho's rafting season seems to have been a success (thusfar), leaving both guests and guides with tales to tell.
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From the Blog: Outdoor Recreation and Public Lands
Experts Discuss Latest Outdoor Trends, Innovative Solutions at Andrus Conference
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"...In Idaho, the state’s outdoor recreation economy generates $7.8 billion in consumer spending, supports 78,000 jobs, $2.3 billion in wages and salaries, and $447 million in state and local tax revenue, according to a national study by the Outdoor Industry Association. Idaho’s outfitters and guides contribute $1.1 billion to the state economy, support 3,358 jobs and facilitate the sale of more than $2 million in Idaho Fish and Game licenses and tags per year...."
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Here's my favorite excerpt:
“Outfitters are an interesting group of folks in Idaho because you’ve got a mix of hunting and horseback outfitters wearing cowboy hats, boots and guns, while you have raft guides wearing Teva sandals and Patagonia clothing, but we all get along amazing well,” Weiseth said. “Outfitters are advocates for outdoor places. We have the equipment and skills to show people a good time in places where they wouldn’t be able to do that on their own.”
And yet, outfitters have recently become a target of paying additional fees to operate in our national forests, where the Forest Service is running short of money, or targeted with reductions in allocated use, where overall use impacts are being felt (overwhelmingly driven by increase in non-outfitted public use). That kind of initiative is off-target, Weiseth said, pointing out that most outfitters live in very small towns with populations of less than 500 people, and they operate on thin profit margins. Many outfitters hold extra jobs to make ends meet."
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Read the rest of the article on IOGA's Blog
Watch recordings of the conference and speakers (including an IOGA BOD member!) here
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From the Blog: Drop-camp trips with Idaho horseback outfitters gain popularity with baby boomers
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A Mystic Saddle Ranch horseback guide packs in a load of gear into the Sawtooth Wilderness for a group of hikers. (Courtesy Mystic Saddle Ranch)
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Want a great way to see the wilderness with less hardship on your body? There’s another way to enjoy nature, writes guest columnist Steve Stuebner.
Read the rest of the article at the Idaho Capital Sun or IOGA Blog
(This one got a lot of attention. Thanks, Steve!)
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Idaho Backcountry Outfitting Business For Sale:
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"One of Idaho’s premier outfitting and guide businesses is now available for purchase. This outfit has everything, approximately 70 allocated elk and deer tags, over 1,200 square miles of prime hunting land outfitter exclusive to this outfit, more use days than you will be able to use, hound friendly and backcountry bear hunting (with a high percentage of color phase bears), late season trophy deer hunts, highly successful lion hunts (with record sized lions), private land big game hunts, and summer trail rides or pack in camping/fishing trips...."
Read the rest of the Sale Ad Here
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