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Committee adopts changes to Outfitters and Guides rules, including tag‑pool and river designations
Summary
The House committee approved IDAPA docket 24.35.01 (docket 2447401) with a series of clarifying and substantive rule changes for outfitters and guides, including adjustments to tag‑pool deadlines, adding licensable waters, correcting season end dates and allowing two boats per operator on some lakes.
The House Resources and Conservation Committee voted to approve IDAPA docket 24.35.01 (docket number 2447401), a package of rule changes proposed by the Outfitters and Guides Licensing Board and presented by John Price, bureau chief for the Occupational Licensing Bureau at the Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL).
Price told the committee the board undertook a full chapter review and proposed 13 rule modifications intended to clarify existing language and align rules with statute. Key changes discussed included deleting a duplicative definition for hazardous desert or mountain excursions; removing a rule allowing a jurisprudence exam that the speaker said is superseded by statute; adding an additional pathway for experienced guides to become licensed on classified rivers; clarifying training and documentation requirements for river guides; and removing reinstatement fees to ease seasonal reactivation.
Several rule changes target how outfitter hunting tags are managed. Price said Rule 257.09.B was revised to require designated tags to be used first and clarified the process for requesting tags from a pool, including a July 16 deadline after which any outfitter may request pool tags. Committee members discussed the complexity of the tag allocation process; Price and staff said the redrafted language is intended to reduce confusion.
Other changes addressed specific waters and seasons: a prior draft mistakenly listed Dec. 31 as a season end date for a Clark Fork River segment; the corrected date is Nov. 30, per Idaho Fish and Game. The Little Salmon River was proposed to be added to the table of licensable waters; Price said county residents and others spoke during rulemaking and Fish and Game provided edits intended to reduce crowding and user conflict. Price also said Rule 259.04 would increase the maximum number of boats per operator on lakes Coeur d'Alene, Pend Oreille and Priest from one to two, and Rule 259.05 added the word "fishing" to clarify it applies only to fishing outfitters.
A landowner in the committee asked whether private property owners along the Little Salmon had been notified; Price said public hearings were held in Boise with a virtual option and said several residents had commented. A committee member warned of potential crowding during salmon season and said landowners had expressed conditional support but concern about possible abuse.
After discussion the committee voted by voice to adopt the docket as final. The committee chair announced the ayes had it and the rules were adopted.
