{"id":4111,"date":"2017-12-02T22:44:04","date_gmt":"2017-12-03T05:44:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sbbch.org\/?p=4111"},"modified":"2025-04-26T16:31:24","modified_gmt":"2025-04-26T22:31:24","slug":"3-candidates-for-idaho-governor-answers-on-idaho-wildlife-public-lands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/?p=4111","title":{"rendered":"3 candidates for Idaho governor answers on Idaho wildlife & public lands"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>BY CYNTHIA SEWELL
\nDECEMBER 02, 2017<\/p>\n

Three of the contenders to become Idaho\u2019s next governor shared remarkably similar views Saturday on wildlife conservation, fishing, hunting and access to public lands.<\/p>\n

In questions posed at a forum at Boise State University, Democrat A.J. Balukoff and Republicans Tommy Ahlquist and Brad Little differed mainly on the handling of the state\u2019s sage grouse management plan, and over the idea of\u00a0breaching four Snake River dams<\/a>\u00a0in Washington state to recover endangered salmon and steelhead populations.<\/p>\n

Ahlquist Clarifies Breaching Dams Stance After Forum (Dec 15, 2017)<\/a><\/p>\n

The forum was sponsored by the Idaho Wildlife Federation and 17 other sportsmen and wildlife groups.\u00a0Each candidate spoke separately for about 30 minutes to a crowd of about 100 people clad in flannel, jeans and camo.<\/p>\n

The three have quite different backgrounds: Little, a native Idahoan, is a longtime politician and rancher who currently serves as Idaho\u2019s lieutenant governor. Ahlquist is a doctor, developer and political newcomer best known for recent Boise projects such as the Eighth & Main building. Balukoff is a CPA, businessman and longtime trustee on the Boise school board who ran unsuccessfully against Gov. Butch Otter in 2014.<\/p>\n

Absent among the leading candidates was Republican Congressman Raul Labrador, who declined to participate. That garnered a chorus of hisses and boos from the audience.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do have a spot reserved for him right up front in case he shows up,\u201d said Brian Brooks, Idaho Wildlife Foundation executive director. \u201cSo, if you see him, would you please direct him to his empty seat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some topics that each of the three addressed:<\/p>\n

Hunting and fishing:<\/strong>\u00a0All three said they are outdoorsmen and hold Idaho hunting and fishing licenses. Ahlquist talked about fishing last week with his father-in-law. Balukoff discussed getting his annual wild turkey and a recent failed antelope hunt. Little recounted how for four generations, his family has held an annual upland bird hunt.<\/p>\n

Public lands:<\/strong>\u00a0The candidates said they are not in favor of the state taking ownership of federal land in Idaho, mainly\u00a0because it would be too cost-prohibitive.<\/a>\u00a0But they do want the state to have more of a role in how federal land is managed, and better public access to federal lands.<\/p>\n

\u201cThirty-three million acres is a lot of land,\u201d said Balukoff. \u201cThere is enough space to meet needs. If we want wild and scenic areas that are primitive \u2026 (or) areas we can designate for use of ATVs \u2013 there is room to do multiple uses on our public lands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Salmon and steelhead recovery:<\/strong>\u00a0All agree the federal plan in play for the last 25 years is failing.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur rural communities need this industry,\u201d Ahlquist said. \u201cWe need to figure this out. … We need to protect Idaho\u2019s interests, Idaho industries, Idaho fish.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wildlife management:<\/strong>\u00a0Political leaders need to listen to professional wildlife managers and biologists. And, all three said, the\u00a0Idaho Fish and Game Commission should not be politicized.<\/a><\/p>\n

Endangered species:<\/strong>\u00a0The candidates said we should follow the advice of biologists and wildlife managers to ensure that Idaho keeps sustainable populations to avoid federal intervention.<\/p>\n

The candidates did have a few differences on issues.<\/p>\n

Breaching Snake River dams:<\/strong>\u00a0Ahlquist and Balukoff said they would consider it as a possibility. Little said he would not, but he would consider looking at how that water is managed, including adjusting flows or releasing more water over spillways instead of through turbines.<\/p>\n

Sage grouse:<\/strong>\u00a0All agree that any management plan needs to be collaborative. Ahlquist and Balukoff do not support Idaho\u2019s efforts to fight an Obama-era grouse management plan in court. Little said such an action sometimes is necessary if the federal government does not uphold its end of the deal.<\/p>\n

The entire 90-minute forum can be viewed on the\u00a0Idaho Wildlife Federation\u2019s Facebook page<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY CYNTHIA SEWELL DECEMBER 02, 2017 Three of the contenders to become Idaho\u2019s next governor shared remarkably similar views Saturday on wildlife conservation, fishing, hunting and access to public lands. In questions posed at a forum at Boise State University, Democrat A.J. Balukoff and Republicans Tommy Ahlquist and Brad Little differed mainly on the handling […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-public-lands"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4111"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4144,"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4111\/revisions\/4144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}