Travis Bullock, owner of Mile High Outfitters, explains how Idaho outfitters gather annually at the State Capitol to advocate for hunting access, fiscal responsibility, and public land policy while celebrating the state’s citizen legislature tradition.
Key Points:
- Idaho’s citizen legislature allows outfitters and rural communities to directly engage decision-makers on issues impacting hunting, land use, and state resources.
- Idaho must maintain a balanced budget, and after pandemic-era surpluses, lawmakers now face tighter finances while managing increased pressure on elk and deer tag allocations.
- The Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association engaged on key legislation this year, focusing on hunting technology, public lands, licensing oversight, and fair tag distribution to protect Idaho’s outdoor future.
Each year Idaho outfitters migrate to our state capitol in Boise and converge like locusts on our legislators, lieutenant governor, and governor to express our concerns and cook them a wild game, Dutch oven dinner. Every year amazes me at what we see.
Legislators, for the most part, dedicate their time to their constituents for roughly three months each year and receive very little reward for their efforts. The pay they collect barely covers the cost of an additional home that many non-local legislators must rent/buy just to have the opportunity to get their rear ends chewed for not doing enough. This year was no exception.
Many of my non-resident clients can’t believe that Idaho residents have access to their state legislators. Unless you are a large donor, they claim you will receive no audience with an elected official. Here in Idaho, we have what’s called a citizen legislature, and it is a blessing.
Idaho is currently going through some financial pains. It is against our constitution to operate in the red, so legislators must agree upon a balanced budget. During the pandemic/COVID years, the federal government printed money and handed it out like candy. In 2022, Idaho, which has an annual budget of roughly 5 billion dollars, had a 1-billion-dollar surplus. Life was good, and prosperity was going to last forever. It’s amazing how short the human memory is.
Today, we are paying for those lavish gifts through inflation and a burgeoning government. Everyone agrees that a balanced budget must be accomplished, but reduce the other guy, not me.
As an outfitter, it feels good to be an anomaly. We ask legislators to allow us to pay more taxes. Our problem is access to elk and deer tags. As Idaho grows, more pressure is being put on our state’s resources. The largest pressures are coming from the growing population of my fellow residents, but as residents, we tend to point the finger at the out-of-state hunter. Statewide, Idaho sells between 10% and 15% of its elk and deer tags to non-residents. The goal is to get as close to 10% as possible without going over. If we sell more than 10% to non-residents, we’re taking opportunities from residents. If we sell less than 10%, there is a feeling that we are susceptible to litigation.
You would think an outfitting industry would have very few concerns at the capital. All we do is ride a horse, go hunting, fishing, or navigate a boat downriver. Unfortunately, it’s just not that easy. This year, the Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association weighed in on eight bills or proposals. They ranged from advanced technology in hunting, the relicensing of Idaho Power’s Hells Canyon complex, the budget of our Idaho Outfitters and Guides Licensing Board, a replacement to Gate 58 at the Boise Airport, which used to allow tourists access to rural Idaho, a fish and game public comment bill, and two opposing constitutional amendments to our public lands. Along with trying to come up with an extra half billion dollars, the legislature has its hands full.
The Dutch over dinner we provide is actually pretty amazing. We cook elk enchiladas, mountain lion pizza, pheasant poppers, black bear stuffed peppers, and just about anything you can imagine using Bighorn Sheep, mountain goat, pronghorn, upland game birds, waterfowl, etc. This year, my wife made two apple pies using black bear lard. It was probably the flakiest pie crust I’ve ever seen. Most legislators find this dinner tasty and interesting. A few years ago, the governor had a new intern. The young man was sitting across from me and made the comment that the goose he was eating tasted very good. I told him, “Not bad for shooting them off the Challis sewer ponds”. He stopped chewing and wouldn’t eat any more. The governor laughed, but I felt kind of bad for the young man.
Even though it is a lot of work to prepare for our annual lobby day, our family considers it a mini vacation. Visiting the capital, working with other outfitter friends, and staying in a motel with a continental breakfast that serves sausage made of chicken is not the norm for our family.
When you live in a small town like Challis and then travel to Boise, legislators are not the only thing you see. Boise seems to be attracting some of the craziness of a large city. While walking down the street, my kids saw a furry. They had to explain to me what that was. I guess some people dress up like cats and think they really are one. My oldest son explained that sometimes they use nature’s natural hole to attach the tail. He said it was funny to watch because this guy really felt like he was a cat. He also asked if it was legal to bring our hound dogs next time to see if we could put one up a tree. It seems logical that if a dog thinks you are a cat, then you must be a cat. We humans can use artificial intelligence and build a robot to simulate ourselves, but we can’t tell if we’re really a human or a cat.
I’m not sure if humans are regressing or progressing, but the positive side of me chooses the latter.