Camo at the Capitol    February 19, 2020

Henrys Fork  Wildlife Alliance joined other Idaho Wildlife Federation (IWF)  affiliate groups from across the state in Boise this week for IWF’s  annual Camo at the Capitol event. Idaho Wildlife Federation has 28  affiliate groups and represents thousands of Idahoans. 

A  delegation of Founding Members of Henrys Fork Wildlife Alliance  traveled to Boise for the meetings. Other east Idaho groups such as Back  Country Hunters and Anglers and Theodore Roosevelt Conservation  Partnership also participated. 

Idaho  Wildlife Federation executive director Brian Brooks said IWF’s goal was  to fill the State House for a day with sportsmen & conservation  groups. The IWF participants were introduced to the legislature on the  floor of the House and Senate. IWF affiliate members met with legislators and the governor and interacted with the public. 

Several  IWF affiliate groups had information displays in the Capitol Rotunda.  Their presentations generated a lot of interest from legislators and the  public throughout the day. 

Henrys  Fork Wildlife Alliance board member Mark Harbaugh of Ashton said one of  the messages HFWA took to Boise is that they support the Western  Governors Association Policy Resolution on safeguarding wildlife  migrations. They called on Idaho Governor Little and state and federal  agencies to coordinate with private, county, state, and federal entities  to identify wildlife migrations, apply the latest science, and allocate  resources for the benefit of our big game and other wildlife, private  landowners, and public land user groups.

Charlie  Lansche, who has more than three decades of family history in Island  Park, where he and his wife Coni live year-round, said the  group supports a safe highway and is concerned about wildlife vehicle  collisions on US 20 from Ashton Hill to Last Chance in Island Park. 

HFWA  founding member Ann Schenk of Ashton added, “I hope there  will be environmental studies and an opportunity for public comment on  the remaining construction scheduled to begin in 2022.”

Harbaugh,  a lifelong hunter and angler, spoke of the importance of wildlife as a  huge economic driver in eastern Idaho. He said his group seeks to bring  people together around a shared concern for wildlife.

Henrys  Fork Wildlife Alliance also expressed concern about several wetlands  along US 20 and the impact of future highway construction. Sarah  Cubells, Program Coordinator for HFWA, said that Ruth Shea, a founding  member of the group and world expert on trumpeter swans in the Greater  Yellowstone Ecosystem, is working with Idaho Transportation Department  (ITD) on behalf of HFWA to ensure that upgrading Hwy 20 will not damage  Swan Lake. 

Swan Lake is Idaho’s most productive Trumpeter Swan nesting site. Shea  says, “With good planning, ITD could avoid damage and actually improve  this highly visible and well known swan habitat in Island Park.”

Cubells  said her group’s participation in Boise along with so many affiliates  of IWF demonstrated the strong voices of sportsmen and women and  conservationists in Idaho.

Read more in the Idaho Wildlife Federation website.