« Back to Outdoors Homepage

Outdoors


IT’S NO APRIL FOOLS JOKE, THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF EGIN-HAMER CLOSURE AREA DOESN’T OPEN UNTIL SUNRISE ON APRIL 1ST, 7:09 AM, TO BE EXACT!

Posted on: March 23, 2007

IDAHO FALLS- Ever since its inception nine years ago, the closures on the southern and northern portions of the Egin-Hamer Closure have ended on April 1st and May 1st respectively. This meant that technically people could legally be out in the desert one second after midnight. “Why would anyone want to wander around in the desert in the middle of the cold dark night?” The answer is exclusively to gather shed antlers and according to some IDFG Conservation Officers, it was truly amazing how many antlers people “found” before the sun was even up. To help create a more level playing field, local resource managers and county commissioners this year agreed to move the opening time to sunrise on both opening days. To be exact, 7:09 AM on Sunday, April 1st for the southern portion and 6:19 AM on Tuesday May 1st for the northern portion.

The current closure area management plan was originally created because Fremont and Jefferson County Commissioners approached the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Idaho Department of Fish & Game (IDFG) about revisiting the existing Egin-Hamer Road winter road closure issue. The agreement that was arranged allowed for the opening of the road to winter travel in return for closing off important winter range adjacent to the road.

Because habitat needs change for wildlife as the winter progresses, the closure was divided in two segments, each with a different opening day. The first opening date for the southern portion is nearly upon us.

The Egin-Hamer Road divides the closures area into two uneven segments. The smaller southern segment will open to human traffic at sunrise on April 1, 2007. The larger northern segment will remain closed to human traffic until sunrise on May 1, 2007. The agreement also included access allowances for private landowners with business concerns requiring entry into the closure area. The eastern portion of the dunes has also remained open year-round. The segment that opens on April 1 is bordered on by the Egin-Hamer Road on the north and Highway 33 on the south. The western boundary is Interstate 15 and the eastern boundary runs from where the Henrys Fork crosses Highway 33 and heads north through Plano and then toward Egin. To help the public identify the different areas, the southern portion is posted with bright green signs and the northern portion with bright orange.

Specific information regarding the agreement may be obtained by contacting the local BLM Office in Idaho Falls at 208-524-7445 or the IDFG Office at 208-525-7290.


Share This

post this at del.icio.us post this at Digg post this at Technorati post this at Newsvine post this at Ma.gnolia post this at Reddit post this at Fark post this at Yahoo! my web post this at Netscape post this at StumbleUpon


Your Comments

Commenting is closed for this article.

About Dave Langston

Outdoor writer Dave Langston resides in Chubbuck. He grew up in the Midwest and south fishing and hunting across the country.

... more About Dave Langston >>

Video Interviews

  • Visiting the Crow’s Nest Ranch -December 07, 07

    The Western States Sportsman crew recently paid a visit to the Crow’s Nest Ranch near Mackay, ID to hunt pheasant and chukar. We had a great hunt there hunting the wild chukar that roost on the mountain above the ranch as well as the pheasant that the operators of the ranch raise for hunting.

  • Juniper Mountian Ranch -November 30, 07

    This is a special episode of the Western States Sportsman. Come with us as we venture to Juniper Mountain Ranch in Idaho and test out products new for 2007 and 2008.