Mission Statement
The Wildlife Program is responsible for ensuring the protection and preservation of wildlife resources throughout the aboriginal lands of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. This is inclusive of management initiatives oriented towards both on-Reservation and ceded lands. Much effort is spent in promoting the Sovereignty and management perspectives of the Tribe at both local and regional levels to ensure that the wildlife resources that the Coeur d’Alene people are dependent upon for subsistence, religious, cultural, and recreational purposes are perpetuated for present and future generations. The program strategy is rooted in the protection and enhancement of wildlife habitats as a means of maximizing the potential of traditional lands to support the needs of various wildlife species as well as Tribal members.
Hunting
Accepting Applications for Summer Youth Internships for 2023
Hunting Regulations for Reservation
- 2022 Migratory Bird Seasons and Bag Limits
- Fishing and Hunting member regulations
- Fishing and Hunting resident and non-resident regulations
Use the map to see lands open to hunting with a valid Tribal hunting permit:
Moose Lottery Information
The Moose Lottery drawing takes place every year in the middle or August.
The lottery is open to all enrolled CDA Tribal Members over the age of 14.
Applications are available in early July and can be picked up at the Fish, Water and Wildlife building at 401 Annie Antelope Rd. in Plummer (just south of the new Elder Housing complex). Applications will also be available at Headquarters front desk. If you are unable to pick up an application, call Kate Rau at 686-6603 to request an application to be mailed to you.
Applications must be submitted by the established deadline (usually the first week in August) which will be listed on the application.
Successful Moose Lottery applicants are required to pay a $25 deposit (cash or check, will be held and not cashed). The deposit will be refunded in full upon return if your completed hunter report card is turned in by the deadline listed on your application.
Successful applicants may choose a Designated Hunter if they do not wish to or are unable to hunt for themselves. Designated Hunters must be enrolled members of the CDA Tribe. If you are unable to find a Designated hunter, we can provide a list for you.
Once you have been drawn for the Moose Lottery, you must wait THREE YEARS in order to be eligable again.
Forms
Designated Hunter Applications
Special Event Application
Wildlife Projects / Forest Carnivore Project
Carnivore Project Final Report
In the fall of 2005, the Tribal Wildlife Program was awarded a grant by the US Fish and Wildlife Service for a project aimed at detecting the presence of fisher and lynx throughout the Ceded Territory of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. This grant was awarded to the Tribe with the help of Idaho Department of Fish and Game, US Forest Service, Potlatch Corporation, and Forest Capital Partners. The grant is referred to as the “Tribal Wildlife Grant”, and is intended for projects that are submitted by Indian tribes to develop and implement programs for the benefit of wildlife and their habitat, including species of tribal cultural or traditional importance and species that are not hunted or fished. This particular grant proposal focuses on a group of mammals referred to as forest carnivores, and specifically fisher and lynx.The fisher (Martes pennanti) and lynx (Lynx canadensis) are medium sized carnivores that live in forested ecosystems, and are generally associated with remote wilderness. Due to their reliance on remote habitat with multi-layered forest stands, they are excellent indicators of the overall integrity of an ecosystem. In the past century, distributions of these species have declined due to a combination of land development, timber harvest, trapping, and increased road densities in forested areas. As a result, both of these species are considered to be sensitive in the northwest, and are considered “critically imperiled” in the state of Idaho. In addition, lynx are a federally listed threatened species.It has been reported that fisher and lynx occur in scattered sub-populations, which are particularly subject to extirpation. Petitions to list these species as “endangered” in portions of their historical range have been denied, largely due to a lack of information regarding the current distribution of their populations. Fisher and lynx have relatively low reproductive rates, occur at relatively low densities throughout their historical range, and are significantly affected by the land-use practices of humans. What is not known is the current distribution of these species or many of their population attributes. This project represents the first step in this process, namely, beginning to identify the current distribution of these forest carnivores in a portion of northern Idaho. Once this information is established, the possibility of conducting more intensive research to identify specific population attributes will be much more feasible.
Bonneville Power Administration: Albeni Falls Wildlife Mitigation Project
The construction of the Albeni Falls Dam hydroelectric facility on the Pend Oreille River in the Columbia basin resulted in the inundation of key wildlife habitats. The resultant habitat loss was quantified and a ledger based crediting system was adopted to offset those loses.
The primary goal of the Albeni Falls Project is to offset the terrestrial and aquatic habitat losses incurred by the Albeni Falls dam via subsequent construction and inundation. The agencies responsible for mitigating these losses are: The Coeur d’ Alene Tribe, Kalispel Tribe, Kootenai Tribe, and the Idaho Dept. of Fish and Game under the collective Albeni Falls Workgroup Memorandum of Agreement. Proposed projects are ranked and evaluated by the workgroup for consistency in scope of mitigation efforts as they apply to appropriate replacement habitats. Other valuations include: cost-effectiveness, fish benefits, and immediacy of threat, location, connectivity and long-term management potential. All activities conducted under on this project are under the auspices of the Albeni Falls Wildlife Mitigation Project Memorandum of Understanding between the Tribe and BPA that was signed in 2001.
Most, if not all, targeted acquisitions to offset loses will occur within the Coeur d’ Alene subbasin as part of Tribal land management expediency effort (cost-effectiveness) and suitable commensurate habitat acquisition opportunities. As of January 2005 two parcels of land have been acquired under the Albeni Falls Project:
Goose Haven Lake Property-646 acres consisting of low lying wetlands and forested uplands and the St. Joe River, located north of St. Maries
Benewah Creek/Johnson Property-411 acres constisting of low lying wetlands along Benewah Creek and forested uplands located in the Benewah Creek Drainage.
Bonneville Power Administration: Hangman Creek Restoration Project
The Hangman Creek Restoration Project was originally funded in August of 2001. The Project was initiated to partially address the loss of anadromous fish resources incurred by the Coeur d’Alene Tribe during the establishment of the Columbia River Federal Hydropower System. The Hangman Watershed was one of the major fisheries for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. The loss of the anadromous fish resources forced the Tribe to rely more heavily on resident fish and wildlife to fulfill subsistence needs. Modern agricultural methods have reduced resident fish and wildlife populations and currently the waters of the Hangman Watershed support no resident fishery and the native wildlife species are largely restricted to the upper forested elevations.
The initial Project focus was on development of a Prioritization Plan to direct native fish and wildlife habitat restoration efforts. The Priority Habitats that were identified in the Plan fell along Hangman Creek and its fish bearing tributaries upstream of the Hangman Creek / Mission Creek confluence in the Upper Hangman Watershed. A set of three properties centrally located within this Priority Area were selected as the first to be acquired. According to the original intent of the Hangman Restoration Project, the acquisition of these properties were to provide needed wildlife and fish habitats as substitution for anadromous fish losses.
In order to complete negotiations with the landowners, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe chose to seek crediting for these properties against Albeni Falls Construction and Inundation Losses. The Albeni Falls Work Group agreed with the crediting of HUs for these acquisitions and future enhancement and restoration of wildlife habitats on the properties will also be credited against Albeni Falls losses. All pre-acquisition activities on the targeted properties were completed in FY2004. One acquisition was completed in December of 2004, one was completed in January of 2005, and the third acquisition is expected to be completed in late February or early March. With these acquisitions come management responsibilities which will begin immediately
Bonneville Power Administration: Lake Creek Property Enhancement
As part of the first 3-year Provincial Rolling Review in 2000, the Tribe identified a series of target areas for protection and restoration based on a variety of factors and the scope of the Project was changed from it’s initial focus on a single property to encompassing a number of priority properties that allowed for flexibility in accomplishing the objectives of mitigating the Tribe. In 2002, a portion of the funds originally allocated to purchase an initial targeted parcel were used to purchase the 147.6 acre Windy Bay Property, which lies at the mouth of Lake Creek and at the head of Windy Bay on the east shore of Coeur d’Alene Lake.
In 2004, the project centered on initiating management actions on the Windy Bay Property and beginning assessments in preparation of a management plan for the property. In 2005 the project focuses on completion of the management plan and a continuation of protection actions for the Windy Bay Property, and the pursuit of fee title to additional properties in the Lake Creek Watershed to further reduce the HU ledger that was initially associated with the Lake Creek Land Acquisition and Enhancement Project.
It is the intent of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe to continue to fully implement projects designed to compensate the Tribe for losses due to the establishment of the Columbia River Federal Hydropower System. The Coeur d’Alene Tribe participated in the writing of a Subbasin Plan for the Coeur d’Alene Subbasin and the Tribe intends to implement projects consistent with the Coeur d’Alene Subbasin Plan as soon as it is fully adopted. For the immediate future however, the Tribe intends to focus on managing the Windy Bay Property in a manner consistent with the protection and enhancement of the Habitat Units that can be derived from the Property and continue attempts to achieve the original goals of the Lake Creek Land Acquisition Project.
Elk Population Dynamics
The overall goal of this project is to establish a solid information base on the movements and population attributes of elk on the Coeur d’Alene Reservation. Information that the Tribe intends to obtain from this project includes:
Locations of migration corridors
Seasonal movements of individual herds
Locations of calving areas
Information on habitat usage, high priority habitats, and winter range
Cow/Calf ratios
Post-winter recruitment rates
Trends in overall population abundance
Improved Tribal elk harvest data
The information gained from this project will be used by IDFG and WDFW to fill some of their data gaps in regards to the elk movements, habitat use patterns, and population attributes in the vicinity of the Coeur d’Alene Reservation. Results will be incorporated into Idaho and Washington elk management plans. The CDAT will integrate this information into its harvest regulations, Integrated Resource Management Plan (IRMP), Forest Plan, and its comments and recommendations on various land-use projects on the Coeur d’Alene Reservation and aboriginal territory.
Upper Columbia United Tribes
The subcontract with the Upper Columbia United Tribes through funding with the Bureau of Indian Affairs consists of two main objectives:
(1) Identifying and implementing management activities necessary for protecting and preserving hunting and fishing resources on the Coeur d’ Alene Indian Reservation and
(2) Providing technical representation for both fish and wildlife during interdisciplinary forums, including, but not limited to, the development of a Tribal Forest Management Plan and the Integrated Resources Management Plan.
For more information on the Coeur d’ Alene Tribe Wildlife Program write or call:
Coeur d’ Alene Tribe Wildlife
P.O. Box 408 / 850 A St.
Plummer, ID 83851
Phone: (208) 686-1800
Fax: (208) 686-3021