Idaho Adventure News

As I mentioned last month, during the April Board of Directors meeting in Salmon, the board set several key objectives for IOGA this year including Membership & Fundraising, Access and Trails, Improved Relations with Agency Partners and the 60th Anniversary of IOGA.The second objective I want to write about is membership and fundraising. Membership and fundraising continue to be our main objectives for the organization.  We recruited a lot of new members and had a number of old friends rejoin the organization over the past year.  With all the turnover in the business, we need to continue to r...

“A river changes people, even if they’re not looking to change,” says Bill “Bronco” Bruchak. He should know, having guided on rivers since 1978, including 80 commercial trips down the Middle Fork of the Salmon River through the protected Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness, in central Idaho. “White water makes you let go of all of the other worlds and take the time to be absorbed by pristine wilderness.” Getting Started: The Middle Fork is a free-flowing river that tumbles for a hundred miles of wilderness, promising plenty of frothy excitement from the headwaters an hour outside Stan...

As I mentioned previously, the board set several key objectives for IOGA this year including Membership & Fundraising, Access and Trails, Improved Relations with Agency Partners and the 60th Anniversary of IOGA. This month the subject is Access and Trails. Access and Trails continue to be a major problem for the land base outfits.  Last year this was a key objective and will continue to be one this year.  We made progress last year working with the Back Country Horseman of Idaho and other groups when we got a Joint Memorandum passed by the Idaho Legislature to the Forest Service.  There was a ...

For those of you that couldn’t attend our 60th annual meeting in Boise this year you missed a great time.  One of the highlights for me personally was Doug Tims sessions hosting some of the “Pioneers of IOGA”.  A few were outfitting before IOGA was in existence, great stories and pictures of the early days.  We also had our 60th anniversary party on Thursday night and on Friday night we had a separate party for the Thaw fund raiser.  The anniversary party was for our members and suppliers, and the Thaw focused on fundraising.  This format worked so well we will keep it for next year, more on t...

Late April 2015 News

IOGA Members, I hope all of you are well and that the first of the year has been good for your businesses. The past couple of months have been very busy for the IOGA staff, especially with legislative issues and trade shows. As you know the Legislature has been in session and several bills that affect our industry have been up for discussion. Grant Simonds, IOGA Government Affairs Liaison, and our lobby firm, Risch-Pisca PLLC, have provided an update elsewhere in this FYI Bulletin. In an effort to get out and promote all IOGA members, we have attended quite a few shows and events. January 15...

[caption id="attachment_262" align="alignleft" width="584"] Whitewater rafting on the Payette River. Photo courtesy Cascade Raft.[/caption] Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association NEWS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BOISE, Idaho -- (March 6, 2014) -- Idaho mountain snowpack levels and anticipated streamflows in the popular Salmon, Snake, Lochsa and Payette river basins are ranging from 90-120 percent of normal, which should provide for a stellar, fun-filled whitewater river season in the summer of 2014, officials said Thursday. "Our bookings are very strong this year and we feel lucky to h...

Early March 2015 News

IOGA Members,As you can see with the amount of information coming out of the IOGA office, the staff has hit the ground running in 2015. The need to send this month’s Government Affairs report as a separate FYI lets you know that the Legislature is back in session and that Grant Simonds, our Government Affairs Liaison, along with our Lobbyists, Jeremy Pisca and Tyler Mallard, are focused on monitoring anything that might effect our industry. Speaking of the legislature, preparation is well underway for our bi-annual Lobby Day event on February 18th here in Boise. Lynn Demerse and Janey are wor...

Members Due to the amount of information we need to get out to you, we are spliting the early February FYI Bulletin into two bulletins. Below is an update on various Government Affairs issues and Lobby Day. You can expect the next FYI Bulletin with other updates and information by Friday, February 6th. John May Government Affairs Liaison Reports by Grant Simonds Governor Sets Priorities The Idaho Legislature is off to a busy start after beginning on January 12th. Most committees have been hearing rules for the past several weeks and are beginning to introduce RS’s so they can start taking up ...

[caption id="attachment_252" align="aligncenter" width="584"] Commerce Director Jeff Sayer with his wife, Laurel, on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River.[/caption] By Steve Stuebner Jeff Sayer, Director of the Idaho Department of Commerce, had a life-changing experience on a Middle Fork Salmon River trip, and he said that helps him understand the intrinsic value of outfitted trips in a speech to the Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association at the annual meeting. The Middle Fork trip was a U.S. Forest Service trip that involved several Idaho outfitters and guides, Sayer said. He rode with Dir...

[caption id="attachment_239" align="aligncenter" width="604"] Doug Tims at Campbell's Ferry (Courtesy Steve Coyle photography)[/caption] For decades, IOGA has been blessed to have Doug Tims as an active member and leader. He was elected to the IOGA board of directors soon after becoming a licensed outfitter on the Middle Fork of the Salmon in the late 1980s. He served as both board vice president and president of the IOGA. Tims has a knack for telling colorful stories with his telltale Mississippi accent. "His oral and written communication skills are exemplary and have been constantly on di...