BOISE, Idaho — A portion of land burned by the Valley Fire will remain closed to the public until April 2025.
On Tuesday, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) announced that the section of the Boise River Wildlife Management Area west of Highway 21 would remain closed. Officials said the move is to help winter-migrating elk and deer return to the area.
"The closure will benefit wintering big game and accommodate rehabilitation efforts following the Valley Fire," IDFG wrote in a news release.
The Valley Fire was first reported on Friday, Oct. 10, and nearly burned 10,000 acres. IDFG said the burned section of the Boise River Wildlife Management Area is a "critical winter range for roughly 2,400 mule deer and 650 elk."
IDFG said by keeping the area closed to the public, deer and elk would be fewer "stressors" for the animals, and at a time when there is less foliage because of the fire.
"With less forage on the landscape this winter, deer and elk in the burn area are even more susceptible to starvation and more vulnerable to stress from human interactions, given that people can be seen from a greater distance, and escape cover is a long way away," IDFG wrote in a news release.
Officials acknowledged the area is popular for hunters and winter sports, but this decision needed to be made.
“We certainly want that to continue, but in the short term, closing the burn area to human entry is the best thing for the landscape and the animals," Regional Supervisor Josh Royse said in a news release. "This fire’s aftermath has real impacts to the survival of the big game species that depend on it for winter groceries. Because of that, whatever we can do to keep winter disturbance of these animals to a minimum is simply the right thing to do for them.”
Idaho Department of Fish and Game provided the area closure map below.
