LEWISTON — Fishing outfitters, business owners and community members from two Idaho towns have come together to insert themselves into negotiations or maneuverings that could stop the pending closure of the state's steelhead fishing season or lead to an earlier reopening.
The Lewiston Morning Tribune reports the group on Thursday collectively created the Idaho Community Alliance, elected board members and hired attorney Bill Mauk of the Boise law firm Mauk and Miller.
The Idaho Fish and Game Commission is closing Idaho's steelhead season starting Dec. 8 to stave off a threatened lawsuit from six conservation organizations. The suspended season is expected to harm the economies of the two small towns - Riggins and White Bird - that depend on income from steelhead anglers in the late winter and spring.
