Hat tip for the heads-up to my good friend Erik in Idaho!
This comes to us from the Post Register. I am not a paid subscriber but I got the headline and a short teaser.
Rex Rammell to run for Senate
- The former elk rancher said he will announce his candidacy Tuesday.Larry Craig says he’ll decide this summer whether to run for a fourth term in the United States Senate. If Craig calls it a career, Lt. Gov. James Risch says he’s in. Congressman Mike Simpson is a wild card. He could run for Craig’s seat or stay put with an eye toward a future gubernatorial run. Now we can add one of Idaho’s biggest lightning rods to this already volatile mix: Rex Rammell. Rammell said Friday that he will formally…
For those who may not remember, Rex Rammell was the owner of the Chief Joseph Elk Ranch just outside Rexburg, Idaho where last summer several of his elk got out of his fenced enclosure. It was reported that a bear tunneled under the fence, inciting an elk riot knocking down the fencing (that’s hard to do by the way), to Rammell had poorly maintained fences and even that the elk were deliberately set free by one or more of Rammell’s enemies, or even the Idaho Fish and Game.
The result of the escape lead to a series of extremely controversial events. In the end, Rammell lost several of his elk as they were slaughtered by hired guns of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game under the direction of then governor Jim Risch, who incidentally would like a shot at a vacated U.S. Senate seat.
Needless to say, a campaign pitting Dr. Rex Rammell against former governor Jim Risch would probably create more fireworks than any Fourth of July celebration in Idaho.
I’m trying to make contact with Dr. Rammell and will keep all interested readers informed. I was told that this news should be making the Associate Press wires soon.
For any readers who would like to refresh or read firsthand the accounts of the “Great Elk Escape”, Dr. Rex Rammell, former governor Jim Risch, the IDFG and others, go to the “Idaho Hunting News” category in the right hand sidebar and click on the link. There’s hours of enjoyment.
Tom Remington
