The Idaho Fish and Game Commission in May elected Dave Bobbitt of Coeur d’Alene as its new chairman, and he will serve in that role for one year.
Bobbitt recently shared some of his experience as a commissioner and insights on his future as chair of the commission.
“I’m devoted to sportsmen and women and really care about what they think,” Bobbitt said. “And at the same time, we have to preserve, perpetuate and protect wildlife for future generations, and we have to do everything within our ability to manage that balance.”
Bobbitt was appointed as a commissioner by Gov. Brad Little in 2021. He’s a life-long hunter and angler, as well as working as a hunting outfitter for seven years. He said he grew up hunting in Idaho’s backcountry.
“We never had family vacations, we’d go up in the mountains and for a week try to harvest an elk,” he said. “That was the culture I loved.”
Since becoming a commissioner, Bobbitt said he’s been learning how Fish and Game manages wildlife and how that blends with providing hunting, fishing and trapping opportunities for Idahoans.
“I respect the science and the biology, and I respect the culture. It’s like a big family,” he said. “We have some bright young people who love what they do.”
He pointed out the department is a leader among other state wildlife agencies “and I can’t be prouder of that.”
Bobbitt said managing the state’s wildlife along with meeting the wishes of hunters and anglers is a challenge because there’s rarely unanimous agreement, but the commission has a basic recipe for good decision making.
“With science and public input you tend to come up with the right answer, but it’s not always the right answer for everyone,” he said.
Commissioners have to look at the big, long-term picture and “make sure we’re not listening to a vocal minority that doesn’t necessarily represent the majority,” he said.
Bobbitt retired after serving 47 years in the banking industry that culminated in his serving as president of Sterling Savings Bank from 2004-06, then founding Community First Bank in Kootenai County in 2007. He served as Chairman and CEO of Community First Bank until it was purchased by First Interstate Bank in 2019. He attended North Idaho College and received post-graduate degrees from Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington and the International Seniors Program, School of Business, Harvard University.
He served in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1968 to 1979. He served the Pacific Coast Banking School as past chairman, Kootenai Electric Cooperative as a board member and chairman of the Audit Committee, Livestock Sale Booster Club Inc. as a board member, and as a Kootenai Health board member and Finance Committee chairman.
Bobbitt will chair his first commission meeting on July 16-17 in Coeur d’Alene.