Tim Sundles, founder of Buffalo Bore Ammunition and Outdoors, has spent decades in Idaho’s backcountry. In a recent video, he accused the U.S. Forest Service and Fish & Wildlife Service of strangling the Sawtooth Mountains with bureaucracy, corruption, and reckless wildlife policies. His accounts span from the late 1980s to the present and paint a grim picture of how federal red tape is changing the land and the people who live closest to it.
“The Forest Is Ours, Not Theirs”
Sundles said the biggest misconception is that the national forests belong to the federal government. “The national forest is mine and it’s yours,” he argued. According to him, the Forest Service only manages the land but acts as though it owns it, inventing new rules and permit systems that he claims have no basis in constitutional law. This belief, that citizens are being pushed off land they own, is central to his anger.
A Parking Permit Showdown in 1989
In one story, Sundles described pulling up to a Sawtooth trailhead in 1989 with llamas and gear, only to be told by a young summer employee that he could not park there. Sundles recalled refusing to move. When supervisors later showed up threatening to tow his truck, he pushed back even harder. “I own this land as a U.S. citizen,” he told them. He claimed the encounter ended with him reluctantly taking a so-called “free permit,” which he joked he would use as fire starter.
The Slippery Slope of Permits
Sundles explained why he refused those permits. He said the Forest Service starts by offering them free, then adds small charges, and eventually raises fees until traditional activities like firewood cutting become too expensive. According to him, rural Idahoans used to cut their own winter firewood without interference. Once permits were required, the cost grew year after year. Today, Sundles argued, “it doesn’t really pay to cut your own firewood.”
“Ranger Rick” and Threats of Force
By 1995, Sundles was living in Salmon, Idaho, and running trips with horses and mules. At a ranger station in Stanley, he says he asked about snow conditions in the high passes. After being told the trails were open, the receptionist demanded a $5-per-person daily permit. Sundles refused, insisting the fees were unconstitutional. The receptionist allegedly warned him that “Ranger Rick” was “very mean” and would find him in the mountains. Sundles said he responded that if threatened with violence, he’d “show his Claude Dallas impression,” referencing a controversial Idaho frontiersman who once killed two game wardens.
Wolves Enter the Picture
Sundles’ anger wasn’t only directed at permits. In 2001, he and a hunting partner entered the Sawtooths during elk season. What they found shocked them. A herd of 23 cows had only one surviving calf. He blamed this on wolves reintroduced by the federal government. Later, he stumbled upon a wolf pack feeding on a dead calf. Sundles claimed the wolves were “wiping out” elk and deer herds. He described shooting the alpha male, calling it an act of necessity in a region where the native animals had no defenses against Canadian gray wolves.
An Empty Wilderness
Sundles said the transformation of the Sawtooths was devastating. He recalled that in the early 1990s hunters could expect to see hundreds of mule deer in a single week. By the 2000s, he says, sightings had dwindled to almost nothing. “I can’t even find an elk track,” Sundles stated. In his view, wolf reintroduction combined with federal overreach effectively gutted Idaho’s backcountry of the game animals that had defined it for generations.
Ticketed in 2003
Another run-in came in 2003 when Sundles took his family into the Sawtooths. When they returned, he said they found a ticket on their truck windshield ordering him to report to the ranger station for further fines. The citation threatened fees for each horse, each person, and each night spent in the backcountry. Sundles said he simply “wadded it up, threw it on the ground,” and left. He insists such tickets have no legal weight and that he has never paid one.
Bureaucracy as Tyranny
From Sundles’ perspective, these encounters show how federal agencies use regulations to chip away at freedom. “In Africa, the government takes what it wants with soldiers. In America, they use paperwork and regulations,” he said. He believes most Forest Service employees are more interested in pensions than in stewardship and that the Constitution is ignored in favor of rules “pulled out of their backside.”
A Call to Defend the Constitution
Sundles argued that every federal employee should be required to pass a yearly test on the Constitution. “They violate it on a daily basis,” he said. He insists that Americans must stop “going along” with unlawful rules or risk losing all freedoms in the backcountry. His message was less about hunting or logging and more about the principle of self-governance.
The Tension Between Conservation and Freedom
What struck me most in Sundles’ account is the deep frustration between rural Americans and federal regulators. On one hand, conservationists argue that regulation protects forests from overuse. On the other, locals like Sundles believe permits, logging bans, and wolf reintroduction destroy both livelihoods and ecosystems. Whether you agree with Sundles or not, his stories highlight a conflict that goes far beyond Idaho – the clash between centralized environmental policy and local traditions.
Wolves, Wilderness, and the Human Factor
Sundles’ wolf story in particular raises fascinating questions. Wolves are powerful symbols of wilderness, but they are also apex predators that alter ecosystems dramatically. Was the federal government wrong to reintroduce them? Or is the decline of elk and deer more complex, tied to changing landscapes and human activity? Either way, Sundles shows how deeply personal these policies feel when you live in the shadow of the Sawtooths.
Whose Land Is It?
For Tim Sundles, the issue is clear. The Sawtooth Mountains belong to the people, not to Washington bureaucrats. Permits, tickets, and predators imposed from afar have, in his words, “ruined Idaho’s backcountry.” Whether one shares his anger or not, his decades of experience in the mountains reveal a growing tension over how America’s wild places should be managed – and who gets the final say.
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, John developed a love for the great outdoors early on. With years of experience as a wilderness guide, he’s navigated rugged terrains and unpredictable weather patterns. John is also an avid hunter and fisherman who believes in sustainable living. His focus on practical survival skills, from building shelters to purifying water, reflects his passion for preparedness. When he’s not out in the wild, you can find him sharing his knowledge through writing, hoping to inspire others to embrace self-reliance.
