|
|
Hunters can take survey about
controlled hunts and auction tags |
|
November 3, 2015 |
By Roger Phillips
Idaho Fish and Game public information
specialist
Fish and Game is getting opinions from hunters
about possibly changing controlled hunt drawing
odds and increasing the number of big game tags
offered through auction.
For many years, some hunters have expressed
interest in changing Idaho’s controlled hunt
drawing system to favor those who were
unsuccessful in previous drawings. Others have
suggested auctioning big game tags as a way to
increase revenue for conservation and hunter
access programs. Both issues have generated
interest in the Idaho Legislature.
In early October, the department mailed 4,400
paper questionnaires to a random sample of
hunters. Those who responded are being entered
into a database.
On October 17, an email request was sent to a
random sample of 27,000 hunters asking them to
take the same survey online. They were selected
from among hunters who had previously provided
their email address to Fish and Game, and more
than 3,000 responses were received in the first
48 hours.
The survey is available for anyone who wants to
take it on the public involvement page at
http://fishandgame.idaho.gov. Comments will
be taken through November 16.
The Idaho Fish and Game Commission will use
results from the surveys to consider whether
changes to controlled hunt rules are warranted
and also to consider whether additional tags
should be auctioned. Currently, Fish and Game
commissioners allow a single bighorn sheep tag
to be auctioned annually. They have not
implemented the additional tags for other big
game animals authorized by the Legislature in
2012.
The surveys are intended only to gauge hunters'
interest in those topics.
“I assure you that if the commissioners
determine changes are warranted to the
controlled hunt drawing system based on survey
results, we will get input from sportsmen about
any proposed changes before any final decisions
are made,” said Fish and Game Commission
Chairman Mark Doerr of Kimberly.
Here are some commonly asked questions about why
Fish and Game is doing the surveys:
Why three surveys? It is
actually the same survey, but it will be
delivered three different ways to allow more
hunters to participate and offer their opinions.
The mail and email portions are intended to be
random sample surveys. Fish and Game officials
know there may be campaigning involved with the
website survey because those who feel most
strongly about the topics are likely to take
that survey and encourage others to take it.
These three methods – mail, email, and web – are
being used to develop cheaper methods of
surveying hunters and the public. Mail surveys
are expensive, but yield the most reliable
results. Email and web surveys can save money on
printing, mailing, and data entry costs, but
there are challenges in making sure the survey
is truly representative of the group of people
being surveyed. For example, less than half of
hunters have provided Fish and Game with their
email addresses, so the question is how do
officials make sure that those results are
representative of hunters regardless of an email
being provided? Fish and Game researchers hope
to find out with this study.
Haven't these topics already been
surveyed? Yes. The commission wants to
gauge current opinions on these issues.
Controlled hunt drawing odds are an ongoing
discussion between Fish and Game and hunters.
On several occasions, Fish and Game
commissioners have considered adding
bonus/preference points for controlled hunts to
improve drawing odds for some hunters, typically
those who were unsuccessful in previous
drawings. Other options for changing drawing
odds are limiting the number of hunts a person
can apply for, or extending waiting periods
before successful applicants can re-enter the
controlled hunt drawing.
Fish and Game surveyed hunters in both 2005 and
2010 about different options for controlled hunt
drawings, but Fish and Game’s current
commissioners were not on the commission and
part of those discussions. These surveys will
update hunters’ opinions and see if they have
changed.
Do these surveys mean Fish and Game
plans to change the controlled hunts, or offer
big game auction tags? No. There are no
proposals currently in the works. Any changes to
controlled hunts would be done via rule making
by the Fish and Game Commission. Any specific
proposals on these topics would be put out for
public comment well in advance of any commission
action.
How will the department use the results
of the surveys, and will the public get to see
them? Fish and Game officials always
take into consideration hunters’ preferences
when addressing any issue. However, there are
many factors that must be weighed during the
commission's decision-making process. Surveys
are not a referendum where hunters vote, but
they are a valuable gauge of hunter preferences,
and how strongly they feel about certain topics.
Results of the surveys will be available during
the Fish and Game Commission's quarterly meeting
in Nov. 19 in Hailey. |
|
|
|
Questions or comments about this
article?
Click here to e-mail! |
|
|
|
|
