WYG&F seeks hunter input
by Wyoming Game & Fish
November 2, 2015
CHEYENNE – Many of Wyoming’s big game hunting seasons have ended or are wrapping up in the coming weeks. To get harvest information and feedback on the 2015 hunting season and use public input for future management decisions, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department has again sent out harvest surveys to hunters. Game and Fish asks hunters to watch for these in their mailboxes and in their email accounts.
"We really appreciate feedback and this is the best way to gather large amounts of data from the public. The Hunter Harvest Surveys are used to estimate harvest, hunter success and hunter effort," said Scott Smith, Deputy Chief of the Game and Fish’s Wildlife Division. "The feedback we get is important information and is a valuable tool for monitoring populations and setting future quotas, season dates and other limitations."
The survey is going out now while some hunters are still in the field. Game and Fish asks that a hunter wait until their season is over before filling out the data, but the goal is to give the public every opportunity to fill out the survey as soon as they are done hunting. Game and Fish sent Hunter Harvest Surveys for elk, deer and antelope this week.
"About 60% of the people who have purchased a license this year have provided their email address, a 20% increase over last year," Gail Sheridan, Game and Fish’s hunter survey coordinator said. "We contact approximately 100,000 license holders annually, so hunters that provide an e-mail address and complete their surveys online help us reduce costs, about $2.50 per response."
Sheridan said that even if hunters did not hunt or harvest, their input is important to include in Game and Fish annual harvest reports.
Game and Fish heard from many hunters that they get the harvest survey request before they are done hunting for the year. In response to those concerns, Game Fish added a feature this year where hunters who supplied an email can simply click a link to say they will respond after they are done hunting. Game and Fish will then remove their name from future mailings until after their season is over.
All license holders for moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, black bear, mountain lion, fall wild turkey, spring wild turkey, furbearer, sandhill crane and light goose conservation order are included in the survey process. Because of the volume of antelope, deer and elk license holders, a random sampling of those licensed hunters are surveyed so not all license holders of those species will receive a request to complete a harvest survey. Tetra Tech is the company that won the competitive bid to conduct the large surveys for antelope, deer and elk.
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