Hunters asked to return Big Game Surveys
by Wyoming Game & Fish
December 13, 2007
December marks the end of most big game seasons in Wyoming and effectively ends most hunting seasons with the exception of a few late limited quota hunts. Even though almost all big game hunting is completed, the Game and Fish asks hunters to complete one last very important task, the harvest survey.
A month ago in mid November, more than 57,000 elk, deer, antelope and black bear hunters were sent postcards asking them to complete their harvest survey on-line. While the response was varied depending on species, Christine Leonard, harvest survey coordinator for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department said there was a noticeable lack of returns from resident hunters who held general elk and deer licenses. To help get a more representative sample, a second mailing of 45,000 postcards was sent out last week. Hunters can use the individualized code on the post card to complete the survey online at www.wyhunter.org. or hunters can find the link to the survey on the Game and Fish Web site at http://gf.state.wy.us. Hunters without Internet access will receive a detailed survey about two weeks following the postcard. The mailing schedule is staggered to send and receive surveys in waves, which facilitates processing.
Leonard says the online survey takes an average of less than three minutes to complete and is the most efficient way for a hunter who has internet access to respond. “It’s more efficient to tally the results via the web survey and reduces the cost of conducting the survey,” Leonard said. “But, the bottom line is we need survey returns and either the printed survey or the online survey is ok with us.”
She said even if hunters did not harvest an animal it is still important to return the survey. “Hunter success, days hunted, and areas hunted are all used in establishing seasons and quotas for the coming year,” Leonard said.
Hunters should note that even if they were contacted in the field or stopped at a check station, it is still important to fill out the post-season survey.
Not all hunters receive a survey for elk, deer and antelope. Sixty to 100 percent of elk, deer and pronghorn license holders are surveyed. Approximately 25 percent of general elk and deer hunters are surveyed. All moose and bighorn sheep hunters have been sent a postcard survey. Survey sample sizes are established to obtain statistically valid estimates of hunter effort and success as well as harvest.
As in previous years, all deer, elk, pronghorn and black bear hunters responding to the survey by January 1, 2008 will be entered in raffles. Pronghorn hunters will compete for gifts from Ariat cowboy boots, Hi Mountain Jerky and a $50 gift certificate from the Wildlife Heritage Foundation of Wyoming (WHFW).
Deer hunters will be entered in drawings for artwork donated by the Mule Deer Foundation, a gift package from the WHFW, a $50 gift certificate to the Wyoming Game and Fish store and a $100 gift certificate donated by the PA Consulting Group.
Elk hunters will be eligible for a Browning skinner knife, a one- year membership to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, a gift package from the WHFW and gift certificates to the Wyoming Game and Fish store from the WHFW and the PA Consulting Group.
Likewise, bear hunters will also be in a drawing for a WHFW gift package, a wildlife print from the Wyoming Wildlife Federation, and a limited edition bighorn sheep belt buckle from the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep.
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