Ask Fish and Game: White-tailed Deer Tags

Q. Since I normally monitor available nonresident tag numbers on the Fish and Game Web site, I wonder why the number of available white-tailed deer tags hasn't decreased from the original 1,500. I, for one, have purchased at least one. I find it hard to believe that I'm the only one. A. Idaho has two types of deer tags and both have nonresident purchase quotas. The nonresident quota for the general deer tag is 12,000. Nonresidents that choose a white-tailed deer tag are included in that quota. When the general nonresident deer tag quota of 12,000 is met, the additional 1,500 whitetail-only tags may be sold. With a regular deer tag, a hunter may harvest either a mule deer or a white-tailed deer, as seasons allow. With a white-tailed tag, a hunter may take only a white-tailed deer.