Don't forget to report your hunting results.

Since 1982, successful elk hunters in Idaho's northern five counties comprising the Panhandle Region have been required to have their elk checked. Check stations have included Idaho Fish and Game (IDFG) offices and many local businesses that collected data for Fish and Game. After over two decades the Panhandle Mandatory Elk Check program no longer exists. The program produced one of the most extensive data sets for harvested elk any where in the nation. Nearly 42,000 elk were recorded with information on the elk's age, general area of harvest, how many days it took the hunter to bag an elk, and lots of other information. This data provided sufficient detail to enable IDFG to provide Panhandle Region hunters some of the most liberal elk hunting seasons in the U.S. A few years ago, IDFG started a program commonly referred to as "the report card" system. Hunters are issued a slip of paper officially called the "Mandatory Harvest Report" for each deer and elk tag they purchase. Within 10 days or harvest or the end of the season, the hunter must complete and submit the report. It can be mailed in the envelope provided, or reported on-line by going to the Fish & Game websites at http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/ The new reporting system does not provide quite as much detail as the old system, but IDFG biologists will still gather sufficient data to provide excellent hunting opportunities in the Panhandle. Hunters do not need to bring in the jaw any longer or have their elk physically checked, but they must remember to send in the Mandatory Harvest Report within 10 days of harvest or at the end of the season even if no game was taken on the tag.