Pick up Controlled Hunt Permits by August 20

Hunters who are successful in drawing controlled hunt permits for deer, elk or antelope must purchase the permits at any hunting and fishing license vendor by August 20. After that, the hunt will be forfeited and the permit and tag will be included in the "unclaimed" pool and made available to anyone on a first come-first served basis beginning August 30. The regular sale date for leftover controlled hunt permits and tags remains July 15. This is a new rule this year and Craig Wiedmeier, license section supervisor for the Department of Fish and Game, worries that hunters won't know. "We have a lot of hunters who wait until right before the season to pick up their controlled hunt permits and tags," Wiedmeier said. "This year, that won't work." The Fish and Game Commission made the change to the rules at its January meeting because historically six to eight percent of the permits go unpurchased -- the successful applicants never purchase their controlled hunt tags and permits. Commissioners said it was an issue of fairness to hunters who apply in a certain hunt and don't draw, yet some hunter who did draw leaves the tag unpurchased. Also, income is lost and the projected harvest levels in those hunts cannot be reached. By offering them to the public August 30, Fish and Game hopes they will be early enough to sell to hunters who either did not draw a controlled hunt, or haven't yet purchased a regular tag.