Reminder Letters Delivered

Letters intended to remind big game hunters to file their mandatory harvest reports have gone out to about 104,000 tag holders. Whether or not a hunter actually tagged a deer or elk this fall, the harvest report is required. A new license cannot be issued until the report is completed. Reporting should be completed no more than 10 days after an animal is taken or the hunt ends. Some hunters who have filed their reports in a timely way have received the letter anyway, mainly because the list of nonfilers had to be pulled well before the mailing actually went out. For those who did receive the letter and are sure they had already filed, the most convenient way to check is on the Internet. Hunters can go into the hunting section of the Idaho Fish and Game web site at www2.state.id.us/fishgame and check their report record by entering their hunting license numbers. If the report was not filed, filing online is quick and easy. Those who do not have Internet access can call their regional office. Fish and Game wildlife biologists are trying to compile harvest report records as quickly as possible so that they will have the best possible information before hunting seasons are set for 2004. Before seasons are set in March, report records must be analyzed, season proposals developed using report information and other data, public comment taken on those proposals and final recommendations prepared for Commission action.