Issue-After Limited Quota Big Game Licenses to go on sale in July
New WGFD system will make getting these licenses easier
by Wyoming Game & Fish
April 1, 2009
(Cheyenne) — The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has announced tentative dates for the sale of issue-after limited quota big game licenses for the 2009 hunting season. Issue-after licenses are licenses that were not sold during the initial limited quota license draws earlier in the year. The tentative date for the sale of full-price issue-after licenses will be 8:00 am Mountain Time on July 7. The tentative date for the sale of reduced-price issue-after licenses will be 8:00 am Mountain Time on July 21.
This year the WGFD is instituting a major change in the way these issue-after licenses are distributed. In recent years, hunters were required to apply for these licenses through a drawing. Beginning this year, hunters will no longer need to draw these licenses. All issue-after licenses will be available on a first-come, first-served basis at automated license selling agents throughout Wyoming, at WGFD offices, and through the WGFD website.
The tentative dates for issue-after license sales will be finalized after regulation changes authorizing this new process have been signed by the governor and filed with the secretary of state’s office. Check the WGFD website for updates.
"In the past, any licenses left over after the initial big game draw were made available through a second drawing," said Rich Reynders, Fiscal Division Chief for the WGFD. "This process required interested hunters to complete an application and required the department to conduct a second random drawing."
"Because of the time required to conduct the application process and drawing, hunters often didn’t find out the status of their license application until the first part of August," said Reynders. "Many hunt areas open in mid-August or early September, so this didn't leave much time for hunters to plan and organize their early season hunts. Last month, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission gave us the approval we needed to make the issue-after licenses available in a more efficient and customer-friendly manner. I think hunters will be happy with the convenience of this change."
WGFD offers the following tips and information for hunters buying issue-after licenses this year:
1-Check to make sure you are in the department’s customer database before the issue-after licenses go on sale. You can do this by accessing the WGFD online application system on the WGFD website. If you are not in the database, go ahead and enter your name, address, and other information in the "customer add" screens. When you are presented with the list of open application periods, simply press the Cancel button. Having this information in the system beforehand will help save time for you and other hunters trying to access the system when these licenses go on sale.
2-Make sure you have all of your information well organized before accessing the online system when buying a license.
3-If you are attempting to purchase an issue-after license in a hunt area with few licenses available, do this as soon as licenses go on sale. If you’re interested in buying a license in a hunt area with a large number of licenses available, consider waiting until later in the day to purchase your license. This will help save time for you and for others trying to access the system.
4- The WGFD Electronic Licensing Service will allow you to reserve and purchase licenses in a specific hunt area/type combination for a single species for up to six hunters all at the same time based on license limits. For example, a hunter may apply for and receive one full-price elk license per year. Alternatively, a sportsperson may apply for and receive two full-price antelope licenses per year. In the online session, if the species selected were elk, the maximum reservation limit would be six. If the species selected were antelope, the maximum reservation would be twelve.
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