Hunters can buy immediate tags with new system
Photo courtesy of GREGG LOSINSKI/Idaho Department of Fish and Game Spring black bear hunts for west-central Idaho are among the first controlled hunts of the season.
Hunters who apply for a controlled hunt can buy their tickets online if they are chosen for the hunt.
The new system implemented by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game this year allows hunters a three-pronged approach to controlled hunts.
Hunters can peruse hunts online, apply for hunts, and if they are chosen, they can immediately purchase their tag online with one click, according to IDFG.
In the past, anyone chosen for a controlled hunt had to purchase the tag by a deadline date. If they failed to buy the tag, the opportunity disappeared.
“We’d have people calling saying, can I still buy that controlled hunt tag, and we’d say, ‘Nope,’” said IDFG spokesman Roger Phillips. “This time we have it set up, once you see the result, you buy the tag right then.”
In the past, buying the tag online was more cumbersome, but the new system will allow for easier transactions.
“Hopefully we’ll get rid of some of those problems,” Phillips said.
The new approach is part of the transition to the department’s latest licensing system. In order to take advantage of the new site, Phillips said, hunters must open an account using an email address, log-in and password.
Although glitches have occurred in the past, the new system will be more secure.
“We take security of personal information very seriously, and while the personal log-in might be a slight inconvenience, it is a necessary step towards protecting customer data,” IDFG Administration Bureau Chief Michael Pearson said.
Postcards will continue to be mailed to hunters whose names are drawn for controlled hunts, and IDFG license vendors can also check draw results.