Got my Montana elk survey phone call yesterday, so it's time to dig up this horse's corpse and grab the ol' beating sticks.
I've lived and hunted in multiple states where same day harvest reporting is mandatory for big game species- 10:00 p.m. cut off, otherwise possession of animal is illegal. I know that's not feasible in Montana due to the remoteness and style of hunting, but in my limited time here it seems that there is strong opposition, bordering on hatred, of anything resembling change or progress- especially when it comes to technology or wildlife. And it's absolutely stupid- it actively hinders improvement of the resource based on the thought that it will lead to lost opportunity to hunt (however accurate or inaccurate that belief may be).
Montana currently calls a certain number of people to get harvest results. They can't possibly call everyone, and not everyone will answer- so there's already a gap where they have to extrapolate. Each phone call takes time, which they have to pay the caller for. Then they have to manually enter the data, which also takes time. And I can't believe for one second that this system is accurate IN THE SLIGHTEST.
As was mentioned before, I have no idea why they don't turn to mandatory harvest reporting with the online applications- lock out the account from applying for/purchasing new licenses until the survey is complete. Hell, the HIP for migratory licenses is doing exactly this, and it's already in place- would be easy enough to copy the format.
I feel that the "reports are too late" is a cop-out- you really think they'll have all the data accurately reported in the next two days? That's a joke. Maybe you could incentivize early reporting to help with this.
What I envision is a prompt when you log in to fill out your harvest reports- a drop down with several columns under each tag, with a column each for:
- Unit hunted- have a reference map link to help.
---Also have the option of "did not hunt" listed here to skip the rest of the survey
- Archery days hunted in that unit
- Rifle days hunted in that unit
- Harvested animal on that tag- None, Buck, Cow/Doe, Yearling
- Size/age of animal
- Public or private
Could even have "date harvested", if you wanted. Have FWP staff possibly make follow-up calls based on any discrepancies, such as 4-pt does or a buck on an antlerless tag.
The first few years, have all the hunter check stations record tag numbers, then compare to online reporting to the field check information to determine accuracy. You would also have to do one or two years of the current method for comparison sake.
I'm not saying this is the silver bullet, but in my simple engineer's mind, it is a shift towards better data that would help PROPERLY manage the resource, instead of listening to lobbying groups that may or may not have the public interest at heart.
All I know is that what we have currently is an embarrassment, and we have a responsibility to the resource, and those who use it, to do better.
I've lived and hunted in multiple states where same day harvest reporting is mandatory for big game species- 10:00 p.m. cut off, otherwise possession of animal is illegal. I know that's not feasible in Montana due to the remoteness and style of hunting, but in my limited time here it seems that there is strong opposition, bordering on hatred, of anything resembling change or progress- especially when it comes to technology or wildlife. And it's absolutely stupid- it actively hinders improvement of the resource based on the thought that it will lead to lost opportunity to hunt (however accurate or inaccurate that belief may be).
Montana currently calls a certain number of people to get harvest results. They can't possibly call everyone, and not everyone will answer- so there's already a gap where they have to extrapolate. Each phone call takes time, which they have to pay the caller for. Then they have to manually enter the data, which also takes time. And I can't believe for one second that this system is accurate IN THE SLIGHTEST.
As was mentioned before, I have no idea why they don't turn to mandatory harvest reporting with the online applications- lock out the account from applying for/purchasing new licenses until the survey is complete. Hell, the HIP for migratory licenses is doing exactly this, and it's already in place- would be easy enough to copy the format.
I feel that the "reports are too late" is a cop-out- you really think they'll have all the data accurately reported in the next two days? That's a joke. Maybe you could incentivize early reporting to help with this.
What I envision is a prompt when you log in to fill out your harvest reports- a drop down with several columns under each tag, with a column each for:
- Unit hunted- have a reference map link to help.
---Also have the option of "did not hunt" listed here to skip the rest of the survey
- Archery days hunted in that unit
- Rifle days hunted in that unit
- Harvested animal on that tag- None, Buck, Cow/Doe, Yearling
- Size/age of animal
- Public or private
Could even have "date harvested", if you wanted. Have FWP staff possibly make follow-up calls based on any discrepancies, such as 4-pt does or a buck on an antlerless tag.
The first few years, have all the hunter check stations record tag numbers, then compare to online reporting to the field check information to determine accuracy. You would also have to do one or two years of the current method for comparison sake.
I'm not saying this is the silver bullet, but in my simple engineer's mind, it is a shift towards better data that would help PROPERLY manage the resource, instead of listening to lobbying groups that may or may not have the public interest at heart.
All I know is that what we have currently is an embarrassment, and we have a responsibility to the resource, and those who use it, to do better.
.
