I think DW has it right. I know of a hatchery employee that each year hunts also and it leaves them a bit short handed. Now the other side of the coin is that if this was in the private sector your employer makes arrangements to cover the gap and insure continuity. I used to bunch up my vacation and hit the road for 5 weeks starting end of August. It was known so the company had someone to fill in.

This is not brain surgery and frankly the QIN should have provided the dates several months ago. Just because one works for WDFW your life should not stop because the QIN have not got their crap together.