Sent this in this morning along with a couple phone calls.
Dear Mr Koenings, 07/18/07
There has been a great deal of concern in the hunting community regarding this years permit draw process.Most people feel that the extension given on the submission of draws was not fair to people that put their selections in on time.They feel that it gave people an opportunity to apply for permits that wouldnt have ordinarily applied.Thus taking opportunity away from people that applied on time.
Another situation has been where people are going to the site where you put in your wild I.D. # and it tells if you were selected, or not selected for Individual species and for each year.They are seeing results for 2007 showing if they have been selected or not,but arent yet able to see what units they were selected for, if they were selected for a special permit.
Some offices are saying that it is not valid information and it will probably change.Other offices are saying it is accurate, and all that needs to be posted is the unit that an individual was selected for.
Another area of concern is the validity of this years permit draw.We have all been seeing the notice that "Due to technical difficulties special hunt results are not yet available."A lot of people have been calling the Olympia offices and regional offices.Then they get a lot of conflicting reports of what is going on with the draw system.
Some of the examples are
That bonus points were not put in so a redraw needs to be done.
There is a server issue transfering the info from Outdoor Central to WDFW.
That the selected- not selected portion of the draws is accurate.
That the selected-not selected portion is not accurate.
Most sportsmen and women feel that Outdoor Central has been in this business for a long time.They should be very capable of handling any and all issues that come up with the permitting process and that delays and mistakes on their part are totally unacceptable.But that they seem to make them every year.We hope that this issue has been taken up with them and that we wont be seeing these kinds of problems in the future.
Unfortunately most people are placing the blame on WDFW because your office did the hiring of Outdoor Central.Thus you are ultimately responsible for the final outcome.This is causing a major image problem with WDFW as seen by our states sportsmen and women.
I have been seeing these issues talked about on several internet bulletin boards.One thing that has been a pretty good suggestion would be if there is any way you could put up a bulletin on WDFWs website,and explain what is really going on.Maybe address some of the issues I brought up.And also to explain what is being done to get these issues straightened out.
I would really appreciate it if I could hear back from you regarding this letter.
You can reach me at xxxxxx .com
Sincerely,
Rick Hill
These are just a few examples of whats going on.
They put this out a little while ago.
WDFW ADVISORY
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov/ July 18, 2007
Results of special-hunt drawing delayed
The results of the drawing for 2007 special hunting permits are not available at this time, due to technical difficulties with the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW) computerized licensing system.
WDFW will post the results on this website and contact successful applicants as soon as the drawing is completed and the results are verified.
A test drawing, conducted July 14, was never verified, because WDFW found that its licensing system failed to include bonus points for many applicants. WDFW is working with Outdoor Central, its licensing system vendor, to correct that problem before conducting a final drawing.
“Fairness is the key issue here,” said Larry Peck, WDFW deputy director. “We need to make sure everyone gets all the bonus points coming to them. This is a two-step process: The drawing is not official until the results have been verified.”
Once that occurs, the department will immediately phone about 320 applicants for special hunts beginning Aug. 1 with the results, Peck said. Other applicants will be notified by mail, as described in WDFW’s Big Game Hunting Rules pamphlet
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