WDFW prepares to launch new recreational licensing system
OLYMPIA –

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) will launch a new system later this month to sell fishing and hunting licenses and the Discover Pass.

"We are very excited to launch the new system," said Peter Vernie, WDFW's licensing division manager. "It will be more user-friendly than the current system and will provide a better experience for our customers and the many retailers who sell state recreation licenses."
Each year, WDFW sells about 2.5 million hunting and fishing licenses and related recreational permits, generating about $55 million for fish, wildlife, habitat management and enforcement activities that directly support recreational opportunities. Licenses are sold online, by telephone, and through a network of 600 business vendors across the state.

Vernie said WDFW will shut down the current system on the evening of Dec. 17 and will resume sales on Dec. 19. Licenses will not be sold on Sunday, Dec. 18, during the transition to the new system.
Hunters and anglers should be sure to buy their licenses before 6 p.m. Dec. 17 if they plan to be on the water or in the field the next day, he said.

"We appreciate our customers' and our retail partners' patience as we make this change," Vernie said. "We are doing everything we can to minimize inconvenience and to deliver a secure, functional system on December 19."

Vernie said licenses will be available in mid-January for the 2017-18 hunting and fishing seasons that begin April 1.

Hunters are also reminded to report their harvest online at WDFW's website or by calling 1-877-945-3492. The hunter reporting service will be unavailable during the transition, Vernie said.

The above is the beginning of the license increases for 2017-18.....

What needs to be questioned..."What do the sportsmen of Washington State get for the increases in license fees??????

I'm thinking.....SOS, and probably more of it. Sportspeople will see many of their dollars go for commercial benefit.......grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Used to be, at least for me, that I bought a license on the possibility that I'd go hunting or fishing. Which, of course, we did. Now, a license is purchased as part of package for a specific trip. Which is why all i bought so far was a deer tag for a two day trip.

That will be a change that I doubt has been factored into WDFW's whole program. Folks won't buy on "maybe" any more.

The Dept is moving their license sales program to a new vendor - it sounds like the new company is much better than the old one.

Maybe I missed it, but our current licenses are still valid correct? Do we need to go get a new license printed or will our old ones still be acceptable in the field?

Let's hope the new vendor has better security measures in place.
SF

The license is valid to the date listed on it.

This (17) will be the year to bump up the fees. It's a Pink Year and the rivers will be plugged with "anglers". Time for WDFW to roll in the money.

That might be..... but I have to believe that the bottom line is a fast way to suck the sportsmen's dollars from their pockets....

bushbear...as you are in the know, do you see a positive move for sportsmen ??????

Like not having the vendor hacked maybe.

It is my understanding that the new vendor is better than the old one. It will be interesting to find out, if we can, what fees the new vendor is charging and if there is a cost savings to WDFW. Security will always be an issue but, as we become more dependent on electronic data bases and sales, it is an issue that I think/hope the WDFW learned a bitter lesson on with the previous vendor.

Could fill up Husky Stadium with disgruntled fisher folks. Have them chant, "PAY MORE, GET LESS...PAY MORE, GET LESS! Kinda like the good ole days when that stadium would shake with shouts of TASTES GOOD, LESS FILLING. Probably want to do "the wave" too. It would be special...

Hahahahaha..... oh man that's a good one.

The Commission has directed staff to do just that, manage for the folks who pay the freight. The kicker comes with hatcheries. Sporties, and/or mitigators, pay for them. IF the Commission tells WDFW that the sporties get the hatchery fish then reduction in production that does not benefit WA license paying sporties (AK, BC, OR, CA, NI Commercial, Tribes) somebody "else" will need to fund the hatcheries. That would be the General Fund. The same GF that can't fund education, mental health, etc.