Draws for Special Licences
Last Update/Review: May 26, 2003
When demand for hunting opportunities becomes excessive, season length and bag limits are often insufficient to conserve a game resource or to ensure a quality hunting experience. In such cases, the Fish and Wildlife Division conducts lotteries or draws among eligible applicants for a limited number of special licences. Special licences allow successful applicants to hunt a specific type of game (e.g., antlerless elk) in defined areas during a specified season. A fee is charged and a special licence tag is issued. Only Residents and, to a lesser extent, Non-residents (Canadians) are eligible to submit applications for these draws.
While draws are used for specific wildlife management purposes (e.g., the goal in antlered mule deer draw areas is to develop a more balanced age structure in the herd by controlling the kill of bucks), other benefits include:
- improved hunter success
- increased opportunity to harvest a trophy animal
- a more pleasant hunting experience with lower hunter densities
- reduced disturbance of landowners, and
- a better distribution of the harvest.
The draws for special licences are held in June of each year for licences valid during the following fall hunting seasons. The only exceptions are the draws for grizzly bear and Merriam's turkey licences. These draws are made in January and the licences are valid the following spring. For more information on hunting draws, go to the Hunter Information page and click on the link to the Draws Information page for the current year.
On the same page, you can find a link to the most recent Hunting Draws Summary report. There you can determine the chances of success an applicant had for a particular special licence during the last draw. This information will help you plot your strategy for the coming draw.
The Draw Priority System
The Fish and Wildlife Division changed the draw system in 1993 to reward hunters who persistently apply for the same special licence year after year. Your priority level for a particular special licence is based on the number of years you have unsuccessfully applied for that licence since the last time you obtained it or since 1990, whichever is most recent. For example, if you applied unsuccessfully for an Antlered Mule Deer Special Licence in 1999 and 2000, your priority for that particular licence in the 2001 draw would be 2. If you are unsuccessful for that same licence in 2001, you would enter the 2002 draw for that particular licence with a priority of 3.
Within each WMU, Area or Season, licences are first assigned to those applicants with highest priority. If there are still licences left over after those applications are filled, then licences are assigned to those applicants with next lower priority for that particular licence, and so on. If there are more applicants than licences at any priority level, the licences are assigned to those applicants at random.
| Note: your priority level for a specific licence is not attached to any WMU, area or season (unless the licence is defined that way, e.g., WMU 437 Trophy Sheep). For example, if you have been applying for an Antlered Moose Special Licence and have attained a priority level 3 for that licence, that priority level will be used in any valid WMU (or season) in which you apply. |
Once you are drawn for a special licence, your priority for that particular licence drops to zero (for all WMUs, areas or seasons). Applicants who are not successful will have their priority increased by one level for that particular licence. If you do not apply one year, your priority level does not change.
If you apply with a hunting partner(s), the priority for the group application is that of the individual member whose priority is lowest.
Undersubscribed Special Licences
Each year, too few people apply for special licences in some WMUs. The resulting undersubscribed licences are made available for sale to eligible hunters starting in September. To determine which licences are available, check the Hunter Information page in late August for the lists.
Quota Licences
When a need is identified to reduce populations of certain game species above what can be accomplished through regular hunting seasons, Fish and Wildlife may provide hunters with additional opportunities to hunt these animals through the sale of quota licences. If made available, these licences are included in the sale of unassigned special licences starting in September.
