A Glitch Kicked 2,400 Elk and Deer Applicants Out of Montana’s Permit Draw. FWP Says They’re Fixing It
Montana’s elk and deer permit draw on April 14 left many hunters disappointed as they learned they hadn’t received permits for the upcoming fall season. However, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) has identified that some of those rejection notices were a mistake. While just three percent of state hunting license applicants were impacted by a licensing error, this translated to 10 hunting districts and 2,482 applications out of the statewide total of 83,017.
The affected districts are primarily located in central Montana. FWP director Hank Worsech stated that as soon as the technical glitch was identified, the licensing staff worked tirelessly to fix the issue and rectify the situation for hunters who were mistakenly excluded from the draw. Additionally, FWP announced that they plan to transition to a new licensing system as part of the government’s modernization efforts.
Similar to other Western draw processes, the nature of the error is somewhat perplexing. For the 2022 season, the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission designated several elk hunting districts as “first and only choice” options for applications. This meant that hunters who wanted to hunt in these districts had to forfeit the opportunity to list second or third choices on their application. However, the online application was not updated to reflect this change, allowing hunters in those 10 districts to still make second and third choice selections. Consequently, applicants who unknowingly made these backup selections were removed from the draw, preventing them from having a chance to obtain their first choice tag.
Initially, impacted applicants did not see the results for the elk draw in their MyFWP account. For now, they will temporarily view their draw status as unsuccessful until the situation is resolved, as stated by FWP.
FWP is committed to promptly addressing the error and ensuring that individuals who successfully drew a permit on April 14 do not lose it due to the mistake. This means that FWP will have to issue permits exceeding the established quota to rectify the situation.
To rectify the error, Worsech believes that the fairest solution is to exercise his discretion and give all affected hunters the opportunity to obtain the permits they deserve. Administrative rules permit Worsech to issue permits up to 10 percent above the quota.
There are two potential outcomes for hunters affected by the error, depending on the districts they applied to hunt in.
Hunters who chose second and third choices when applying for districts 411-21, 447-21, and 595-21 will receive a permit, as the number of unallocated permits after the draw is greater than the number of applicants who were removed from the draw. Similarly, the 270-45 permit has no limit, so all applicants will receive a permit.
For hunters removed from the draw in districts 411-20, 417-20, 417-21, 426-20, 799-20, and 799-21, they will be entered into a random drawing next week. Those who are unsuccessful in the second drawing will receive bonus points. The discretionary 10 percent of over-quota permits will be utilized for this draw.
FWP will conduct a random drawing next week for hunters removed from the draw in districts 411-20, 417-20, 417-21, 426-20, 799-20, and 799-21. Unsuccessful participants in this second drawing will receive bonus points, and the discretionary 10 percent of over-quota permits will be allocated for this draw.
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