Thanks for running an announcement on the new deer tag drawing system on your website. We appreciate the chance to get the word out about deer hunting opportunities in California.

We want to take the opportunity to clarify a few points about our deer tag drawing system. The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) gets lots of input from hunters about the various tag drawing options: some want to keep a random draw system, some want a draw-by-choice system, some want bonus points, and others want preference points. As we discovered from discussions with other western states, each drawing system has its pros and cons, and some systems would require increased tag fees because they are more expensive and time-consuming to administer (for example, to keep track of bonus or preference points) than the random draw. Other systems would require a "sit-out" period of unpredictable length, during which a hunter would be guaranteed not to get a tag. DFG wants to avoid tag fee increases or sit-out periods for hunters unless that is what the majority of hunters truly wants.

Public input during our regulatory process, as well as informal surveys of hunter preference about tag drawing systems, have not shown a clear-cut answer about what the majority of hunters wants. But these informal surveys do show that hunters seem reluctant to change to any type of system, including preference points, which might require application fees to increase or which might require them to sit out for more than three years. A comprehensive, unbiased survey of California hunters will likely yield a more definitive answer about which drawing system best meets the needs of the majority of hunters.

In the interim, DFG wanted to address one of the chief concerns about the random draw system, where it was possible for some hunters to get premium tags with their second or third choice over hunters who selected the same zone with their first choice. In an effort to solve this problem, the California Fish and Game Commission and the DFG Director have decided to switch to the draw-by-choice system until more detailed studies can be conducted later this year. This change had the added advantages of being feasible to implement this year, and not costing hunters any more than the old system.

In addition to conducting a statewide survey, DFG plans to hold stakeholder meetings throughout the state to get input from the public about a variety of wildlife and hunting issues. DFG will announce the dates, times and locations of these stakeholder meetings later this year, and we encourage hunters to attend and make their concerns known. Apart from these meetings, DFG staff are always available to answer any questions you or your readers may have about deer hunting. You can reach us by mail at Department of Fish and Game, 1416 Ninth Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 or by telephone at (916) 653-7203.

Thanks again for your interest in deer hunting.

Sincerely,

Sonke Mastrup
Senior Wildlife Biologist
Deer Program Coordinator

Alison J. Torres
Wildlife Biologist
Deer Program