Question:
I notice there is an application fee this year for licenses I apply for through the mail. If I just apply for the $7 preference point for moose and sheep, do I still need to pay the application fee?

Answer:
No, you do not. The fee is only applicable for big game license applications that are processed through the mail. When you pay the $7 for a preference point, you are not applying for a license so no fee is assessed.

Question:
I have a brother who applied for a nonresident elk license. When will he find out if he drew?

Answer:
The nonresident elk deadline was January 31. The drawing will be held the latter part of February. This will allow him time to determine his success and if he wants, send in an application for deer or antelope. The nonresident deadline for those species is March 15.


Wyoming — Attention Late Season Light Goose Hunters

Late season light goose hunters in Wyoming are alerted they will need a "Conservation Order Special Management Permit" to hunt the March 1-31 season this year.

The permit was needed because the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service requires states to accurately survey hunters who participate in the Light Goose Conservation Order. When purchasing the permit, hunters will receive a survey card to fulfill the federal reporting requirement. The permit costs $10 for both residents and nonresidents and is available at the Game and Fish Department's Laramie, Casper and Cheyenne offices or by mailing an application to the Cheyenne office.

The $10 fee will help defer the costs of the survey, which must be returned to the G&F by April 10. The new permit is required in addition to a game bird license, federal Harvest Information Program (HIP) permit and conservation stamp. Hunters with a daily game bird license are not required to purchase a conservation stamp.

Details of the light goose conservation order are explained on pages 30-34 of the Wyoming's 2000-01 Late Migratory Game Bird Regulations. Conservation order permit applications and regulations are available at license agents in southeast Wyoming or by calling the G&F at (800) 842-1934 or (307) 777-4600 out of state; or Game and Fish Department, 5400 Bishop Blvd. Cheyenne, WY 82006.


Idaho — Bighorns Added to Jim Sage Herd

A transplant completed February 1 south of Burley added 15 California bighorns to the Jim Sage Mountain herd. The bighorn sheep ewes were transported from Hart Mountain National Wildlife Refuge in south central Oregon. The bighorns were captured by an interagency crew of volunteers and personnel from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, and Hart Mountain National Wildlife Refuge earlier in the week. Students from the elementary school at Plush, Oregon were on hand to see the captured animals before their trip to Idaho. All of the bighorn sheep were outfitted with radio-transmitter collars so their movements can be followed. Gretchen Fowles, a graduate student at Idaho State University, will monitor the animals as they adapt to their new home in Idaho.

Blood drawn from each bighorn sheep will be used in a study of the herd's genetic history. That study is being conducted under direction of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and encompasses most of the California bighorn sheep herds in the northwest. These ewes join a herd that was planted on Jim Sage Mountain in February 2000. The animals in that transplant operation came from near Condon, Oregon.

Sheep in the first release did suffer some losses from predators and accidents but are doing well on the mountain and have not strayed far from the release site. The Jim Sage Mountain area is historic bighorn sheep range where wild sheep disappeared early in the settlement of southern Idaho.


Wyoming — Moose, Sheep, Goat Deadline

Hunters, please do not forget: The moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat application deadline is February 28, for both nonresidents and residents.

"We urge all hunters to remind their buddies about the moose and bighorn sheep deadline," said Larry Gabriele, G&F Fiscal Division chief. "We don't want anyone to forget to apply because getting behind on preference points severely diminishes the chances of drawing in future years."

Gabriele alerts residents that beginning this year there is a $3 application fee when applying for any big game license that is issued by drawing. Nonresidents paid a $5 application fee for many years before the fee went up to $10 in 1997.

"The majority of resident hunters we've talked to think the application fee is a good idea to help defray the costs of processing a license," Gabriele said.

Applicants are alerted that for the second year a moose or bighorn sheep preference point can be purchased for $7, without actually applying for a license. Complete instructions are available in the application booklet.

Beginning last year, hunters with less than the maximum preference points have a greater chance of drawing a moose or bighorn sheep license. For both the resident and nonresident drawings, 25 percent of the quota will be issued by a random drawing without respect to a hunter's number of preference points.

Applications are available at license agents and G&F offices. Nonresidents can receive an application booklet by calling (307) 777-4600.