The system was established by the Wildlife Administrative Services Office (WASO), the contractor for tag drawings for the NDOW. Traditionally hunters have been required to mail in a Hunter Return Card to report their harvest or lack of harvest for the big game tag they drew. Now that same information can be reported on-line, saving both the hunter and WASO time, plus the cost of the postage stamp for the hunter.

To fill out the information, a hunter must have his/her client number (usually social security number) and pin number as well as their date of birth.

Hunter Return Cards provide biologists with harvest information that is essential to estimating population changes in herds. The information helps biologists follow populations and determine how other factors, such as drought and snow, are affecting herds.

By law, all Hunter Return Cards must be received, either electronically via the web site or the old-fashioned way by U.S. postal mail, by January 31, 2002.

Any person who fails to return the questionnaire by the deadline will be denied all big game tags for one year, but may have those privileges reinstated by paying an administrative fee of $50. Administrative fees must be paid on or before March 15, 2002 to be effective.