"So since the big game season-setting meetings are attended by a lot of hunters, this seems like a good time to float out some ideas and get a feel for how hunters would like the situation addressed," he said.

He adds that preference points are not the only idea being proposed for the hard-to-draw licenses. Other ideas to be presented include "premium priced" licenses and waiting periods or once-in-a-lifetime restriction for highly sought after licenses.

The G&F predicts a preference point system for deer, antelope and elk licenses will increase application volume beyond the ability to process the applications in the conventional method of entering the information manually. Therefore, to accommodate preference points for elk, deer and antelope, applications would need to be submitted electronically through the Internet with a credit card.

Although hunting season recommendations will be presented for approval at the April 22-23 G&F Commission meeting, the deer, elk and antelope license concepts will not. "We are just beginning this long-term information-gathering project," Lawson said. "If changes are made, they will be a couple years down the road, and will be preceded by another round of meetings."

The direction received at the public meetings on hard-to-draw licenses will help the G&F design a phone survey to query resident and nonresident hunters about new license issuance concepts for deer, elk and antelope, Lawson adds.