DATA
COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Mandatory Reports for Deer, Elk, Bear, and Turkey
In 2004, those hunters obtaining transport tags for deer, elk,
bear, and turkey were required to submit a hunter report for
each transport tag using either a toll-free telephone number
or a report form on the Internet. The consequences of not doing
this was a denial of the ability to purchase a hunting license
for the species with an outstanding hunter report the following
license year. An incentive permit drawing was conducted for those
hunters submitting all of their hunter reports on or before January
10, 2005 or within ten days if an animal was taken. The deadline
for the submission of hunter reports was January 31, 2005. Hunter
reports are still being accepted after the deadline, since each
hunter is required to report before a new hunting license can
be purchased for the 2005 license year. 2004 hunter reports will
be accepted until the 2005 hunting licenses are no longer for
sale (April 1, 2006).
Because around 35 percent of the hunter reports were not made
on time, it was necessary to estimate the harvest sucess and hunting
participation rates of those who did not report. This was done
by comparing the 2001, 2002, and 2003 mandatory hunter reports.
This estimate was added to the tabulated mandatory reports to determine
the 2004 harvest and hunter participation figures presented in
this report. General season and special permit hunting activity
are presented in separate tables. Total harvest for any game management
unit can be calculated by adding the two together.
Small Game Hunter Questionnaire
The 2004 Small Game Hunter Questionnaire was sent to hunters licensed
to hunt small game animals. Some of the questionnaires went out
to hunters that only purchased a big game hunting license package.
That is because these hunters have the ability to hunt forest
grouse. The answers on the questionnaire formed the basis upon
which harvest estimates were made for upland birds, forest grouse,
waterfowl, and hunted fur-bearing animals. Hunters were asked
if they actually hunted, how many days they spent hunting, and
where it was done. They were also asked to record if they bagged
anything. If they did, they were asked what it was, where it
was taken, and how many they got.
The 2004 Small Game Hunter sample was drawn from the licensed
hunter files based upon responses to questions that were asked
when purchasing 2004 hunting licenses. Hunters were asked if they
hunted certain animals during the previous hunting season and,
if they did, approximately how many were bagged. This is called
a stratified sampling technique and is modeled after that used
by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service while conducting
their annual migratory bird harvest survey.
There were 208,943 people licensed to hunt in Washington during
the 2004 hunting season of which 87,749 had purchased a small game
hunting license. There were 20,000 small game hunter questionnaires
mailed. A total of 9,748 completed questionnaires were returned
in time to be included in the analysis (48.7% return).
Special Permit Hunting Activity
In addition to the deer, elk, bear, and turkey general hunting
seasons, there are special permit hunting seasons recognized
as extra opportunities. Mountain goat, bighorn sheep, and moose
hunting are available only by special permit. All hunters, both
successful and unsuccessful, were required to submit a mandatory
hunter report by January 31, 2005. Special permit hunting activity
was inferred from the mandatory hunting reports based on the
special permit hunt season dates, hunt boundary, and special
restrictions. No separate report was required or necessary. Harvest
for these species was tabulated and based solely upon the reports
returned by the hunters. Harvest was not estimated to include
hunters who did not submit a report.
Trapper Report of Catch
All trappers of fur-bearing animals are required to complete and
return a trapper report of catch. Harvest is calculated directly
from the reports and not expanded to include trappers that did
not return a completed report.
CITES Pelt Sealing Reports
Bobcat and river otter pelts must be sealed within ten days of
the close of the trapping or hunting season. This is done to
gather harvest information and to comply with the requirements
of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
(CITES). The harvest figures are drawn directly from the pelt
sealing records.
Cougar Pelt Sealing Records
Each successful cougar hunter is required to have his/her cougar
inspected by an agent of the Department of Fish and Wildlife,
have the pelt sealed, and submit a cougar tooth sample. Hunters
with cougar transport tags are not required to report cougar
hunting activity if a cougar was not taken. Other cougar are
taken due to livestock depredation or other dangerous situations
and reported internally. In the 2000 hunting season, cougar public
safety removals were begun. All of these records are used to
compile cougar harvest.
GoHunt
Internet users can use an interactive game harvest reporting
facility which is a component of the GoHunt mapping tool at
http://wdfw.wa.gov/mapping/gohunt.
Use the "queries" tab on the toolbar over the map of
Washington. The figures presented combine general hunting season
and special permit hunting season harvest at the game management
unit (GMU) level for deer and elk. It also separates harvest
figures for black-tailed deer, mule deer, and white-tailed deer.
