Hey WY & MT, time to catch up

This is one area I prefer paper tags...but if it can save $2M, I'd be willing to talk.
 
Not everyone has a smart phone or a tablet they take hunting. Hope Wyoming doesn't go that route.
 
Indiana went this way a couple years ago, but you still have the option of printing out a paper license and carrying it with you. I like it for OTC tags, if I'm away from home and take a deer, I can buy another tag on the smartphone that night and keep hunting the next day.
 
All states will still provide the option to do paper I am sure. There are however, considerable upsides to having digital tags. It can automatically complete your harvest survey, provide GPS location of the kill, etc...

There are some concerns, buying tags after the kill etc.... But the west will be watching.
 
I had not thought about it for the GPS location of the kill. Thats interesting from a LE standpoint. We check all our deer online in AR and OK but we have to write the confirmation number on a field tag that can be as simple as a piece of paper with my license number on it.
 
Add Alaska to that list... was laughing at the gallon size bag of paper I'm taking on my hunt... AK makes you print your own documents so that saves on cost but it seems silly that your harvest tags, hunting license, and affidavit for locking tag all have to be carried in the field and all are formatted on 8x11. Seems like it wouldn't be too terribly difficult to format everything the size of a standard driver's license.

What happens with a digital tag if you don't have services and/or your phone dies in the field... multiple west states have regs that say you must validate your tag before you move the animal.
 
I'm sure there could be an offline function where the submittal is time and date stamped.
 
Digital tags with the option to print hard copies would seem like a good system. Wyoming sends out tags for each species separately so would probably save a fortune in envelopes, paper, printing, labor, and postage.
 
I'm sure there could be an offline function where the submittal is time and date stamped.

And maybe change the regs to say within 24hrs of kill?? So that if your battery dies you have time to get back to the truck.
 
MT is currently looking at trying electronic licensing on turkey tags, IIRC, as a precursor to a larger implementation of paperless tags, but yes, you'll still be able to have the paper tag.

Can't make tag soup w/o a paper tag, people!
 
I don't actually like the idea of going completely paperless in Montana. The amount of tags I have to carry in my wallet is ridiculous for sure. But I would rather carry that around than my phone or some other electronic device. Part of the allure to hunting for me is to get away from crap like my phone.
 
All states will still provide the option to do paper I am sure. There are however, considerable upsides to having digital tags. It can automatically complete your harvest survey, provide GPS location of the kill, etc...
.
Upsides? For who?
I can see states releasing maps with shaded areas showing the highest harvest rates. That would be terrible for public land hunters.
 
Upsides? For who?
I can see states releasing maps with shaded areas showing the highest harvest rates. That would be terrible for public land hunters.

Do you really think states collecting that data would release that information? Of course not. It would betray trust of the people collecting that data for them. But there are some management based decisions that would benefit from that kind of information. Particularly with CWD.
 
I do as a matter of fact because I can get online and look at winter surveys and GPS locations from local college studies so I know exactly where animals are. Once that information is being used for research I can typically find it in scholarly articles. You can bet your butt than Eastman's, hunting fool or go hunt can find it and cook up a shaded map in no time.
 
Digital tags with the option to print hard copies would seem like a good system. Wyoming sends out tags for each species separately so would probably save a fortune in envelopes, paper, printing, labor, and postage.

Since you can't even apply for a license via paper anymore, it's just a matter of time until they do. Or they will add a surcharge for hard copy delivery. I was surprised to see how much it costs them to issue CC refunds.
 
I like Online Licenses for small game, birds, and fishing.

I am not sure of the ramifications of big game and electronics though.
 

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