The Wyoming Game and Fish Department wants to know how your Wyoming hunt went this year. Many hunters should have received - or will soon receive - a survey via email or via the Postal Service to gather harvest information and feedback on the 2016 hunting season. This survey compiles public input that is used for future management decisions.

“This survey is the best way to gather large amounts of data from the public. The Hunter Harvest Surveys are used to estimate harvest, hunter success and hunter effort,” said Scott Smith, deputy director of external operations for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. “Hunter feedback is important information and is a valuable tool for monitoring populations and setting future quotas, season dates and other limitations. We appreciate every response.”

Some hunters may receive a survey before their season ends; but, Game and Fish asks hunters to wait until their season is over before filling out the survey.

“About 65% of the people who have purchased a license this year have provided their email address, a 5% increase over last year. This is appreciated because it allows us to provide valuable information to hunters and to get feedback more cost effectively,” Gail Sheridan, Game and Fish’s hunter survey coordinator said. “We contact approximately 100,000 big and trophy game license holders annually, so hunters who provide an e-mail address and complete their surveys online help us reduce costs, by about $2.50 per response.”

Sheridan said that even if hunters did not hunt or harvest their input is important to include in Game and Fish annual harvest reports. This information is still helpful for planning and population monitoring.

All license holders for moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, black bear, mountain lion, fall wild turkey, spring wild turkey, furbearer, sandhill crane and light goose conservation order are included in the survey process. Because of the volume of antelope, deer and elk license holders, a random sampling of those licensed hunters are surveyed; not all license holders of those species will receive a request to complete a harvest survey. The surveys are conducted by Tetra Tech, the company that won the competitive bid to conduct the large surveys for antelope, deer and elk.

Hunters who have questions about the survey or difficulties with it can contact Gail Sheridan, harvest survey coordinator for assistance at (307) 777-4567.