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RAC backs rule allowing limited "banking" of dedicated‑hunter service hours
Summary
The council unanimously recommended a change to the dedicated‑hunter rule that allows service hours completed shortly before draw results to count toward a dedicate‑hunter three‑year period, with limits and no refunds for volunteered hours.
The Northern Regional Advisory Council unanimously recommended that the wildlife board adopt rule language allowing dedicated‑hunter volunteer/service hours performed in the months before the draw to be applied toward a hunter’s three‑year dedicated hunt benefit.
Brian Christiansen, who oversees the dedicated‑hunt program, explained the proposal to the RAC and answered members’ questions about refunding or transferring service hours when a hunt is canceled or changed. Christiansen said the division will not refund volunteer hours because there is no practical way to value and hold ad hoc volunteer time; instead the rule expands the timeframe when service hours may be credited so a hunter who performed service shortly before a draw can have those hours counted toward the three‑year dedicated period.
RAC members pushed for clarity about the proposal’s limits. Christiansen and other staff stressed the change does not create perpetual banking (like preference points). One council member noted: “think about it more like a prepaid debit card that has an expiration date,” and Christiansen confirmed the intent is a limited window (January through the draw) so those hours are applied to the three‑year period rather than stored indefinitely.
The RAC moved and approved the recommendation by voice vote; the roll call recorded all members present voting yes. The motion will be forwarded to the wildlife board for consideration.
