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Staff urges 48-hour effective waiting period for nonresident deer licenses amid suspected fraud; emergency rule package also addresses CWD pilot and guide licen
Summary
Agency staff presented emergency-rule proposals including a recommended waiting period for nonresident deer licenses after season openings to curb suspected fraud (staff cited up to 30% rapid check-ins), a chronic wasting disease pilot rule and guide/outfitter licensing aligned to recent statute.
At the commission meeting, agency staff presented three emergency-rule proposals and urged the commission to approve interim rules to address recent operational concerns.
Nels, a senior staff presenter, told the commission that analysis of license/check-in data showed "up to 30% of nonresident deer licenses resulted in the person checking a deer in within 1 hour of purchasing the license," a pattern staff said is suspicious and could indicate illegal check-ins prior to license purchase. Nels said that if every such case represented an unlicensed kill and later purchase the lost revenue could translate to roughly $2 million to $4 million, though the exact figure is uncertain.
To reduce rapid "buy-and-check" behavior, staff recommended an effective 48-hour waiting period for nonresidents when a season is already open. Because the licensing system triggers at midnight, staff explained the practical implementation as: the purchase day counts as day 1, the next as day 2, and the nonresident would be allowed to hunt beginning the morning of day 3. "Law enforcement felt like it's not easy to hide a deer for 48 hours," staff added as part of the enforcement rationale.
Staff also presented emergency rules to implement a 2024 legislative pilot involving chronic wasting disease genetic improvement and a rule package that tracks a recently passed statute requiring guides and outfitters who provide waterfowl and crane guidance to hold licenses. Staff said those two rule sets mirror statutory language and an Attorney General opinion has guided the emergency-rule approach for the CWD pilot.
Commissioners asked for clarification about the evidence and system limits that led to the 48-hour practical implementation; staff said data and system constraints (a midnight-driven sales system) informed the compromise. A commissioner asked whether penalties would be adjusted if the rule proved ineffective; staff said fines would require legislative action. The transcript records discussion and staff commitments to track trends and return with results but does not show final adoption within this excerpt.
