In a recent update, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFQ) addressed a significant hiccup in their 2024-25 special hunt permit draw, stemming from a software malfunction. The issue, originally identified on June 27, involved incorrect allocation of hunt choices due to a vendor's coding error. According to a statement provided by the WDFQ, although applicants were correctly ranked, many were assigned incorrect or no special hunt permits, while others received permits they shouldn't have.
To address this, WDFQ decided against redoing the whole draw, instead choosing to reallocate the special hunt choices to the correctly ranked applicants. Corrections to the software error are currently underway, however, their mess, has indeed resulted in varying impacts among hunters. Some applicants may notice their draw results remain unchanged post-correction, while others could find themselves with different, sometimes less preferred, hunt choices than initially assigned.
The debacle had a substantial impact, with 723 hunters originally not selected on June 12, who should have been. These individuals have since been issued the hunt permits they were initially due. On the flip side, a further 723 hunters who had been incorrectly informed they had secured permits are now facing uncertainty — WDFQ is attempting to secure valid hunting opportunities for them by increasing permit numbers, where sustainable.
Understandably, the department is working diligently to mitigate the fallout. "There were 738 hunt applicants that were incorrectly selected and told by WDFW that they received a special permit after the June 12 draw. WDFW worked hard to secure hunting opportunities for these individuals by increasing the number of permits, where biologically feasible, to allow those hunt applicants incorrectly awarded a permit with the ability to continue to hunt. However, in these circumstances the hunt choice may have changed," the department's statement elucidated. Yet, the reality is that even with efforts to amplify permit availability, the hunt choices for these applicants may still be altered.
As the WDFQ continues to iron out these issues, applicants are advised to check their updated draw results and stay informed through the department's official communications for any additional updates or instructions.
