Third-party vendor software had a coding error that impacted Washington draw results
Yesterday, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that their third-party vendor software had a coding error that caused it to allocate hunt choices for special permits incorrectly. So... if you applied in Washington, you might have been impacted. Check out the official press release below:
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) conducted the special hunt permit draw for the 2024-25 hunting season on June 12. On June 27, WDFW was made aware that the third-party vendor software used to conduct the draw did not correctly allocate hunt choices in many special hunt categories due to a coding error. This error caused the software to incorrectly allocate hunt choices for special permits in some instances.
The software properly ranked drawn hunt applicants but, in some instances, improperly assigned hunt choices. Some hunt applicants were assigned the wrong special hunt permit, some hunt applicants were not assigned a special hunt permit when they should have been drawn (i.e., shown as “not selected”), and some hunt applicants were assigned a special hunt permit (i.e., shown as “selected”) when they should not have been drawn.
WDFW is not re-doing the special hunt permit draw. The original draw on June 12 developed a correctly ranked list of hunt applicants to assign available hunt choices based on tag availability. However, because the allocation of permits was incorrect due to a software error, WDFW is re-allocating special hunt choices to correct the mistake.
Different hunters may be impacted in different ways:
Hunters should check their licensing profile for updates to their special hunt permit draw results. Please also look out for additional communications from WDFW about this issue. WDFW and the software vendor are issuing emails, phone calls, and postcards to special hunt permit applicants to inform them about this situation.
The majority of 2024 special hunt permit applications’ draw results did not change after correcting this error.
Some applicants may have been assigned one hunt choice at the time of the initial draw and have now been assigned a different hunt choice after we corrected this mistake. In some of these cases, the applicant is awarded a more preferred hunt choice based on what they indicated in their application, and others might have received a less preferred, but correct hunt choice based on the allocation of available permits.
There were 723 hunt applicants not initially selected in the June 12 draw that should have been selected. These hunt applicants were issued the special hunt permit that they should have originally been drawn for.
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.
Applicants will check the "Special Hunt Wins" section of their licensing profile. Please review this how-to document (PDF) for specific instructions.
All hunt applicants that applied for a special hunt permit will be contacted by WDFW by email and postcard encouraging them to check their licensing system profile to confirm the correct status of the draw results. Some applicants will also receive a telephone call from a contracted call center.
Your points will be deducted, the same as if you had been drawn under typical circumstances.
Hunters have until two weeks before their special hunt season is scheduled to open to return their special hunt permit to WDFW and have their points restored. Hunters may contact the WDFW Wildlife Program at 360-902-2515 to make this request.
Yes. Points are “spent” when a permit is issued, so if you have received a permit, you have used your points.
Hunters have until two weeks before their special hunt season is scheduled to open to return their special hunt permit to WDFW and have their points restored. Hunters may contact the WDFW Wildlife Program at 360-902-2515 to make this request.
Hunters have the option to return their special hunt permit back to WDFW if they are unable to participate in the hunt.
Hunters have until two weeks before their special hunt season is scheduled to open to return their special hunt permit to WDFW and have their points restored. Hunters may contact the WDFW Wildlife Program at 360-902-2515 to make this request.
You will receive your permit in the mail the same way you would receive a permit from WDFW under normal circumstances.
No. By purchasing a special hunt application, hunters are purchasing a point in the draw system. WDFW is awarding permits to all hunt applicants who should have been selected during the initial June 12 draw, and who were incorrectly selected during that initial draw.
Yes.
No. The original draw on June 12 developed a correctly ranked list of hunt applicants to assign available hunt choices based on tag availability. However, because the allocation of permits was incorrect due to a software error, WDFW is re-allocating special hunt choices to correct the mistake.
WDFW was contacted by a customer asking why the weren’t awarded their first-choice hunt when there were still tags available for their first hunt choice after the draw was completed. This prompted WDFW to investigate the results from that draw, which revealed the nature of the software error. Upon further investigation, WDFW discovered the software error had impacted 22 of 27 special hunt categories.
22 special hunt categories were impacted by this error:
Antlerless deer
Antlerless elk
Antlerless moose
Any antlered bull moose
Buck deer
Bull elk
Deer - 65 and over
Deer – Disabled
Deer – Master Hunter
Deer – Youth
Elk – 65 and over
Elk – Disabled
Elk – Master Hunter
Elk – Youth
Goat
Quality deer
Quality elk
Second deer
Sheep – Any ram
Sheep – Ewe
Moose – 65 and over
Moose – Disabled
The following hunt categories were NOT impacted by this error:
Fall Turkey
Moose Youth
Disabled Hunter Bighorn Sheep Ewe
Disabled Hunter Juvenile Ram
Sheep Youth
Multi-season deer and elk applications were not part of the draw that occurred on June 12 and therefore were not impacted by this software error.
2024 Special Permit applicants (27 categories, 22 impacted)
5 categories:
Special hunt applicants were not impacted.
Applicants were not selected and remain not selected.
Applicants were selected and their hunt choice remains the same.
22 categories:
Some special hunt applicants were not impacted.
Applicants were not selected and remain not selected.
Applicants were selected and their hunt choice remains the same.
Some hunt applicants may not have been assigned a permit when they should have been drawn.
These hunt applicants were issued the special hunt permit that they should have originally been drawn for.
Some hunt applicants may have been assigned a lesser hunt choice (second preference, third preference, etc.) when they should have been assigned a more preferred hunt choice (ex. “first choice” hunt).
These hunt applicants will have the correct hunt choice assigned to them.
Some hunt applicants may have been assigned a more preferred hunt choice (ex. “first choice” hunt), when they should have been assigned a lesser hunt choice (second preference, third preference, etc.).
These hunt applicants will have the correct hunt choice assigned to them.
Some hunt applicants were assigned a permit when they should not have been awarded one.
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.
WDFW manually awarded 715 of the 738 hunt applicants the special hunt permit that they were initially assigned on June 12.
WDFW had to identify a feasible alternative hunt for 14 of 738 hunt applicants who were incorrectly assigned a special hunt permit on June 12. Ultimately, these 14 applicants were assigned one of their preferred hunt choices, although the hunt choice may have changed compared to the initial draw result.
WDFW had to find an alternative hunt location within their special hunt category for nine of 738 hunt applicants because there was no viable alternate option available within the applicants’ original hunt preference selections.
All hunters need to access their licensing profile for information about potential changes to their special hunt permit draw results.
