To all of our nonresident deer and elk hunters,

Idaho Fish and Game staff sincerely apologizes for the delays that caused frustration with the license and tag sales system on December 1, the first day of nonresident deer and elk tag sales for next year's season.

We experienced record demand for about 200 different types of nonresident deer and elk tags, and during a 12-hour period sold nearly 27,000 nonresident tags. We had about 67,000 customers trying to buy those products on that day, including as many as 49,000 at one time.

Despite anticipating and planning for this high demand, our license sales system and website was overwhelmed for several hours. The resulting delays led to frustration for many customers across all sales channels, including online, in-person, and telephone.

Again, we apologize for those problems and understand your frustration. We recognize the importance of nonresident hunters in Idaho, and we do not take any of our customers for granted.  Unfortunately, that was not reflected during the sale.   

We will work diligently to improve the process for future high-demand license and tag sales so we can provide all of our customers with the excellent service that they deserve.

We thank you for your continued support of hunting in Idaho.

Sincerely,

Fish and Game staff