By Charlene Tebbutt

New changes to Saskatchewan big game draw

May 1, 2018 | 5:00 PM

The province’s big game draw opened Tuesday with some changes for Saskatchewan hunters.

The draw opened online May 1. The province also announced changes to the program in response to the soaring number of applications for big game in Saskatchewan, specifically antlered elk, moose and mule deer.

The changes include the addition of a Legacy pool for hunters who have been waiting 10 years or more, allowing them a better chance to get in on the draw. Applicants in the Legacy pool will be considered for a draw ahead of those in the Super ‘A’ pool. The province also announced the addition of a new lower priority, or ‘D’ pool for new applicants, which will extend the amount of time it takes hunters to move up to the ‘A’ pool. All hunters drawn in 2018 will move to ‘D’ pool for the next year.

Additionally, hunters who are drawn for three or more species can decline a license or licenses and still keep their status in the pool, the province said. 

“We’ve had concerns for a while now as the number of applications for the big game draw have increased substantially over the last number of years, and so there’s been some concerns that hunters who have been in the draw for a long period of time do not have an increased chance of success,” Chuck Lees, provincial wildlife manager with the Saskatchewan Ministry of the Environment, said.

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The changes mean that about 250 people who have been waiting to be drawn for elk, and about 300 for moose, will improve their chances through the Legacy pool, Lees said. Interest in big game hunting has grown in recent years, and the government received more than 97,000 applications overall for the draw last year.

“Last year, we had 48,148 hunters apply, so it’s been trending, even two years earlier, it was just under 40,000, so it’s just growing exponentially,” Lees added. “And those hunters apply for multiple hunting opportunities.”

The Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation is applauding the changes to the big game draw for this year.

“Super ‘A’ has been very overcrowded, so adding some pools at the bottom so they don’t creep back into the Super ‘A’ pool as quickly as they used to in the past, which is about three years … now it will take you seven or eight years,” Darrell Crabbe, executive director with the SWF, said.

While there may be concerns about the revisions to the program, Crabbe said there is no perfect system. He said it may take some time to get used to, but Crabbe said he is confident the revised program will be well received.

“The draw is like Christmas for most hunters in Saskatchewan. We just hope that we get a present at the end of it,” Crabbe added.

The government also increased the quotas in some hunting zones for some big game species, including pronghorn antelope and mule deer. Season dates are being extended for white-tailed deer in city wildlife management zones around Prince Albert, Saskatoon and Moose Jaw. The government adjusted season dates in an effort to protect the numbers of forest moose, which are in decline.

Charlene.tebbutt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @CharleneTebbutt