Over-the-counter sales of spring turkey permits to begin March 23 under new sales system
MADISON – More than 70,000 turkey harvest permits for the spring 2009 season will be sold in late March under a new and much improved first-come, first-served system. Procedures spread the demand for the popular permits over a week’s time and assure a level playing field for all hunters regardless of location and method they use to purchase an extra permit.
“There’s been a lot of planning and consultation with hunters on how to best sell leftover turkey permits this spring,” said Vance Rayburn, DNR services administrator. “We will provide the kind of service our customers deserve: shorter lines, preserving first-come first-served service, and quick response. We’ve required our contractor to significantly beef up capacity, checked and rechecked, and just in case, we have a fully fleshed out backup plan.
“We’re ready, and we’re looking forward to getting the permits in hunter hands,” he said.
An estimated 70,900 permits will be available for over-the-counter sales. Leftover permits will be first sold by zone, one zone at a time. Sales will start at 10 a.m. each day and run through midnight. Each zone will have a designated sales date as follows:
* Zone 1 – Monday, March 23
* Zone 2 – Tuesday March 24
* Zone 3 – Wednesday, March 25
* Zone 4 – Thursday, March 26
* Zones 5 & 6 – Friday, March 27. Due to the low number of permits left in these units, the sale has been combined into one day.
* Any permits still remaining for all zones – Saturday, March 28 starting at 10 a.m. and continuing until sold out or the season ends.
Hunters will be limited to one permit per day until all permits are sold.
The number of permits available by zone and times periods is as follows:
Zone Time Period Remaining Permits
D E F
1 7,823 10,838 11,791 30,452
2 0 0 4,382 4,382
3 5,415 9,328 10,023 24,766
4 0 3,702 5,059 8,761
5 0 719 1,733 2,452
6 0 0 66 66
* There are no leftover permits available for Zone 7 after the initial drawing.
* There are no leftover permits for time periods A, B or C in the other zones.
* Hunters are limited to purchasing one permit per day until all permits are sold
Where to buy a permit
“We have nearly 1,400 license vendor partners throughout the state ready to sell you a permit,” said Rayburn. “And there’s also telephone sales and Internet service available.”
Leftover permits can be purchased: over the Internet through the Online Licensing Center;
https://hfwa.centraltechnology.net/wi_public/goHome.doby calling toll-free 1-877-WI LICENSE (1-877-945-4236); at license sales locations; or DNR service centers during their regular business hours (check service center link for hours of operation, which vary by service center; service centers are closed Saturdays). Hunters with any questions about when or how to buy permits may call the DNR Customer Call Center from 7 a.m. through 10 p.m. seven days a week at 1-888-WDNRINFo (1-888-936-7463.)
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/cs/servicecenter/locations.htmThe fee for these permits will be $10 for residents, and $15 for nonresidents. All hunters will also be required to purchase the spring turkey license and stamp, unless they have previously purchased the license and stamp, or are a 2009 Conservation Patron License holder. Residents and nonresidents will have equal opportunity to purchase over-the-counter permits. Purchasing these permits will not affect preference status for future spring or fall turkey permit drawings.
Permit purchases are limited to one permit per day until each zone and time period is sold out. A limited number of disabled only turkey permits for state park areas are available. Disabled hunters who have been issued either a Class A or Class C Disabled Hunter Permit should visit a DNR Service Center on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 beginning at 10 a.m. to purchase one of these permits. Disabled hunters should note that these permits will only be available through DNR Service Centers.
Hints for fast action
* Check the turkey zone map (pdf; 453kb) and verify where you want to hunt.
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/hunt/turkey/spring.pdf * Check the permit availablity page so you apply on the correct day for the zone you want to hunt in.
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/cs/springturkey/ * Have your DNR customer ID ready.
For updated information on leftover spring permit availability and other information regarding the 2009 spring turkey hunting season, please visit the Wild Turkey page of the DNR Web site.
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/hunt/turkey/index.htmFOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Vance Rayburn - 608-266-224
