A few pages back (47 or so!)...the discussion was gain about harvest reporting and how to get more accurate results/ higher hunter participation. I've thrown a few out there of my own just for kicks...now I've got a new one. The implementation of the PALS system and the online reporting this year will make this one a piece of cake. Here we go.....

Each hunter, regardless of success, is required to submit a report at the end of the season. It could be done online, over the phone like states such as MD....or write it out and snail mail it, from a form in the hunting digest. What tags they filled and accompanying required harvest data, as well as some questions on days hunted, wildlife observed,...maybe a few opinion surveys. Purchasers of the second spring turkey tag are already similarly required to report, kill or not. Until the PGC receives your report, and enters it into the system, you have a hold placed on your licensing, preventing you from purchasing the next year's license. Participation would be mandatory, or no license for you next year. There would be a few kinks to work out, but that's the general idea.

Alright...lynch me! I for one would love to see an accurate harvest report, and verified through independent audit. No crazy logarithms (sp?).....no guesswork other than the honesty of the hunters who reported, which of course would be hard to ever enforce without mandatory check stations...(which seems to be about as desirable as the plague, among hunters, and the PGC.) I think the harsh reality of the low harvest..esp. the buck harvest would hit the hunting community like a ton of bricks.