Big Game Auction and Raffle Program FAQ | Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife

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Special Permits & Raffles

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Big Game Auction & Raffle Program FAQ

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife began auctioning big game permits in 1994. The first auction permit was a single bighorn sheep permit and the auction was conducted by a local conservation organization. Three years later, in 1997, the first raffle tags were sold for a permit to hunt big game. Raffles were conducted for deer, elk, bighorn sheep, and moose.

Since the inception of the program in 1994, the primary objective of auction and raffle permits has been to generate revenue specifically for the management of the hunted species. As such, specific code was adopted in RCW 77.32.530 and WACs 232-28-290 and 232-28-292. These codes established the fiscal requirements for auction and raffle funds and describe structure of auction and raffle procedures and hunting opportunities.

Currently, eight auction and eight raffle permit opportunities exist; including one auction and one raffle permit for white-tailed deer, black-tailed deer, mule deer, Westside elk, Eastside elk, bighorn sheep, moose, and mountain goat. Since 1994, auctions have been conducted by conservation organizations via a contract with WDFW, whereas raffles are conducted by WDFW. Nearly 3 million dollars have been generated solely for the management of the respective big game species. This revenue typically funds activities that would otherwise not occur due to budget limitation, including surveys, status reviews, animal captures, transplants, habitat improvement projects, research projects, and disease monitoring.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How much revenue is generated from annual auction and raffle tags?

RAFFLES
	2008	2009
Deer - Westside	8,312	1,665
Deer - Eastside	24,650	3,114
Deer - Black-tailed		5,369
Deer - White-tailed		10,143
Deer - Mule		23,616
Elk - Westside	15,260	13,968
Elk - Eastside	29,732	31,689
Moose	32,036	28,922
Mountain Goat	18,059	21,173
Bighorn Sheep - California	39,245	29,545
Bighorn Sheep - Rocky Mtn.	89,280	55,350

YEARLY TOTALS	$256,574	$224,554

1994-2009 Raffle information [PDF] Figures provided in this document are Wildlife Management's tracking of revenue on a calendar year basis. These figures differ from the fiscal accounting required by the State Auditor for the July 1 through June 30 period. Raffle ticket sales for a given year overlap fiscal years. Fiscal reports do not track expenditures for auction and raffle separately. We compiled the revenue and expenditure figures for auction and raffle separately by species for internal management purposes.

AUCTIONS
	2008	2009
Deer - Westside	6,500	7,000
Deer - Eastside	14,000	7,500
Elk - Westside	21,500	17,000
Elk - Eastside	65,000	44,000
Moose	20,000	25,000
Mountain Goat	13,500	8,500
Bighorn Sheep - California	61,000	49,500

YEARLY TOTALS	$201,500	$158,500

1994-2009 Auction information [PDF] Figures provided in this document are Wildlife Management's tracking of revenue on a calendar year basis. These figures differ from the fiscal accounting required by the State Auditor for the July 1 through June 30 period. Raffle ticket sales for a given year overlap fiscal years. Fiscal reports do not track expenditures for auction and raffle separately. We compiled the revenue and expenditure figures for auction and raffle separately by species for internal management purposes.

COMBINED - RAFFLES & AUCTIONS
	2008	2009
Deer - Westside	14,812	8,665
Deer - Eastside	38,650	10,614
Deer - Black-tailed	0	5,369
Deer - White-tailed	0	10,143
Deer - Mule	0	23,616
Elk - Westside	36,760	30,968
Elk - Eastside	94,732	75,689
Moose	52,036	53,922
Mountain Goat	31,559	29,673
Bighorn Sheep - California	100,245	79,045
Bighorn Sheep - Rocky Mtn.	89,280	55,350

YEARLY TOTALS	$458,074	$383,054

All years for Combined Auction and Raffle information [PDF] Figures provided in this document are Wildlife Management's tracking of revenue on a calendar year basis. These figures differ from the fiscal accounting required by the State Auditor for the July 1 through June 30 period. Raffle ticket sales for a given year overlap fiscal years. Fiscal reports do not track expenditures for auction and raffle separately. We compiled the revenue and expenditure figures for auction and raffle separately by species for internal management purposes.

When is the deadline to purchase raffle tickets?

The deadline for purchasing 2011 raffle tickets is July 22, 2011.

When will the winning raffle tickets be selected?

The drawing will occur during the first week of August.

How do I find out if my ticket is a winner?

Links to lookup your drawing results will be posted on the WDFW website at: http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/permits/raffles/lookup.html

How were the proceeds used?

By law, the revenue from a particular species auction and raffle tags must be spent on management of that species. Given that, the expenditures (since July 1999) for deer and elk have been marked for special projects, including a buck mortality study on black-tailed deer, investigations of deer hair loss syndrome, elk augmentations, elk carry-capacity study, and elk calf survival investigations. Expenditures for bighorn sheep, moose, and mountain goats has been primarily for annual surveys for these species (83%), with smaller costs associated with special research projects (8%) and raffle tag marketing (9%).

Who Auctions the Tags this year?

Permit	Organization	Date	Location
Eastside Elk	Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation	March 3-6, 2011	Reno Sparks Convention Center Reno, Nevada
Westside Elk	Seattle Sportsmens Conservation Foundation	February 18-19, 2011	Meydenbauer Center Bellevue, WA
Mule Deer	Mule Deer Foundation	February 3-6, 2011	Salt Palace Salt Lake City UT
White-tailed Deer	Safari Club International, Northwest Chapter	February 5, 2011	Doubletree Suites Tukwila, WA
Black-tailed Deer	Washington Chapter of Foundation for North American Wild Sheep	February 18-19, 2011	Meydenbauer Center Bellevue, WA
California Bighorn Sheep	Wild Sheep Foundation	February 9-12, 2011	Reno Sparks Convention Center and Silver Legacy Resort Reno, Nevada
Mountain Goat	Washington Chapter of Foundation for North American Wild Sheep	February 18-19, 2011	Meydenbauer Center Bellevue, WA
Moose	Seattle Sportsmens Conservation Foundation	February 18-19, 2011	Meydenbauer Center Bellevue, WA