PORTLAND (AP) - Bagging a 2002 hunting or fishing license recently has been as difficult as stalking a wily buck.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's computerized license system, which is supposed to speed and simplify the process of buying licenses and tags, has jammed several times in the past week.

On Thursday, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife waived the requirement to possess a hunting or angling license until Jan. 23 because of the problems. Only hunters in the few remaining big game hunts must obtain valid licenses and tags, which will be of the handwritten variety.

ODFW spokeswoman Ann Pressentin Young said the waiver applies only to the licenses. All other hunting rules, such as bag limits, methods of take, hunting and fishing hours, remain in effect.

"We do not want to inconvenience hunters and anglers with repeated trips to Point-of-Sale vendors and agency offices to get their 2002 licenses during this period of computer difficulty," ODFW Director Lindsay Ball said.

The emergency rule allows people to fish and hunt without a hunting license, angling license and angling combination harvest tag for salmon, steelhead, sturgeon and halibut.

Technicians are still working on the system and have yet to isolate the computer glitch, Young said. "We haven't gotten to the root of the problem," she said Thursday. "We're trying to get this fixed as soon as possible."

Until the system is running reliably, several Department of Fish and Wildlife offices will remain open until 9 p.m. on weekdays to issue handwritten licenses, Young said.

Late December and early January always are busy times for the Point-of-Sale system.

In December, the system processed an average of 2,000 documents per day; but the average jumped to between 5,000 and 6,000 the last week of the month. The system handled about 9,000 requests Monday, and about 12,000 Tuesday.

Scott Thatcher, owner of Thatcher's Ace Hardware, a Baker City Point-of-Sale agent, said his customers generally have been patient.

"It's been a pain," he said. "Some people have been mad, but not at us. They get frustrated with the system."

Thatcher said employees telephoned some customers when the system was working, telling them they could come in to get a license or tag. Most rushed in to get the important documents, he said.

The Point-of-Sale licensing system started stumbling late last Friday, Young said.

DH Online

-- Anonymous, January 05, 2002

Answers

January 5, 2002

New system holds up fish, game permits

By The Associated Press PORTLAND - Bagging a 2002 hunting or fishing license recently has been as difficult as stalking a wily buck.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's computerized licensing system, which is supposed to speed and simplify the process of buying licenses and tags, has jammed several times in the past week.

On Thursday, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife waived the requirement to possess a hunting or angling license until Jan. 23 because of the problems. Only big-game hunters in the few remaining big game hunts must still have valid licenses and tags.

ODFW spokeswoman Ann Pressentin Young said the waiver applies only to the licenses. All other hunting rules, such as bag limits, methods of take, hunting and fishing hours, remain in effect.

``We do not want to inconvenience hunters and anglers with repeated trips to Point-of-Sale vendors and agency offices to get their 2002 licenses during this period of computer difficulty,'' ODFW Director Lindsay Ball said.

The emergency rule allows people to fish and hunt without a hunting license, angling license and angling combination harvest tag for salmon, steelhead, sturgeon and halibut. Big-game hunters must obtain handwritten licenses and tags.

Technicians are still working on the system and have yet to isolate the computer glitch, Young said. ``We haven't gotten to the root of the problem,'' she said.

Register Guard

-- Anonymous, January 10, 2002