spectr17
06-05-2003, 08:10 PM
Ed Dentry, Rocky Mtn News
License system faces first big test
May 21, 2003
The first sky-blue hunting licenses are in the mail. But the big hit for Colorado's new Total Licensing System will come this weekend when anglers galore descend on license agents for short-term and annual fishing licenses.
"Memorial Day weekend is going to be our big test. I think we're probably going to sell between 40,000 and 60,000 licenses, and the majority should be on the new system," said Rob Molloy, coordinator for the Division of Wildlife's new high-tech license sales system.
License agents behind counters at sporting goods stores and grocery stores where fishing and hunting licenses are sold have been training on the division's new point-of-sale computerized license stations. Most are prepared for the spring rush and relieved that writer's cramp won't be part of the ritual this year.
When it is totally up and running, the TLS will sell licenses through vending machines at division offices and 670 stores statewide, over the Internet and by phone. For now, only the vending machines are ready for business.
Molloy said the division has not emphasized Internet sales because research in other states indicates that only 10 percent to 15 percent of hunters and anglers buy their licenses over the Internet or by phone.
"We should be taking Internet sales sometime in June," he said.
Drawing licenses for bighorn sheep, mountain goat and bear hunting already have been mailed to hunters in the new format - blue, emblazoned with a bar code and foldable to the size of a credit card.
The division will mail limited elk, deer and antelope licenses in the next few days. They will be mailed in the order in which they are drawn, instead of all at once on the June 20 mailing deadline. Every license will be printed in the new format.
License agents tested the system at 110 pilot locations in April. They sold fishing and small-game licenses, second rod stamps and a few over-the-counter spring turkey-hunting licenses.
The division had planned to use the computerized system to take limited fall turkey-hunting applications beginning in June, but Molloy said it hasn't been completely tested for the task. Next year, hunters will have the option of using the system to apply for all limited licenses instead of filling out forms and mailing them in.
Leftover limited licenses for big-game hunting that remain after the current round of drawings will be sold on "leftover days" as usual at division offices for the first few days. Then they will be sold at license agents' point-of-sale locations.
Eventually, all leftovers will be sold through the computer system.
In mid-July, the system will start selling the first regular, over-the-counter hunting licenses for 2003. Purchasers visit license agents, where they provide identification and proof of hunter education. The agents tap in the data and print out a license. If you buy multiple licenses during one transaction, they are printed on one license card.
The division's main computer keeps track of the personal information and each license sold. The secure data base makes it easy for hunters and anglers to replace lost licenses and buy future licenses. It also makes it easier for the division to survey sportsmen and catch wildlife law violators who might not be allowed to fish or hunt.
As proud as the division might be of its fledgling computer system, it lags far behind those of many other states. Kansas and Nebraska, for example, have sold fishing and small-game hunting licenses over the Internet for at least two years. Hunters and anglers with home computers pay with a credit card number and print out their licenses at home.
It won't be quite that simple in Colorado. When Internet sales are activated, home computer operators will be issued a printable authorization number. If the license is a small-game or fishing license that doesn't require a carcass tag, the number will serve as a valid license until the hunter or angler receives an actual license in the mail.
"But if it's a license that requires a tag, they will not be able to use that license until they receive the tag in the mail," Molloy said. The license is expected to arrive in three to five days, but could take as long as 10 days.
dentrye@RockyMountainNews.com or (303) 892-5481
License system faces first big test
May 21, 2003
The first sky-blue hunting licenses are in the mail. But the big hit for Colorado's new Total Licensing System will come this weekend when anglers galore descend on license agents for short-term and annual fishing licenses.
"Memorial Day weekend is going to be our big test. I think we're probably going to sell between 40,000 and 60,000 licenses, and the majority should be on the new system," said Rob Molloy, coordinator for the Division of Wildlife's new high-tech license sales system.
License agents behind counters at sporting goods stores and grocery stores where fishing and hunting licenses are sold have been training on the division's new point-of-sale computerized license stations. Most are prepared for the spring rush and relieved that writer's cramp won't be part of the ritual this year.
When it is totally up and running, the TLS will sell licenses through vending machines at division offices and 670 stores statewide, over the Internet and by phone. For now, only the vending machines are ready for business.
Molloy said the division has not emphasized Internet sales because research in other states indicates that only 10 percent to 15 percent of hunters and anglers buy their licenses over the Internet or by phone.
"We should be taking Internet sales sometime in June," he said.
Drawing licenses for bighorn sheep, mountain goat and bear hunting already have been mailed to hunters in the new format - blue, emblazoned with a bar code and foldable to the size of a credit card.
The division will mail limited elk, deer and antelope licenses in the next few days. They will be mailed in the order in which they are drawn, instead of all at once on the June 20 mailing deadline. Every license will be printed in the new format.
License agents tested the system at 110 pilot locations in April. They sold fishing and small-game licenses, second rod stamps and a few over-the-counter spring turkey-hunting licenses.
The division had planned to use the computerized system to take limited fall turkey-hunting applications beginning in June, but Molloy said it hasn't been completely tested for the task. Next year, hunters will have the option of using the system to apply for all limited licenses instead of filling out forms and mailing them in.
Leftover limited licenses for big-game hunting that remain after the current round of drawings will be sold on "leftover days" as usual at division offices for the first few days. Then they will be sold at license agents' point-of-sale locations.
Eventually, all leftovers will be sold through the computer system.
In mid-July, the system will start selling the first regular, over-the-counter hunting licenses for 2003. Purchasers visit license agents, where they provide identification and proof of hunter education. The agents tap in the data and print out a license. If you buy multiple licenses during one transaction, they are printed on one license card.
The division's main computer keeps track of the personal information and each license sold. The secure data base makes it easy for hunters and anglers to replace lost licenses and buy future licenses. It also makes it easier for the division to survey sportsmen and catch wildlife law violators who might not be allowed to fish or hunt.
As proud as the division might be of its fledgling computer system, it lags far behind those of many other states. Kansas and Nebraska, for example, have sold fishing and small-game hunting licenses over the Internet for at least two years. Hunters and anglers with home computers pay with a credit card number and print out their licenses at home.
It won't be quite that simple in Colorado. When Internet sales are activated, home computer operators will be issued a printable authorization number. If the license is a small-game or fishing license that doesn't require a carcass tag, the number will serve as a valid license until the hunter or angler receives an actual license in the mail.
"But if it's a license that requires a tag, they will not be able to use that license until they receive the tag in the mail," Molloy said. The license is expected to arrive in three to five days, but could take as long as 10 days.
dentrye@RockyMountainNews.com or (303) 892-5481