TeleCheck Support Needed

.................. i'm 100% for tele-checking for deer and turkey, so i sent my e-mail in to support it!!!...i'm tired of driving 40 miles round trip( it cost for gas , wear and tear on our vehicles) ,when i could be getting my game in the freezer, especially when its real warm outside, and i know guys that don't even bother tagging or going to check stations( slob hunters).. i would like to hear more facts on the cost and other issues that i'm not aware of..........thanks.....turkey scout

Good luck, Guys! Since I no longer live in Indiana; I wouldn't have a say so in this issue. Hope it won't be as hard as it was getting the State of Indiana to allow PCR for Deer Hunting.

Sent my e-mail in support of telecheck. I see no way in which this can contribute to cheating, even though I'm sure that many "what if" scenarios will be presented.

A cheat is a cheat is a cheat!


As for the honest hunter, this will certainly make it more convenient in many cases.

parson

Very interesting. I didn't know you could do that.

Support sent. I just wish there was time to get this rolling for this year. Oh well, gotta start some time or another.

I think telecheck could be a good idea. A real cost savings for people who have to drive a distance to a check station.

I would be interested in hearing about the economic impacts to the check stations of the loss of revenue from hunters. I always pick up a snack, drink, etc when checking a deer. That could add up to thousands of dollars per location over the course of a season.

Also. How will the DNR collect population and age data? Such as was collected by biologists at check stations by doing the tooth inspections?

E-mail in favor sent.

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Telecheck Proving Valuable To Missouri Conservation Efforts

January 31, 2006

Comparing notes after the firearms deer season, agents had lots of good things to say about the new system for checking deer via telephone or computer.

Jefferson City, Missouri - Missouri's new automated system for registering deer and turkey kills gives conservation agents more time to spend checking for violations and a better handle on poachers' activities. That is the consensus that emerged from a recent meeting of agents from around the state.Each January, regional and district supervisors in the Conservation Department's Protection Division meet to conduct a post-mortem of the recently ended deer season.

The meeting allows them to compare notes about how hunters handled regulation changes, special challenges agents faced, and how new regulations affected the job of enforcing game laws.

The agenda for this year's deer-season wrap-up included a discussion of Telecheck. The consensus was positive, with supervisors from all regions reporting that Telecheck gave them much faster and freer access to deer-check records. Instead of having to visit multiple check stations and check written records at each, they had instantaneous access to records from office and laptop computers.

"The information we are getting today from Telecheck is a great addition to what we get from informants," said one agent. Protection Central Region Supervisor Tom Strother said several of his agents told him Telecheck helped make 2005 the most efficient deer season they have ever worked.

He said the violation most often discovered using the Telecheck system involved hunters who killed bucks and checked them as does.

Strother's district includes several counties where hunting regulations prohibited taking antlered deer that did not have at least four points on one side. He said ethical hunters were impressed when agents showed up at their houses to verify that the 6- or 7-point bucks they Telechecked had at least four points on one side.

Violators were impressed, too, but not in a positive way. In the St. Louis region, agents said many of the cases they made using Telecheck involved people shooting a deer and then buying a permit. It was easy for agents to pick up this violation due to short time between purchase and checking.Protection Division Administrator Dennis Steward said agents who began an investigation based on Telecheck information often uncovered numerous other violations, such as spotlighting, road hunting, illegally taken bucks, over-limits and nonresidents hunting on resident permits.

"Folks who are inclined to violate one regulation often violate others," he said.On the whole, agents said people liked the new deer-checking system, though many hunters were concerned that it would make it easier to kill deer illegally. This didn't seem to be the case, however. One supervisor said an agent spent some time spot-checking deer at a meat-packing house, comparing deer with information that hunters gave when Telechecking their kills. He did not find a single hunter who had abused the system.

Nevertheless, a few unethical hunters did try to take unfair advantage. Many of these poachers failed to understand how quickly agents would be able to check on suspicious records.

Strother commented that it was surprising how many hunters bought permits at 4 p.m. but still managed to kill deer before dark. Agents looked into all those cases. One involved a woman who bought three deer hunting permits and minutes later checked three deer.

In another case, a hunter checked five deer on one permit.

Agents generally felt that Telecheck allowed them to make better use of their time.

Those in southwest Missouri reported that hunting pressure was down, but arrests were up, thanks to information provided by Telecheck."

Although conservation agents have become much more confident with the Telecheck system, we all recognize that any checking system can be abused," said Steward. "The old check station system was not perfect, and we all know some violations occurred if a hunter was so inclined. Some folks will try to get away with breaking the law with Telecheck, too."

Steward noted that hunters do not have to check most species of wildlife and fish, but field checks by agents show that most people follow the rules. "Conservation agents are there to investigate those who don't," he said.

One problem that surfaced with Telecheck was that a significant number of hunters did not understand that they needed to put the large portion of their tag on deer after Telechecking them.

Taking into account that the procedure is still unfamiliar to hunters, agents only wrote citations where they believed there was clear intent to break the law.Another problem involved the automated voice-recognition system used for the telephone portion of the Telecheck system. Some hunters could not complete the process because of poor connections.

Others found that the system did not recognize their pronunciation of certain county names, such as De Kalb. The Conservation Department had anticipated such problems and maintained a Telecheck Help Center staffed by department employees during Telecheck hours throughout the firearms deer season. Any hunter who had difficulty with the voice-recognition system immediately had a live person on the line to help them finish checking their deer.

"We made sure we had enough volunteer operators on hand so no one ever had to wait on hold after hitting a glitch in the system," said Doug Young, technology chief for the Conservation Department in Jefferson City.

"Several people commented on that. They were surprised when they didn't have to wait for service."Young said his office is working to fine-tune the system so it works even better in the 2006 hunting season. "Telecheck isn't a success if it isn't easy for hunters to use," he said. "Top-quality customer service is absolutely critical if this is going to be an effective, efficient part of the agency's deer-management program."

-Jim Low-

www.outdoors-411.com/news/hunting/060131-missouri-telecheck-successful.html

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Looks like Ohio is going to it too. Boy, this is an interesting subject.


ODNR Division of Wildlife - Wild Ohio Customer Relationship Management System (WOCRMS)


The following are the Frequently Asked Questions we have received about the proposed new licensing and game check system.

The concerns expressed were also some of the same concerns the Division of Wildlife had early on in the planning process for our new licensing and game check system. After extensive research and planning, we feel confident that the new game check system would offer new enforcement capabilities and provide our wildlife biologists with the tools to manage Ohio’s wildlife populations.

Will biological information still be collected on deer and turkey?

We will continue to collect scientifically valid data on deer and turkey harvests. The process will be different from the way we do it now, but the results will be the same, if not better.

Will hunters still comply with the new check-in system?

Other states have used check-in systems that do not require physical presentation on the animal and found that legal compliance is similar regardless of the method used.

After research and consultation with other Telecheck states, Ohio’s wildlife managers and wildlife officers have made recommendations as to the best way to implement this new system. We believe this new system would strengthen and enhance the Division’s fish and wildlife management practices and provide new wildlife enforcement capabilities in order to continue to enforce wildlife laws.

Has any research been done on the question of electronic compliance versus taking the game to a physical location?

In 2005, the Missouri Department of Conservation conducted an evaluation of their proposed Telecheck system and found identical harvest reporting rates among traditional (in-person) and Telecheck deer and turkey hunter groups.

Won’t poachers take advantage of this new system?

Poachers are unethical and will find a way to take advantage of any checking system, current or future. One of the most effective resources in combating poaching is the eyes and ears of Ohio’s ethical sportsmen and women. Ohio’s Turn In a Poacher (TIP) program is designed to involve the public in reporting wildlife violations. Citizens who observe wildlife violations should record the information on the TIP form and submit it electronically via e-mail from wildohio.com, call the TIP toll-free hotline (1-800-POACHER), or mail the form to Division of Wildlife, 2045 Morse Road, Columbus, Ohio, 43229. Tip forms are available in the current Hunting Regulations publication and at wildohio.com.

The current system we have works fine, why change it?

This new method of deer/turkey check-in would save hundreds of staff hours previously devoted to simple transfer of paper slips; freeing up personnel to work on more important biological or law enforcement activities.

The telephone and internet game check would provide a number of benefits including immediate access to harvest data and significantly improved law enforcement capabilities.

Isn’t this new phone or internet checking idea risky?

Phone or internet checking, although new to Ohio, has been used very successfully in a number of southeastern and Midwestern states such as Kentucky, Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois. Minnesota will join the group in 2009.

How can I check my deer or turkey?

With the new system, hunters would be able to complete game-check transactions in one of three ways:
1. On the internet using secured access to the division’s database.
2. Over the telephone using an automated voice response system.
3. At an authorized license sales outlet.

Will eliminating the metal tag make it harder for wildlife officers to enforce the law?

What is important in the tagging system is the number, not the metal tag it is printed on. In the new system, the unique number would be provided to the hunter once the game check transaction has been completed. That number would provide wildlife officers with all the information they need.

The new system will be the same as the current system up to the point of permanent tagging/checking of the deer. Hunters would still be required to immediately place a temporary tag on their deer at the place where it fell. Hunters will then have three options for obtaining a permanent tag number.

Just as they are today, deer will be required to have a permanent tag number attached to them before they are left with a meat processor, taxidermist or are butchered by the hunter. Additionally, all deer and deer parts in a person’s possession will be required to have the permanent tag number attached to them.

What will happen to my local check station?

The Division of Wildlife will be available to help check station operators determine the options available for their business. With the implementation of the new system, only license sales outlets will be official game check stations via the system. If the existing check stations do not chose to become a license sales outlet, they can remain an important part of the hunting experience by providing their own Internet or telephone access to their customers who may not have such access at their homes.

Businesses that choose to assist hunters in game check should announce that service in any print or radio advertisements. Business should also post signage announcing to hunters that your business will assist in the game check option. They should also consider hanging photos and holding contests that continue to promote the hunting heritage.