LAST EDITED ON Mar-31-04 AT 06:48AM (MST)[p]According to this article... its a go as of april first for all special licenceing! They will charge you a non refundable 2% of the entire cost of your tags. So add another $15 for each of the big three if you're a NR. They should make it 20% for credit card aplications IMO. I would rather send mine in than pay an extra $50! Add in the "prefrence points" to make just the drawing cost over $100!
Online licensing quick, easy; Special license applications available online April 1
By Mark Henckel
MONTANA OUTDOORS
I'll admit it. I was just being lazy.
Dressed in sweats and slippers, kicking back in my recliner, I was daydreaming about going fishing. And I was enjoying those dreams - even though I hadn't bought my fishing license yet for the year.
(Is that allowed? Dreaming about fishing without the proper license? I'd better watch those dreams when game wardens are around.)
It was time for me to buy my Sportsman's license, turkey tag, archery license, warm water stamp and all the other licenses I typically buy in spring, but I just didn't have the energy to get up, get dressed, get in my truck and drive to the nearest license agent to get the job done.
So I went to my computer instead.
On the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Web site -
www.fwp.state.mt.us - I clicked on the Online Licensing button.
With credit card in hand, I went through the step-by-step process. Click on the link to state you're a Montana resident. Then fill in your name and address, Automated Licensing System (ALS) number and driver's license number. Then go through the menu of licenses you want and plug in the number of those licenses to buy - usually one.
If you make an error or two - and I did - of not clicking on certain prerequisite licenses, you get an error message and you can correct the form.
Then fill in your credit card information, click "submit" and you can print out a temporary license to use until FWP sends you your permanent license in the mail, which takes about a week.
The whole process took about five minutes - errors and all.
Your credit card is charged the amount of the licenses, plus a 2 percent credit card fee and $1.25 that goes to the FWP Internet service provider. In my case, that turned out to be $2.90, less than I'd have spent on gas to get to my nearest license agent.
It was pretty slick, pretty quick, pretty easy and, best of all, I didn't even have to change out of my sweats and slippers.
Beginning April 1, hunters will be able to go through the same process to apply for their moose, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, antelope, special elk, special deer and deer B licenses.
I went through a test of the special license application system early this week and found it to be just as quick and just as slick as buying my other licenses. About five minutes and I was done. When the system goes online to the public, I'll be doing it all again for real.
Ron Aasheim, information division chief with FWP, told me there are some side benefits for hunters who apply for the special license drawings online.
"You get a confirmation that your application has been received and entered into the drawings immediately," he said. "The application won't be accepted if there's an error on it. If you make a mistake and plug in the wrong hunting district, that's your problem, but as long as it's a valid district number and all the other information is correct, you're in the drawings."
Aasheim said that with paper form applications, a whole crew of people has to be hired to read the sometimes-scratchy handwriting, verify information, then input the information into the state computer by hand. That slows down the process and, as a result, it takes longer before the drawings can be held.
"We don't have to check these online applications. They've been verified by the computer and the applicant. So it saves us some money," he said. "It's in the system, so we don't have to re-enter it.
"If we can reduce the amount of time to process, we can draw quicker," Aasheim added. "With this, we told the FWP commission that on the deer, elk and antelope drawing, we're gong to try to draw no later than the first week of August. And perhaps draw it even a week earlier than that. The more people that apply online, the quicker we can draw."
Aasheim said hunters can still apply on a paper form as they've done in the past. Application forms and regulations booklets will be available at all state license agents. They can also go to any FWP office and apply.
But believe me, if you have access to a computer that's hooked up to the Internet, it's easier, quicker and better all the way around.
And best of all, you don't even have to wander too far away from your recliner or change out of your sweats and slippers.
