Hunter Harvest Surveys and the Annual Status of Furbearers Survey are important components of managing game in Saskatchewan, providing valuable information for quota and season setting for the upcoming year.

As of 2020, the surveys were made mandatory for hunters in Saskatchewan to complete for each license they purchase, regardless if they hunted or not, prior to the deadline indicated on the license.

"For quite a few years now we've had voluntary surveys that were requested by the Ministry of Environment from the hunting community to help them with a number of questions, but primarily harvest and what kind of animals they're harvesting," stated Darrell Crabbe, Executive Director with the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation. "As an example, what kind of deer are you harvesting? A buck, a doe, or a fawn? That sort of thing. So, they can get a better idea about what the success rate is and what kind of animals are being taken."

Crabbe added that when the Hunter Harvest Surveys were voluntary, Saskatchewan had one of the lowest numbers in North America for actually completing and sending in the surveys.

"It was determined that this information is very pivotal in them being able to make educated decisions," Crabbe explained. "Especially when it comes to allocations and things like that with draw systems for the upcoming year and the years to follow. So, they made it mandatory and this was the first year that it was mandatory. And the response was very good. There were no penalties for not responding. The vast majority of Saskatchewan hunters did fill out those surveys and it's going to be interesting to see what kind of data is determined by that."

The Hunter Harvest Surveys will help the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation to know how successful Saskatchewan hunters are with all of the various species that are hunted.

"So, they'll get a much better idea about that success rate and then be able to adjust the hunting opportunities accordingly," expressed Crabbe. "And they'll be able to get an idea about the herd structure and what people are harvesting out there as well. So, it's all really important data when you're trying to find out how many mule deer tags are available in a specific region or zone. It's very simple and really quick. And it really does collectively help the wildlife management system in our province to make good decisions based on good information."

You can visit the Hunter Harvest Survey page here on the Government of Saskatchewan's official website.