Thanks for the feedback guys. The results date for Utah is incorrect on that chart. Somehow we picked up the old results date from before they moved their draw deadline back a few years ago. It should be in fact "LATE MAY." All the others should be correct. NM just released their results this AM at 10:00 MST, it being the 23rd of April I think "LATE APRIL" fits that bill. Some states hedge their bets on result dates and give the public a worst case scenario just in case they have trouble getting the draw completed or the meetings go on longer than expected. I know WY has released as much as two weeks prior to their "published" results release date.
As for some of the other issues, we work as hard as we can to keep the information as correct as possible. Just keep in mind, most of the information in the MRS is well over a month old by the time you see it in your mailbox and the states are getting better at changing things up at the last minute or mid stream with the onset of the internet and web applications instead of paper. Three times I have been given small errors by WY that where later changed when their information went public on their website.
When it comes to draw odds in different states it can get extremely complicated and they all handle the inner workings of their draw process a bit differently. The states that have "max NR tag percentages" are impossible to calculate accurately. When they yank all of the Non-residents out of the pool at certainly points, like 5% or 10% it creates a very complicated figure to try and wrangle around with. And if they don't supply the number of R and NR applicants in that tag pool, it can be almost impossible to accurately calculate. So in some cases, such as NM, ID and AZ a general, "average draw odd" on first choice applicants is about as good as it gets.
As for the NM draw odds, they came directly from the NM state statistician. She has access to variables that are not made public, making it tough/impossible to replicate her figures with given public information.
Wapiti's summarization of the WY chart is more incorrect than the chart is. There are a few words in that diagram that need changed, but the main information is correct enough for the 99.9% of the readers and what they want to know. Of the 100 NR tags available to NR hunters, 45 would go to PP "Regular" draw applicants, 30 tags would go to the PP Special applicants, while 15 tags would go into the hands of random "Regular" draw applicants and 10 tags would go to the "Special" random draw applicants. A different outcome can occur if the number of applicants does not exceed the number of tags available and it does make a slight difference as to the order that they conduct the drawing at times. But for the most part, that is how the draw allocation breaks down for a vast majority of the best elk areas with the hard to get tags. I will work on firming up that verbiage to clarify it further for next year.
Again, just bare in mind, that most of this information can be almost two months old by the time it hits your doorstep. The printer needs 10-14 days to print and bind the publication and the USPS needs 21 days or more to deliver the book to your doorstep, particularly if you are on either coast. Our moto is: we would rather have it in your mailbox with a few minor inaccuracies at least 30 days prior to the draw deadline, than take a risk and have it delivered even one hour after the draw deadline has already passed.
I hope this helps to clear up some of the confusion.
G-
