A computer glitch within the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has disappointed over 100 hunters around the state after they received permits they were not supposed to.
In what the department is calling a ‘technical miscue’, the mistake has invalidated affected permit results and officials scrambled to notify applicants of the problem and update them on the status of their permit.
“Just wish they didn’t get our hopes up for this kind thing because it is a big deal for such a small valley and the population of people that live here,” Haines, Alaska resident Michael Hoy told KHNS.
The miscue led to incorrect reporting of results and in all, affected 148 people who were told they had received a permit for their Tier II subsistence hunt only to be told shortly after, they had not. Of the hunts impacted by the glitch are moose, caribou and musk ox, all of which are limited by a certain amount of available permits.
Conversely, nearly 150 people who scored high enough on the state’s scoring system used to determine viability and allotment of tags, did not receive permits when they should have.
The problem has since been reversed according to the department and the proper permits are now in proper hands, despite the unwavering disappointment of many.
“We really regret it,” director of the Division of Wildlife Conservation at Fish and Game Bruce Dale said. “We’re not sure how it happened but we’re going to work as hard as we can to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
