Olympic National Park Goat Hunt Group Anyone?

[HillHound]

Who knew being a member of Hunt Washington was an automatic disqualifier. Doesn’t seem like a single person on this site or even anyone from this state that I know got selected for  it.

[Onewhohikes]

Yea it sounds like some groups who think they were over qualified or well qualified weren't selected either.

[bearpaw]

Maybe they selected groups that had experienced USDA wildlife control agents?

[fishngamereaper]

Maybe they selected groups that had experienced USDA wildlife control agents?

That was my thought to, or currently licensed guides. 

[WSU]

Not selected.

[blackveltbowhunter]

Maybe they selected groups that had experienced USDA wildlife control agents?

That was my thought to, or currently licensed guides. 

She did not.

Her process is very clear in the letter.

[HillHound]

Well not really. She said she pulled out the most qualified. She never said that being a previous department employee, mountain goat guide, etc. was or was not a quality that would get you onto the list. At least with the people they seem to have turned away I’m sure they have a very qualified group of people that they did select

[Rob]

I am betting there are members selected who are being very cautious of the social media agreement and not posting about it.

I know of one team selected with only mountaineering and extensive hunting experience.

[nwhunter]

We didn't get picked either. Had guide experience and couple mt goat hunt experience and my dad has been a packer for ONP for 30 years as our support stock person.. I am sure they were overwhelmed with the thousand plus apps and then it came down to luck of the draw for the top groups .. Good luck to those that get to do it.. I am actually a little relieved:) Beautiful country but the goats are in the nastiest this state has to offer..

[j_h_nimrod]

I think it came down to luck of the draw. Our group that was not chosen had extensive mountaineering, wilderness, hunting, mtn goat hunting and guiding experience, and two locals to the area.  The one group I know that was chosen had a very similar resume.

Narrow it down to all the well qualified teams, randomly narrow it to 40, and then have a panel pull the top 21 from that.  There is a lot of luck to being chosen in that methodology.

[tbrady]

Did you guys that got a "not selected" notice, was it an email or snail mail letter etc?  We didn't see receive any response other than when I initially submitted our application.

[kselkhunter]

The process was they weeded out unqualified applications.  Patti didn't say how many teams were put into the hat, but with over 1200 teams I would guess there were hundreds of teams still in that final draw pool.  Then from that large remaining group they did a random selection to get to the final 40.  Then a panel evaluated those lucky 40 randomly selected teams to weed it down to 21 based on qualifications.   

[Chukarhead]

My group was selected.

Like many others here, I believe there was a lot of luck involved--I don't know how many applications were circular-filed right off the bat, but I know that there were a lot of groups that were more qualified on goat/sheep hunting than my group is.  We don't have any guides, federal employees or contractors, etc. 

I don't have any insight on the selection process beyond what's published.  I will say that our application was tight and tidy.  One-page cover letter summarizing our team experience, qualifications and proposed approach, followed by a one-page bio sheet of team members, followed by all required forms, all wrapped up in a single PDF.  We figured it would go to a draw, but didn't want to provide any reason to be disqualified out of the gate.  Anyone who has done hiring knows that drill.

When it came down to winnowing those final 40 groups to 21, we may have had an advantage (just guessing here) because we emphasized our team members' experience in field science, natural resource management, conflict resolution, and public relations on sensitive topics.  I'm 100% sure that we weren't the most experienced hunters or mountaineers, but that's only one piece of this, and probably not the most important to the managers.  One member will probably do all or nearly all the trigger-pulling with a suppressed precision rifle, and we only have two shooters designated.  This is a lethal removal operation, not a hunt, and we put that front and center in our materials.

Good luck to others that were drawn.  May the clouds be high and the wind always in your face.

[stew pidasso]

How was your group selected chukarhead? Email, phone.

[Chukarhead]

How was your group selected chukarhead? Email, phone.

BCC email to the group leaders of the selected groups for that date range of the operation.  I presume there were three such emails sent.  We submitted our application by email; not sure about how paper apps were handled.