Report your game harvest

Your harvest information enables us to better manage wildlife

Reporting your hunt information is important. Depending on the species you hunt, reporting may be mandatory — even if you didn't harvest an animal. Not completing your harvest report can affect your ability to hunt or get a bonus point in the next year's hunt drawing without restoring your eligibility and paying a late fee.

Report your harvest

Harvest reporting requirements listed by species

If you already know you must report your harvest, follow this link to the reporting website.

Big game

• General-season buck deer and bull elk

  Harvest reporting is voluntary for all general-season buck deer and bull elk permits. This includes general-season buck deer (archery, muzzleloader, any weapon, dedicated hunter), youth any bull elk and general-season elk (spike bull and any bull; archery, muzzleloader, any weapon). To obtain this harvest information, DWR conducts a randomized telephone/web survey of hunters each fall and winter.

• Bucks, bulls and once-in-a-lifetime

  Harvest reporting is mandatory, except for general-season deer and elk. Mandatory harvest reporting includes all limited-entry, premium limited-entry, once-in-a-lifetime and CWMU permits. Reporting is required even if you did not hunt or did not harvest. If you do not report your harvest within 30 days after your hunt ends, you may not apply for a limited-entry, premium limited-entry, once-in-a-lifetime, or CWMU permit or bonus point the following year. You may report your harvest online or by calling toll-free 800-221-0659. Submitting teeth or other biological samples from your animal, or having your animal checked by a DWR representative or CWMU operator does not fulfill your mandatory harvest reporting requirement (except for bighorn sheep check-in). You must still report your harvest online or by calling the toll-free harvest survey hotline.

  • Mandatory check-in for bighorn sheep — After harvesting a bighorn sheep, you must bring the horns to a DWR office within 72 hours of leaving your hunting area. Checking in a bighorn sheep will fulfill your mandatory harvest reporting requirement. If you received a bighorn sheep permit and did not hunt or did not harvest, you must complete your harvest survey online or by calling toll-free 800-221-0659.

  • Information you will need to complete your mandatory harvest survey — To complete your mandatory harvest survey, you must know your tag and permit number, the total number of days hunted, the number of animals wounded (if any), and — if you harvested — the date and location of the kill. We also ask successful deer, elk and moose hunters to report the number of points on each antler and the antler width at the widest point (in inches) from the animal. We ask successful pronghorn, bison, bighorn sheep and mountain goat hunters to report left and right horn length and horn circumference (in inches) from the harvested animal. Finally, we ask successful bull elk hunters to report antler measurements, like the main beam length of one antler (to the nearest eighth of an inch), and the length of each point (to the nearest eighth of an inch). See an example of these types of measurements.

  • Mandatory check-in for management buck deer — After harvesting a management buck deer, you must bring the head and antlers to a DWR for inspection within 72 hours of leaving your hunting area. Checking in a management buck deer does not fulfill your mandatory harvest reporting requirement. All management buck deer hunters, regardless of success, must complete their harvest survey online or by calling toll-free 800-221-0659.

  • Big game teeth, blood samples and Chronic Wasting Disease testing — Occasionally, we ask successful big game hunters to submit a tooth, blood or tissue sample from their animal. We analyze teeth for aging purposes. We sometimes collect blood samples from bison and elk for brucellosis testing. If you receive a tooth envelope or blood sampling kit, please follow all included instructions. Submitting a tooth or a blood sample, or having your animal sampled for Chronic Wasting Disease testing, does not fulfill any mandatory harvest reporting requirements. You must still complete your harvest survey online or by calling toll-free 800-221-0659.

• Antlerless deer, elk, moose and doe pronghorn

  New this year: Beginning in 2023, if you obtain an antlerless permit of any kind, you must report your harvest online or call it in at 800-221-0659 (our toll-free harvest survey hotline). Harvest reporting is now mandatory, even if you did not hunt or did not harvest. Failure to comply will result in a $50 fine and/or exclusion from next year's antlerless hunt drawing. Submitting teeth or other biological samples from your animal — or having your animal checked by a DWR representative or CWMU operator — does not fulfill your mandatory harvest reporting requirement.

• Tooth submission

  Occasionally, we sometimes ask successful big game hunters to submit a tooth from their harvested animals. We analyze teeth to determine the animal's age. The average age of harvested animals helps wildlife biologists assess population management objectives and determine future management recommendations.

  If your hunt is one from which the DWR wants to receive teeth, you will receive a tooth packet in the mail before your hunt begins. Please follow all instructions included with the tooth packet. Carefully removing teeth will not ruin your ability to have the head or skull mounted.

  The post office may not deliver teeth to the DWR if the envelope has any detectable odor, so please dry the teeth before placing them in the mail. Do not wrap the teeth in plastic or place them in any type of plastic bag — this will cause the teeth to smell.

  If you prefer, you may hand-deliver teeth in the proper tooth envelope to any regional DWR office. We do not accept heads.

  If you submit a tooth by the deadline listed on your tooth packet, your animal's age can be viewed online, usually beginning in March, by logging into the harvest reporting website and selecting the "My Harvest Report" tab.

  Submitting a tooth does not fulfill your mandatory harvest reporting requirement. You must still complete your harvest survey online or by calling toll-free 800-221-0659.

• View previous year's big game harvest survey results

Cougar

• Cougar

  Successful hunters must check in cougars with a conservation officer or at a DWR office within 48 hours of harvest for permanent tagging. Information collected includes: date of harvest, sex and age of the animal, area(s) hunted, weapon type and hunt methods. We will extract a tooth for aging purposes. Please do not bring frozen cougars, as this makes it difficult to extract teeth. If you submitted a cougar tooth and want to find out the age of your cougar, contact the DWR Salt Lake City office. Cougar age results may not be available for up to 12 months after the close of your cougar hunting season.

  To obtain cougar pursuit information, the DWR conducts a randomized telephone survey of pursuit permit holders each summer.

Black bear

• Black bear

  Successful hunters must check in black bears with a DWR conservation officer or at a DWR office within 48 hours of harvest for permanent tagging. Information collected includes: date of harvest, sex and age of the animal, area(s) hunted, weapon type and hunt methods. We will extract a tooth for aging and other samples (hair, femur) may be taken for research purposes. Please do not bring frozen bears, as this makes it difficult to extract teeth. If you submitted a bear tooth and want to find out the age of your bear, contact the DWR Salt Lake City office. Bear age results may not be available for up to 12 months after the close of your bear hunting season.

  To obtain black bear pursuit information, the DWR conducts a randomized telephone survey each summer.

Furbearer

• Coyote, badger, beaver, gray fox, kit fox, red fox, mink, muskrat, raccoon, ringtail, spotted skunk, striped skunk and weasel

  Harvest reporting is voluntary for most furbearer species, with bobcat and marten being notable exceptions. To obtain trapping and furbearer harvest information, the DWR conducts a randomized telephone/web survey of license holders each winter. You may download a log book for small game or furbearer to track your seasonal harvests.

• Bobcat

  Successful hunters must submit bobcat pelts to a DWR representative to have permanent tags affixed and to surrender the lower jaw. Information collected includes: date of harvest, sex of the animal, method of take and county of harvest. In addition to mandatory check-in, trapper/hunter effort information for bobcats is collected through randomized telephone/web surveys of license holders each winter.

• Marten

  Successful hunters must submit marten pelts to a DWR representative to have permanent tags affixed and to surrender the lower jaw. Information collected includes: date of harvest, sex of the animal and county of harvest. In addition to mandatory check-in, trapper/hunter effort information for marten is collected through randomized telephone/web surveys of license holders each winter.

Upland game

• Sage grouse, sharp-tailed grouse, white-tailed ptarmigan and band-tailed pigeon

  Harvest reporting is voluntary for these four upland game species. To obtain harvest information, the DWR conducts randomized telephone/web surveys of permit holders each fall. You may download a small game harvest log book to help track your seasonal upland game harvests.

• American crow, California and Gambel's quail, chukar partridge, cottontail rabbit, dusky and ruffed grouse, Eurasian-collared dove, gray (Hungarian) partridge, mourning and white-winged dove, ring-necked pheasant, and snowshoe hare

  Harvest reporting is voluntary for upland game species. We send emails to hunters at the end of the upland game season asking them to report their harvest through an online survey. For this reason, providing an email address when purchasing a hunting license is important. In addition, the DWR also conducts randomized telephone surveys. You may download a samll game harvest log book to track your seasonal upland game harvests.

• Wild turkey

  Harvest reporting is voluntary for wild turkeys. To obtain harvest information, DWR conducts randomized telephone/web surveys of permit holders each summer.

• Sandhill crane

  Harvest reporting is voluntary for sandhill crane. To obtain harvest information, the DWR conducts randomized telephone/web surveys of permit holders each fall.

Waterfowl

• Ducks, geese, coots and snipe

  Harvest reporting is voluntary for waterfowl. To obtain harvest information, the DWR conducts randomized telephone surveys of waterfowl hunters each spring. Information collected includes: areas hunted, days afield and number of birds harvested. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also conducts its own waterfowl harvest surveys, so you may be contacted to do multiple harvest surveys in a single season. You may download a harvest log book to track your seasonal harvests.

• Swan

  Harvest reporting for swan is mandatory. You must bring the tagged swan or its head to a DWR office, or the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge office, within three days of harvest. At this time, a DWR representative will assist you in completing your swan harvest report. Reporting is required even if you did not hunt or did not harvest. You can report online or by calling toll-free 800-221-0659. If you miss the reporting deadline, you won't be allowed to apply for a swan permit the following year.