LA GRANDE — All hunters who bought a deer, elk, cougar, bear, pronghorn or turkey tag are required to report their results, even if they didn’t hunt or weren’t successful, by Jan. 31.

That deadline applies for all turkey and big game hunts that ended between April 1 and Dec. 31 of 2022.

Those with tags for hunts that end between Jan. 1 and March 31, 2023, are required to report results by April 15, 2023.

SportsPac buyers don’t need to report on tags that they didn’t receive.

A $25 penalty will be assessed for any hunter who fails to report deer and elk tags by the reporting deadline. The penalty is paid with the purchase of a hunting license two years from now. Only a single penalty is assessed, regardless of the number of tags you did not report.

The Fish and Wildlife Commission imposed the $25 penalty in October 2012 because although reporting was mandatory, just 41% of tags were reported by the deadline in 2011. That meant the data the state collected from hunter reporting wasn’t statistically sound. Hunter reporting can help the agency determine how many tags to issue based on hunter success rates and herd populations.

After the $25 penalty was announced, reporting rates for deer and elk tags have risen to about 80% to 85%.

There are multiple ways to report:

• Online. You will need to verify your account on the MyODFW.com licensing page (click on the Buy a License button) to report your hunts. Once you have completed steps to verify your account, choose “Submit a Hunting and Fishing Outcome Report” or “Outcome Reporting / Mandatory Reporting” to complete your report. Be sure to go to the online licensing system — you can’t report through the MyODFW app.

• Go to an ODFW license agent. They now can take your hunt report.

• Visit on ODFW office.

Hunter reporting statistics are available online at myodfw.com/articles/big-game-hunting-harvest-statistics.