On Saturday April 1st, the Division of Fish and Wildlife held its first online sale of leftover turkey permits. Permits were sold at 3 Division offices and for the first time, via the new license sales site provided by our contractor, Automated License Systems (ALS).

At 8:45 am, all systems were functioning normally. At 9:00 am, a large number of New Jersey customers immediately began to access ALS' license sales site. A configuration issue with one of ALS' web servers caused it to prematurely reach its capacity for processing transactions. For a period of time, customers routed to this web server by ALS' system were unable to get the DFW's license sales page to load properly.

As this problem became apparent, ALS was forced to route customers to the other web server, which had to suddenly handle all of the sales volume it normally shares. This caused some customers to receive very slow response times and timeout errors. Other customers experienced no problems at all. During this period, some customers, believing their sale had not concluded properly, returned to the site and purchased permits again, resulting in multiple charges to their card. ALS is in the process of proactively contacting these customers to correct the issues and issue refunds if needed. Any "refunded" permits as a result of these adjustments will be returned to the pool of permits available for purchase. ALS has advised the DFW that there are no periods/areas that were previously closed that will reopen as a result of this activity.

By noon on Saturday April 1st, traffic had decreased to a level where there were few reported problems accessing the Internet sales site. Permit sales continued online, 24 hours a day, throughout the weekend and there are currently no reported issues. From 9:00 am to noon on Saturday, over 800 permits were sold via the online site.

Please be assured that the DFW is working closely with ALS to ensure that this type of problem does not occur in the future. Customers are still encouraged to use the online permit sales site, as all problems have been resolved.

Leftover permits will be available online 24 hours a day at https://nj.aspirafocus.com/internetsales for as long as the supply lasts or the season is over. Permits can also be obtained at Pequest, Central Region (Assunpink WMA) and Southern Region (Winslow WMA) Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Leftover permits purchased over the Internet will take seven (7) to ten (10) days to arrive. A shipping and handling charge of $2.06 for the first permit and $.56 for each additional permit will be charged by the vendor handling the automated sales for the Division of Fish and Wildlife. For youth permits, the additional fee will be $1.84 for the first permit and $.34 for each additional permit.

A valid 2006 hunting license number must be provided to purchase a permit via the Internet. You may use Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express or E-Check to pay for your permit(s) purchase.

Persons interested in purchasing an unclaimed permit over the counter must bring their 2006 hunting license and cash or check for $21 (for each adult permit) or $12 (for each youth permit). Hunters need not be present to purchase permits over-the-counter. A person may purchase a permit for another hunter if they have the absent hunter’s valid hunting license. Photocopies of licenses are not acceptable.

Spring Season Hunting Periods:

A. Monday, April 17 – Friday, April 21, 2006
B. Monday, April 24 – Friday, April 28, 2006
C. Monday, May 1 – Friday, May 5, 2006
D. Monday, May 8 – Friday, May 12, 2006
E. Monday, May 15 – Friday, May 19, 2006 and also Monday, May 22 – Friday, May 26, 2006
G. Saturdays: April 22 and 29, May 6, May 13 and May 20, 2006

Youth Turkey Hunting Day is Saturday, April 15, 2006. Youths must have a 2006 Spring Turkey Season hunting permit in order to hunt. This date is considered a one-day early extension of the regular permit that the youth holds.

Over-the-Counter Sales Locations Are:

Pequest Trout Hatchery and Natural Resource Education Center, nine miles west of Hackettstown on Rt. 46 in Oxford, Warren County

Southern Region Office, one mile south of Rt. 73 on Blue Anchor Rd. in Sicklerville, Camden County

Central Region Office (Assunpink WMA), exit 11 off Rt. 195, head north, at second intersection turn right. The office is at the corner of East Branch and Eldridge Rds. Located in Upper Freehold Township, Monmouth County

For more information on over-the-counter turkey permit sales, please check this website or call the 24-hour computerized permit hotline at 609-292-9192.