MARSHALL — A new electronic system for issuing fishing and hunting licenses was supposed to roll out in Minnesota in March. Now, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said the system will launch later in the year.

For now, nothing will change for anglers getting fishing licenses ahead of Minnesota’s fishing opener. But there’s still some unknowns for businesses that sell fishing licenses.

“I hope they’re going to give us some notification when things start to change,” said Jeremy Barck at Borch’s Sporting Goods in Marshall. “We’re almost as much in the dark as anybody.”

Barck said he had heard some negative comments about the idea of the electronic licensing system, or ELS, from customers who would prefer getting a physical license. Some people would likely still want to be able to come into the store and talk with a knowledgeable person, he said.

According to the DNR’s website, the new ELS is still being developed by the DNR, Minnesota IT Services and external vendor PayIT Outdoors. Until the new system is launched, nothing will change for license agents, deputy registrars, anglers, hunters, recreational vehicle and watercraft users as they buy licenses or register motorized vehicles.

After the new ELS is operational, most hunting and fishing licenses will be available in digital and print-at-home formats. Depending on purchase options, individuals can download their license to their smartphone or print it. The new system will also allow users to check their account including lottery preference points.

The DNR also plans to add an online event management system so users can find, enroll in and pay for education and safety training classes, and print safety certificate duplicates.

Under the new system, physical harvest tags on bear, deer, elk, prairie chicken, sturgeon and turkey will not be required, but anglers and hunters still must validate their harvest at the site of the kill as prescribed by the DNR commissioner.

Trail stickers for off-highway vehicles and snowmobiles will no longer be issued. Trail passes will be issued electronically or printed on a sheet of paper, depending on customer preference. Registration tickets still will be provided and must be affixed to vehicles.

The DNR said people can sign up for email updates to stay informed on when the new ELS rolls out. More information, including a link for updates, is available at https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/rlp/els.html.

The Minnesota fishing opener is coming up on May 10. Barck said he couldn’t tell yet whether the number of people getting fishing licenses in the Marshall area would be different from a normal year.

Fishing license numbers spiked during the COVID pandemic when people were looking for outdoor forms of recreation. The number of people getting licenses at Borch’s has since come down from that high, Barck said.