While I totally agree with you, there are some other issues I have seen with "Contacting the operator". Many of the operators won't answer calls from random hunters, and if they do they can be very rude, and even try to talk you out of applying for the CWMU. I have called several just as a survey to see what they would say and I can tell you that lots of them hate talking to potential state hunter. We had one issue come up with the committee where a cow elk hunter tried to get a hold of the operator for 2 months prior to the hunt. He called over 20 times and left at least 5 messages. The hunt finally came and went and he never heard from the operator so he filed a complaint. The operator told the committee in front of about 40 people that he didn't have time to deal with state hunters and that it was annoying for all of them to constantly call him. He was put on probation, but is now back in business. He's one of the many crooked operators that need a swift kick in the junk. But like I said before, there are definitely some good ones out there. Call them up and see how they treat you on the phone. That is at least a good indicator of how you will be treated if you draw.
I called one guy last year and he told me Cougars had killed all the deer on the CWMU and there was nothing left. He said I would be lucky to find a 2pt. If that were true, I think the DWR would need to get involved and shut it down for deer for a few years. I know it was a flat out lie. I know the area and there are plenty of nice bucks.
The guys calling with $8,000 get a much better response than the guys with $40