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LAST CHANCE TO HUNT WORLD-CLASS ELK IN PENNSYLVANIA
Raffle chances for once-in-a-lifetime bull-hunting opportunity available online through Friday.
 
It’s too late to enter Saturday’s drawing for one of the 108 Pennsylvania elk licenses to be issued by lottery this year.
But even for those who missed the deadline, there’s still one last chance to take part in the state’s 2014 elk hunt – and do so in style during an extended season.
Hunters have until the end of Friday to go online and purchase chances for a raffle, the lucky winner of which will receive an extended opportunity to hunt bull elk anywhere on Pennsylvania’s elk range, as well as a fully guided hunt to be filmed by a professional crew and, if the hunt is successful, the trophy mounted free of charge.
Chances also will be sold at this weekend’s Pennsylvania Great Outdoors Elk Expo, to be held Saturday and Sunday in Benezette, with sales to close at noon on Sunday. The raffle drawing will take place on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Elk Country Visitor Center.
The winner does not need to attend the drawing to win.
Chances for the Elk Conservation Raffle cost $25 each, or six chances may be purchased for $100, but there is no limit on the number of chances that may be purchased.
And all proceeds from the raffle will be for conservation and education, and for improving elk habitat in Pennsylvania.
The Keystone Elk Country Alliance (KECA), in partnership with the Pennsylvania Game Commission are conducting the raffle, which is authorized by a newly passed state law – House Bill 2169 authored by state Rep. Matt Gabler, R-Clearfield and Elk counties.
The raffle winner may not transfer the elk-hunting opportunity to another party. A Pennsylvania general hunting license, as well as an elk hunting license is needed to participate in the hunt. The license holder also is subject to a background check, and prior game-law violations might prevent the license from being awarded.     
Pennsylvania Elk Conservation Raffle tickets may be purchased online by 11:59 p.m. Friday at KECA’s website; www.ExperienceElkCountry.com, with payment made by credit card via PayPal. In the event of technical difficulties, plans are in place to conduct sales by phone at a number provided at the site.
The conservation license can be used from Sept. 1 to Nov. 8, 2014. The winner of the Pennsylvania Elk Conservation Raffle will be permitted to hunt in all elk management units open to elk hunting.
The lucky winner can enjoy a six-day fully guided hunt donated by Elk County Outfitters. The guided hunt includes meals and lodging and guide service.
A fully donated shoulder mount has been offered by Cessna’s Taxidermy, of DuBois. And, as an added bonus, the hunt will be filmed by the camera crew from TomBob Outdoors, Friends in Wild Places Adventures Series to be aired on national TV. TomBob Outdoors operates out of Ridgway, Pa.
The guide service, taxidermy and film crew are available if the hunter chooses to participate.  There is no obligation to use the guide service, taxidermists or the film crew; it is the hunter’s choice.
The regular drawing for 2014 Pennsylvania elk licenses also is scheduled as part of the Pennsylvania Great Outdoors Elk Expo. The drawing is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m.
Plans are in place to live-stream the drawing to online viewers, with live video available at the Game Commission’s website, www.pgc.state.pa.us.
Of the 108 licenses to be allocated, 27 are for antlered elk, or bulls. In 2013, 86 elk licenses were allocated, 26 of them for bulls.
More information on the elk expo is available at KECA’s website.

THIRD CWD MANAGEMENT AREA ESTABLISHED

Disease was detected at a captive deer facility in Jefferson County.
 

The Pennsylvania Game Commission has established a third Disease Management Area in response to chronic wasting disease being detected recently in Jefferson County.

Disease Management Area 3 (DMA 3) encompasses about 350 square miles in Jefferson and Clearfield counties, and also includes a small sliver of Indiana County.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture announced early in April that chronic wasting disease (CWD) was detected at a domestic deer facility in Jefferson County, and both that facility and another associated with the same CWD-positive deer were placed under quarantine.

The state Department of Agriculture oversees all domestic deer operations in Pennsylvania, while the Game Commission is responsible for managing and protecting free-ranging wildlife and their habitats.

Pennsylvania’s CWD response plan calls for the Game Commission to monitor the prevalence of CWD where it has been detected, and slow the spread of the disease where it exists in the wild. At this time, CWD has not been detected in any free-ranging deer within or near DMA 3.

DMA 3 forms its northern border along Interstate 80. The western and southern boundaries follow state Route 36. And U.S. Routes 219 and 322 form the eastern border.

A map depicting DMA 3 is available on the CWD page of the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s website, www.pgc.state.pa.us .

Special rules regarding the hunting and feeding of deer and other cervids, as well as the possession, transport and importation of cervid parts apply within all DMAs.

Hunters within the DMA cannot remove from the DMA any cervid parts with a high risk of transmitting CWD. The head (including the brain, tonsils, eyes and lymph nodes) and the spinal cord/backbone are among the list of high-risk parts that cannot be removed from the DMA.

The possession and removal of vehicular-killed cervids, or parts there from, is prohibited from areas within the DMA to locations outside the DMA.

The Game Commission may designate approved locations outside DMAs for the receipt of high-risk parts.

Processed meat can be removed from the DMA, as long as the backbone is not present. Finished taxidermy mounts also can be removed from the DMA, as can antlers attached to a skull plate, as long as no visible brain matter or spinal cord material is present.

A complete list of high-risk and non-high-risk cervid parts is provided later in this news release, and appears also on the CWD page of the Game Commission’s website.

Hunters also should know that the use or field possession of any urine-based cervid attractant is prohibited within any DMA.

The direct or indirect feeding of any free-ranging wild cervids also is prohibited within the DMA, as is the rehabilitation and movement of live cervids.

 

Pennsylvania’s Disease Management Areas

As its name indicates, DMA 3 is Pennsylvania’s third Disease Management Area.

DMA 1 encompasses about 600 square miles in York and Adams counties. It was established in 2012 after CWD was detected at a domestic deer facility, and in two years of testing, no positive CWD cases have been confirmed among free-ranging deer within DMA 1.

DMA 2 was expanded in recent weeks following the detection of CWD in two additional free-ranging deer killed in Bedford County in late 2013. A CWD-positive deer killed in Maryland, just south of this DMA, also influenced the expansion of DMA 2.

The expansion of DMA 2 also follows procedures set forth in Pennsylvania’s CWD response plan.

DMA 2 now includes parts of Bedford, Blair, Huntingdon, Cambria and Fulton counties. It encompasses more than 1,600 square miles and stretches south to the Maryland line.

The new DMA 2 boundary extends east to state routes 829 and 915, and Interstate 70.

The boundaries north of the Pennsylvania Turnpike haven’t changed. South of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the western boundary of DMA 2 is state Route 96.

A map of the expanded DMA 2 is available on the CWD page of the Game Commission’s website. A map of the expanded DMA 2 also will be included in the 2014-15 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest issued to hunters at the time they buy their licenses. The digest, however, will not include a DMA 3 map because the DMA was established after the print deadline for the digest.

Hunters and Pennsylvania residents who want to make sure they’re getting the most up-to-date information about CWD in Pennsylvania, existing DMAs and other rules can check the CWD page at the Game Commission’s website.

 

CWD Information

          While chronic wasting disease is relatively new to Pennsylvania, it is not a new disease. CWD was discovered in 1967, and it has spread to 22 states and two Canadian provinces. Scientists believe CWD is caused by an agent capable of transforming normal brain proteins into an abnormal form.
          CWD affects members of the cervid, or deer family. It is spread from animal to animal by direct and indirect contact.
          There currently is no practical way to test live animals for CWD, nor is there an approved vaccine to prevent infection. CWD is a slow-progressing disease and clinical signs do not develop until later stages of disease, often two years or more after infection. Clinical signs include poor posture, lowered head and ears, uncoordinated movement, rough-hair coat, weight loss, increased thirst, excessive drooling, and, ultimately death. Any animals suspected of having CWD should be reported to the Game Commission.
          There currently is no scientific evidence that CWD has or can spread to humans, either through contact with infected animals or by eating the meat of infected animals. As a precaution, however, people are advised not to consume meat from animals that test positive for CWD.
During 2013, the Game Commission collected and tested samples from 5,120 deer statewide. Only the two from Bedford County tested positive for CWD.  Since 1998, the Game Commission has gathered and submitted more than 48,000 samples from wild deer and elk for CWD testing. A total of five free-ranging deer have tested positive – all of them within DMA 2.

 

High-risk parts

Cervid parts with a high risk of transmitting chronic wasting disease (CWD) cannot be removed from any disease management area.

Those parts include:

 

·         Head (including brain, tonsils, eyes and lymph nodes);

·         Spinal Cord/Backbone (vertebra);

·         Spleen;

·         Skull plate with attached antlers, if visible brain or spinal cord material is present;

·         Cape, if visible brain or spinal cord material is present;

·         Upper canine teeth, if root structure or other soft material is present;

·         Any object or article containing visible brain or spinal cord material;

·         Brain-tanned hide.

 

Non-high-risk parts

 

The following parts are not considered to have a high risk of transmitting CWD, and can be removed from a DMA:

 

·         Meat, without the backbone

·         Skull plate with attached antlers, if no visible brain or spinal cord material is present;

·         Tanned hide or rawhide with no visible brain or spinal cord material present;

·         Cape, if no visible brain or spinal cord material is present;

·         Upper canine teeth, if no root structure or other soft material is present; and

·         Taxidermy mounts, if no visible brain or spinal cord material is present.

 

MONTANA PHEASANTS RELEASED INTO PENNSYLVANIA

With Franklin County release, all of state’s Wild Pheasant Recovery Areas now have received birds.

 

Pheasants aren’t known to fly long distances.

But 58 Montana ringnecks recently took flight to Pennsylvania, albeit by airplane, and were among the first wild pheasants ever released into what is known as the Franklin County Wild Pheasant Recovery Area.

Four Pennsylvania-born pheasant roosters, which were trapped in and transferred from the Central Susquehanna Wild Pheasant Recovery Area, were released alongside the Montana birds to provide for a balanced sex ratio of the birds released.

Prior to Sunday’s release, it had been three years since Pennsylvania had placed wild pheasants into any of the state’s Wild Pheasant Recovery Areas, which aim to restore to the state self-sustaining populations of wild ring-necked pheasants that eventually can be hunted.

States like South Dakota, which initially provided wild ringnecks to Pennsylvania as part of the restoration program, have been reluctant to part with their own wild stock because of overall declines in their wild pheasant populations.

Until recently, it looked as if 2014 would mark another year in which the trend would continue.

However, the Pennsylvania Game Commission in late January received permission from a Native American tribe in Montana to trap and transport wild pheasants as part of the program.

In addition to the 58 Montana pheasants that have been released, about 10 more Montana pheasants have been trapped and are slated to be shipped to Pennsylvania and released within the Franklin County WPRA in the coming days.

Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director R. Matthew Hough acknowledged the difficulty in recent years of securing wild pheasants from other states for release into Pennsylvania’s WPRAs. He thanked those involved in this year’s wild-pheasant stocking for their dedication and cooperation in the effort.

“Organizations like Pheasants Forever deserve much thanks, as does the Crow Indian Reservation, the trapping crew that traveled to Montana to secure the birds, and Game Commission staff and our Board of Game Commissioners for their resolve to locate wild pheasants that could be brought here for release,” Hough said. “With the release into the Franklin County WPRA, all four of Pennsylvania’s WPRAs now have received wild birds at least once. Hopefully these Montana birds will find their new home to their liking.”

The Franklin County WPRA was established in 2011, and was initially slated to receive wild pheasants in early 2012. The WPRA is located in the southwestern part of Franklin County and centers roughly on the borough of Mercersburg. U.S. Route 30 forms the WPRA’s northern border, and the WPRA runs south to the Mason-Dixon Line.

The Franklin County WPRA is among four that have been established in Pennsylvania. Pheasants previously have been released into the Central Susquehanna WPRA, which is located in parts of Northumberland, Montour, Columbia and Lycoming counties; the Somerset WPRA in Somerset County; and the Hegins-Gratz Valley WPRA in Schuylkill and Dauphin counties.

Only trapped-and-transferred wild pheasants are introduced into a WPRA, given their heightened chances for survival in the wild, compared to propagated birds.

There is no open season for taking pheasants in any Wild Pheasant Recovery Area, and releases of propagated pheasants also are prohibited there. Training dogs and hunting small game other than woodchucks, waterfowl and crows are prohibited within a WPRA from the first Sunday in February to July 31.

The Game Commission seeks the public’s help in making WPRAs more successful. Pheasant success within any WPRA relies on the availability of adequate nesting and wintering habitat, and privately held land accounts for most of the acreage within the WPRAs. Those who are interested in creating or enhancing pheasant habitat on land they own can contact the Game Commission’s WPRA biologist Colleen DeLong at 570-380-0833, or contact their local Pheasants Forever chapter.

The public also can help to monitor the success of WPRAs by calling the Game Commission if they see pheasants – especially hens or chicks – within a WPRA, or calling the phone number on leg bands of any dead pheasants they might find within a WPRA.

People also are asked to leave pheasant nests within WPRAs undisturbed and to avoid mowing grassy or brushy habitat there.

For more information on WPRAS, visit the Game Commission’s website, www.pgc.state.pa.us, and select, “Hunting under the “Hunt/Trap” tab, then select “Pheasant” under the “Small Game” header. Maps and other information on Wild Pheasant Recovery Areas are available.

2014-15 HUNTING/TRAPPING SEASONS RECEIVE PRELIMINARY APPROVAL

Many seasons will start later in coming license year.

 The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners today gave preliminary approval to hunting and trapping seasons and bag limits for 2014-15 license year.

Hunters and trappers – particularly those setting vacations for this fall and winter – are advised that, once again, several seasons in the 2014-15 license year will open or run about a week later than they do in many years to accommodate calendar swings related to the timing of Thanksgiving.

Other modifications proposed for the 2014-15 seasons include: changes to fall turkey seasons in several Wildlife Management Units; new extended bear hunting opportunities in WMUs 2C and 4B; an expansion of the fisher trapping season to WMUs 1B, 3B and 3C; and increased possession limits for small game.

The public may offer comments on all proposed 2014-15 seasons and bag limits, as well as other board actions, between now and the board’s next meeting, April 7 and 8, at which time the board is scheduled to finalize seasons and bag limits for 2014-15.

Also, the board will receive staff recommendations for antlerless deer license allocations for the 23 WMUs at its April meeting. Deer harvest estimates for the 2013-14 seasons will be available in mid-March.

Following are several articles on meeting highlights.

 

SPLIT FIREARMS DEER SEASONS UP FOR APRIL APPROVAL

 

The Board of Game Commissioners adopted a slate of deer seasons for 2014-15 that retains the split, five-day antlered deer season (Dec. 1-5) and seven-day concurrent season (Dec. 6-13) in 12 Wildlife Management Units. The list includes (WMUs) 2A, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G, 2H, 3B, 3C, 4B, 4D and 4E. The package also retains the two-week (Dec. 1-13) concurrent, antlered and antlerless deer season in WMUs 1A, 1B, 2B, 3A, 3D, 4A, 4C, 5A, 5B, 5C and 5D.

Hunters with Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) antlerless deer permits may use the permits on the lands for which they were issued during any established deer season, and will continue to be permitted to harvest antlerless deer from Dec. 1-13 in WMUs 2A, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G, 2H, 3B, 3C, 4B, 4D and 4E. Fees for DMAP permits are $10.70 for residents and $35.70 for nonresidents.

DMAP permits also may be transferred to Mentored Hunting Program participants.

The board retained antler restrictions in place for adult and senior license holders since the 2011-12 seasons. It remains the “three-up” on one side, not counting a brow tine, provision for the western Wildlife Management Units of 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B and 2D, and the three points on one side in all other WMUs. Those exempt from these antler restrictions are junior license holders, disabled hunters with a permit to use a vehicle as a blind and resident active duty military on leave.

 

BOARD PROPOSES EXPANDED BEAR SEASONS

 

The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners today proposed opening up extended bear hunting opportunities to two additional WMUs in 2014.

WMUs 2C and 4B each would be open to bear hunting for four days in deer season, beginning the first Wednesday of the 2014 statewide general deer season Dec. 3.

Game Commission staff had recommended the additions based on increases in the bear populations within those WMUs.

WMU 2C has had a slightly increasing bear population trend. Highway mortalities of bears have been slowly increasing in the area, and there’s been a noticeable increase in human-bear conflicts there.

WMU 4B also has had an increasing trend of human-bear conflicts, and several incidents in recent years involving home entry or injury to pets and people. Highway mortality of bears also has increased there, as has the bear harvest, which has increased by about 20 percent annually since 2003.

The Board retained expanded bear seasons in the state’s most urban Wildlife Management Units – WMUs 2B, 5B, 5C and 5D – and will continue to allow the harvest of black bears with a bear license during all deer seasons from September through early December in these WMUs.

The extended bear season dates for 2014 are:

- Sept. 20-Nov. 15 in WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D, for archery only;

- Oct. 4-Nov. 15 in WMU 5B, for archery only;

- Oct. 18-25 in WMUs 2B, 5B, 5C and 5D, for muzzleloaders only;

- Oct. 23-25 and Dec. 1-13 in WMUs 2B, 5B, 5C and 5D, using any legal sporting arm for juniors and seniors, disabled person permit holders to use a vehicle as a blind and resident active duty in armed services.

The statewide five-day archery bear season opens Nov. 17 and runs through Nov. 21. The four-day statewide bear season is slated to open on Saturday, Nov. 22, and then continues on Monday and runs through Wednesday, Nov. 24-26.

Extended bear seasons have been proposed as follows:

- Dec. 3-6 in WMUs 2C, 4B, 4C, 4D and 4E; and

- Dec. 1-6 in WMUs 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D.

- Dec. 1-13 in WMUs 2B, 5B, 5C and 5D.

 

FALL TURKEY SEASONS CHANGES MOVED FORWARD

 

The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners today gave preliminary approval to fall turkey seasons for 2014 and spring gobbler dates for 2015.

Decreasing populations in WMUs 3A, 3B and 3C prompted the preliminary adoption of a two-week fall turkey season in those WMUs. Previously, there had been a three-week season there.

The three-day Thanksgiving season segment would continue in WMUs 3A, 3B and 3C despite the one-week decrease in the earlier segment.

Also, 2014 marks the final year of the hen harvest rate and survival rate study. So those WMUs in the study area will continue with the season lengths implemented last year.

And the board also proposed retaining a three-day fall turkey season in WMU 5A, but shifting it from midweek to a Thursday-through-Saturday framework.

The fall season dates for 2014: WMU 1B, Nov. 1-8 and Nov. 27-29; WMU 2B (shotgun and bow only), Nov. 1-21, and Nov. 27-29; WMUs 1A, 2A, 2D, 2F, 2G, 2H, 3A, 3B and 3C, Nov. 1-15, and Nov. 27-29; WMUs 2C, 2E, 3D, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D and 4E, Nov. 1-21, and Nov. 27-29; and WMU 5A, Nov. 6-8. WMUs 5B, 5C and 5D will remain closed for the fall seasons.

For the 2015 spring gobbler season, which is proposed to run from May 2-30, the board continued the change in legal hunting hours to reflect the following: from May 2-16, legal shooting hours will be one-half hour before sunrise until noon timeframe; and from May 18-30, hunters may hunt all day, from one-half hour before sunrise until one-half hour after sunset.

The board proposed holding the one-day Spring Gobbler Youth Hunt on April 25, 2015, which will run from one-half hour before sunrise until noon. All junior license holders and Mentored Youth Hunting Program permit holders can participate in this special one-day hunt, as well as the other spring season dates.

 

PROPOSED 2014-15 HUNTING SEASONS AND BAG LIMITS

 

SQUIRRELS, Red, Gray, Black and Fox (Combined): Special season for eligible junior hunters, with or without required license, and mentored youth – Oct. 11-17 (6 daily, 18 in possession limit after first day).

 

SQUIRRELS, Red, Gray, Black and Fox (Combined): Oct. 18-Nov. 29; Dec. 15-24 and Dec. 26-Feb. 21 (6 daily, 18 possession).

 

RUFFED GROUSE: Oct. 18–Nov. 29, Dec. 15-24 and Dec. 26-Jan. 24 (2 daily, 6 possession).

 

RABBIT (Cottontail) Special season for eligible junior hunters, with or without required license: Oct. 11-18 (4 daily, 12 possession).

 

RABBIT (Cottontail): Oct. 25-Nov. 29, Dec. 15-24 and Dec. 26-Feb. 21 (4 daily, 12 possession).

 

PHEASANT: Special season for eligible junior hunters, with or without required license – Oct. 11-18 (2 daily, 6 in possession). Male pheasants only in WMUs 2A, 2C, 4C, 4E, 5A and 5B. Male and female pheasants may be taken in all other WMUs. There is no open season for the taking of pheasants in any Wild Pheasant Recovery Areas in any WMU.

 

PHEASANT: Male only in WMUs 2A, 2C, 4C, 4E, 5A and 5B. Male and female may be taken in all other WMUs – – Oct. 25-Nov. 29, Dec. 15-24 and Dec. 26-Feb. 21 (2 daily, 6 in possession). There is no open season for the taking of pheasants in any Wild Pheasant Recovery Areas in any WMU.

 

BOBWHITE QUAIL: Oct. 25-Nov. 29 (4 daily, 12 possession). (Closed in WMUs 4A, 4B, 5A, 5B, 5C and 5D.)

 

HARES (SNOWSHOE RABBITS) OR VARYING HARES: Dec. 26–Jan. 1, in all WMUs except WMUs 3B, 3C and 3D, where season will run from Dec. 26-29 (1 daily, 3 possession).

 

WOODCHUCKS (GROUNDHOGS): No closed season, except on Sundays and during the regular firearms deer seasons. No limit.

 

PORCUPINES: Sept. 1-March 31, except during overlap with the regular firearms deer season. Daily limit of three, season limit of 10.

 

CROWS: July 4-April 5, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday only. No limit.

 

STARLINGS AND ENGLISH SPARROWS: No closed season, except during the antlered and antlerless deer season. No limit.

 

WILD TURKEY (Male or Female): WMU 1B – Nov. 1-8 and Nov. 27-29; WMU 2B (Shotgun and bow and arrow) – Nov. 1-21 and Nov. 27-29; WMUs 1A, 2A, 2D, 2F, 2G, 2H, 3A, 3B and 3C – Nov. 1-15 and Nov. 27-29; WMUs 2C, 2E, 3D, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D and 4E – Nov. 1-21 and Nov. 27-29; WMU 5A – Nov. 6-8; WMUs 5B, 5C and 5D – CLOSED TO FALL TURKEY HUNTING.

 

SPRING GOBBLER (Bearded bird only): Special season for eligible junior hunters, with required license, and mentored youth – April 25, 2015. Only 1 spring gobbler may be taken during this hunt.

 

SPRING GOBBLER (Bearded bird only): May 2-30, 2015. Daily limit 1, season limit 2. (Second spring gobbler may be only taken by persons who possess a valid special wild turkey license.) From May 2-16, legal hunting hours are one-half hour before sunrise until noon; from May 18-30, legal hunting hours are one-half hour before sunrise until one-half hour after sunset.

 

BLACK BEAR (Statewide) Archery: Nov. 17-21. Only 1 bear may be taken during the license year.

 

BLACK BEAR (Statewide): Nov. 22-26. Only 1 bear may be taken during the license year.

 

BLACK BEAR (WMUs 2C, 4B, 4C, 4D and 4E): Dec. 3-6. Only 1 bear may be taken during the license year.

 

BLACK BEAR (WMUs 2B, 5B, 5C and 5D): Dec. 1-13. Only 1 bear may be taken during the license year.

 

BLACK BEAR (WMUs 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D): Dec. 1-6. Only 1 bear may be taken during the license year.

 

BLACK BEAR (WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D) archery: Sept. 20-Nov. 15. Only 1 bear may be taken during the license year.

 

BLACK BEAR (WMU 5B) archery: Oct. 4-Nov. 15. Only 1 bear may be taken during the license year.

 

BLACK BEAR (WMUs 2B, 5B, 5C and 5D) muzzleloader: Oct. 18-25. Only 1 bear may be taken during the license year.

 

BLACK BEAR (WMUs 2B, 5B, 5C and 5D) special firearms: Oct. 23-25, for junior and senior license holders, disabled hunters with a permit to use a vehicle as a blind and resident active duty military.

 

ELK (Antlered or Antlerless): Nov. 3-8. Only one elk may be taken during the license year.

 

ELK, EXTENDED (Antlered and Antlerless): Nov. 10-15. Only one elk may be taken during the license year. Eligible elk license recipients who haven’t harvested an elk by Nov. 8, in designated areas.

 

DEER, ARCHERY (Antlerless Only) WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D: Sept. 20-Oct. 3, and Nov. 17-29. One antlerless deer with each required antlerless license.

 

DEER, ARCHERY (Antlered and Antlerless) WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D: Jan. 12-24. One antlered deer per hunting license year. One antlerless deer with each required antlerless license.

 

DEER, ARCHERY (Antlered and Antlerless) Statewide: Oct. 4-Nov. 15 and Dec. 26-Jan. 10. One antlered deer per hunting license year. One antlerless deer with each required antlerless license.

 

DEER (Antlered and Antlerless) WMUs 1A, 1B, 2B, 3A, 3D, 4A, 4C, 5A, 5B, 5C and 5D: Dec. 1-13. One antlered deer per hunting license year. An antlerless deer with each required antlerless license.

 

DEER (Antlered Only) WMUs 2A, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G, 2H, 3B, 3C, 4B, 4D and 4E: Dec. 1-5. One antlered deer per hunting license year. (Holders of valid DMAP antlerless deer permits may harvest antlerless deer on DMAP properties during this period.)

 

DEER (Antlered and Antlerless) WMUs 2A, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G, 2H, 3B, 3C, 4B, 4D and 4E: Dec. 6-13. One antlered deer per hunting license year. An antlerless deer with each required antlerless license.

 

DEER, ANTLERLESS (Statewide): Oct. 23-25. Junior and Senior License Holders, Disabled Person Permit (to use a vehicle) Holders, and Pennsylvania residents serving on active duty in

U.S. Armed Services or in the U.S. Coast Guard only, with required antlerless license. Also included are persons who have reached or will reach their 65th birthday in the year of the application for a license and hold a valid adult license, or qualify for license and fee exemptions under section 2706. One antlerless deer with each required antlerless license.

 

DEER, ANTLERLESS MUZZLELOADER (Statewide): Oct. 18-25. An antlerless deer with each required antlerless license.

 

DEER, ANTLERED OR ANTLERLESS FLINTLOCK (Statewide): Dec. 26-Jan. 10. One antlered deer per hunting license year, or one antlerless deer and an additional antlerless deer with each required antlerless license.

 

DEER, ANTLERED OR ANTLERLESS FLINTLOCK (WMUs 2B, 5C, 5D): Dec. 26-Jan. 24. One antlered deer per hunting license year, or one antlerless deer and an additional antlerless deer with each required antlerless license.

 

DEER, ANTLERLESS EXTENDED REGULAR FIREARMS: (Allegheny, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties): Dec. 26-Jan. 24. An antlerless deer with each required antlerless license.

 

DEER, ANTLERLESS (Military Bases): Hunting permitted on days established by the U.S. Department of the Army at Letterkenny Army Depot, Franklin County; New Cumberland Army Depot, York County; and Fort Detrick, Raven Rock Site, Adams County. An antlerless deer with each required antlerless license.

 

 

PROPOSED 2014-15 FURBEARER HUNTING SEASONS

 

COYOTES: No closed season. Unlimited. Outside of any big game season (deer, bear, elk and turkey), coyotes may be taken with a hunting license or a furtaker license, and without wearing orange. During any big game season, coyotes may be taken while lawfully hunting big game or with a furtaker license.

 

RACCOONS and FOXES: Oct. 25–Feb. 21, unlimited.

 

OPOSSUM, STRIPED SKUNKS and WEASELS: No closed season, except Sundays. No limits.

 

BOBCAT (WMUs 2A, 2C, 2E, 2F, 2G, 2H, 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 4A, 4C, 4D and 4E): Jan. 20-Feb. 10. One bobcat per license year, but all licensed furtakers may obtain one permit.

 

 

PROPOSED 2014-15 TRAPPING SEASONS

 

MINKS and MUSKRATS: Nov. 22–Jan. 11. Unlimited.

 

COYOTES, FOXES, OPOSSUMS, RACCOONS, STRIPED SKUNKS and WEASELS: Oct. 26–Feb. 22. No limit.

 

COYOTES and FOXES (Statewide) Cable Restraints: Dec. 26-Feb. 22. No limit. Participants must pass cable restraint certification course.

 

BEAVERS (Statewide): Dec. 26–March 31 (Limits vary depending on WMU).

 

BOBCATS (WMUs 2A, 2C, 2E, 2F, 2G, 2H, 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 4A, 4C, 4D and 4E): Dec. 20-Jan. 11.

One bobcat per license year, and all licensed furtakers may obtain one permit.

 

FISHERS (WMUs 1B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G, 2H, 3A, 3B, 3D, 4D and 4E): Dec. 20-25. One fisher per license year, and all licensed furtakers may obtain one permit.

 

 

PROPOSED 2014-15 FALCONRY SEASONS

 

SQUIRRELS (combined), BOBWHITE QUAIL, RUFFED GROUSE, COTTONTAIL RABBITS,

 

SNOWSHOE OR VARYING HARES, RINGNECK PHEASANTS (Male or Female combined): Sept. 1-March 31. Daily and Field Possession limits vary. (Migratory game bird seasons and bag limits for falconers will be set in accordance with federal regulations in August.)

 

No open season on other wild birds or mammals.

Waterfowl and Migratory Game Bird seasons to be established in accordance with federal regulations this summer.

 

BIG BEARS, BIG HARVEST

Fifty-eight bears topping 500 pounds part of fifth-largest harvest in Pennsylvania history.

Pennsylvania hunters harvested a total of 3,510 bears in 2013, the fifth-highest tally in state history, the Pennsylvania Game Commission reported today.

The final total continues a trend of recent bear seasons taking their place in the record books. With harvest totals for 2013 now official, three of the five highest harvests have occurred in the past three years.

The all-time high was recorded in 2011, when 4,350 bears were harvested. In 2012, Pennsylvania hunters harvested 3,632 bears – the third-largest harvest in state history.

What might place 2013 in a class of its own is the number of large bears taken. Hunters in 2013 harvested 58 bears that weighed 500 pounds or more, and nine of those bears weighed 600 pounds or more.

While 2012 saw a higher number of bears harvested statewide compared to 2013, fewer large bears were taken. Forty-five of the bears in the 2012 harvest weighed 500 pounds or more, with five of them weighing 600 pounds or more.

“Seeing large bears in the harvest speaks well to the health of our bear population, but it also shows the opportunity that exists to harvest a truly, trophy-sized animal,” said Mark Ternent, the Game Commission’s bear biologist.

The harvest’s heaviest bear, taken in Lackawanna County on Nov. 25 by Daniel J. Beavers, of Covington Township, Lackawanna County, weighed an estimated 772 pounds.

The second- and third-heaviest bears of 2013 were taken later in the season. Nicholas Corridoni, of Duryea, turned the extended bear season in Luzerne County into a successful one by taking a bear estimated at 656 pounds during a Dec. 5 hunt in Pittston Township. And Derek A. Long, of Yukon, harvested a bear estimated at 640 pounds during the final day of the general season while hunting in Covington Township, Clearfield County.

One bear on the 2013 top 10 list – a male with an actual live weight of 598 pounds – was taken in the statewide bear archery season. Randall E. Tressler, of McVeytown, took the bear Nov. 20 with a crossbow in Wayne Township, Mifflin County.

Overall, 197 bears were taken during the statewide archery season in 2013.

The remaining bears on the top 10 list all were taken in the four-day general season, which had a total harvest of 2,521 bears. They include: an estimated 632-pounder taken Nov. 23 in East Providence Township, Bedford County, by Michael L. Truax, of Everett; an estimated 628-pound bear taken Nov. 27 in Texas Township, Wayne County, by Matthew F. Doherty, of Honesdale; an estimated 627-pound bear taken Nov. 23 in Bloss Township, Tioga County, by Wayne A. Gehers, of Mohnton; an estimated 616-pounder taken Nov. 23 in Union Township, Tioga County, by Bradley S. Rohrer, of Lancaster; an estimated 601-pound bear taken Nov. 25 in Shrewsbury Township, Sullivan County, by Jeffrey C. Kratz, of Collegeville; and an estimated 597-pound bear taken Nov. 23 in Greene Township, Pike County, by Jenna L. Schoenagel, of Greentown.

Extended bear seasons played a significant role in the overall harvest in 2013. Statewide, 780 bears were taken during extended seasons, which are open in select wildlife-management units. The total represents an increase compared to the 672 bears harvested during extended seasons in 2012.

Tioga County claimed the highest harvest in extended seasons, with 100 bears taken after the close of the general statewide bear season. Other top counties, and their harvest totals during the extended seasons, were: Wayne, 66; Bradford, 65; Pike, 60; and Potter, 54.

Bears were harvested in 53 of the state’s 67 counties. And unlike many years, when the top counties for bear harvests come exclusively from the Northeast and Northcentral regions, the Northwest Region also is represented on the top five counties list in 2013. Meanwhile, one of the usual leaders, Clinton County, dropped from the list. Among counties leading the bear harvest were: Tioga, 286 (227 in 2012); Lycoming, 234 (341); Potter, 196 (179); Pike, 150 (108); and Warren, 148 (94).

Ternent said changes in the top five counties list this year have their explanations. Acorns are a highly sought-after food by bears in the fall. And in years like 2013 when acorns are scarce, northcentral counties like Clinton, which are made up mostly of oak forest, tend to see harvest decline. Meanwhile, counties farther north, like Tioga and Potter, increase their harvests because beech and cherry are more common.

A shifting of the harvest is not permanent though, Ternent said, and hunting prospects in Clinton County should be exceptional next year.

Likewise, Ternent said, the gains seen in places like Warren County reflect expansion of the state’s bear population into an area that once was considered on the fringe of the statewide range. The expansion has been followed by growth in the region’s bear population, and correspondingly, increasing harvests, he said.

Final county harvests by region (with 2012 figures in parentheses) are:

Northwest (466): Warren, 148 (94); Jefferson, 70 (51); Venango, 70 (62); Clarion, 59 (77); Forest, 50 (56); Crawford, 36 (6); Butler, 24 (11); Erie, 6 (7); and Mercer, 3 (1).

Southwest (335): Somerset, 106 (94); Fayette, 67 (79); Indiana, 49 (24); Armstrong, 43 (35); Westmoreland, 41 (37); Cambria, 26 (11); and Allegheny, 3 (4).

Northcentral (1,430): Tioga, 286 (227); Lycoming, 234 (341); Potter 196 (179); Clinton, 133 (265); Clearfield, 125 (102); Cameron, 108 (67); McKean, 108 (134); Elk, 103 (76); Centre, 96 (143); and Union, 41 (82).

Southcentral (273): Huntingdon, 67 (125); Bedford, 55 (86); Mifflin, 31 (62); Blair, 29 (50); Juniata, 28 (37); Fulton, 19 (25); Snyder, 18 (14); Perry, 16 (32); Franklin, 9 (14); Cumberland, 1(2); and Adams, 0 (2).

Northeast (919): Pike, 150 (108); Wayne, 127 (73); Sullivan, 105 (60); Luzerne, 98 (100); Bradford, 96 (86); Monroe, 79 (102); Wyoming, 66 (57); Carbon, 57 (67); Susquehanna, 55 (41); Lackawanna, 48 (37); Columbia, 24 (36); Northumberland, 14 (26); and Montour, 0 (3).

Southeast (87): Schuylkill, 35 (39); Dauphin, 23 (48); Northampton, 18 (21); Lebanon, 7 (4);

Berks, 4 (7); and Lehigh 0 (3).

The final bear harvests by Wildlife Management Unit (with final 2012 figures in parentheses) were: WMU 1A, 16 (4); WMU 1B, 94 (38); WMU 2B, 4 (6); WMU 2C, 247 (268); WMU 2D, 171 (162); WMU 2E, 93 (50); WMU 2F, 309 (285); WMU 2G, 575 (829); WMU 2H, 87 (0); WMU 3A, 362 (342); WMU 3B, 364 (279); WMU 3C, 195 (146); WMU 3D, 393 (305); WMU 4A, 80 (139); WMU 4B, 67 (84); WMU 4C, 93 (163); WMU 4D, 275 (403); WMU 4E, 68 (110); WMU 5A, 0 (1); WMU 5B, 1 (2); and WMU 5C, 16 (16).

Numbers at the WMU level might be a bit misleading because of the creation of WMU 2H, which previously was part of WMU 2G.

In any case, Pennsylvania’s 2013 bear harvest ranks as one of the largest on record.

“The totals provide further proof that there’s never been a better time to hunt bears in Pennsylvania,” Ternent said.

Other recent bear harvests include: 3,090 in 2010; 3,512 in 2009; 3,458 in 2008; 2,360 in 2007; 3,124 in 2006; 4,162 in 2005; 2,976 in 2004; 3,004 in 2003; 2,686 in 2002; 3,063 in 2001; 3,075 in 2000; and 1,741 in 1999.

CHOLERA CANCELS SOME PHEASANT RELEASES
Quarantined birds will not be released.

 

The 2,400 pheasants placed under quarantine following detection of avian cholera at a Pennsylvania game farm will not be released for late-season hunting.

Arrangements are being made to humanely depopulate and dispose of the affected flock at the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Loyalsock Game Farm.

Avian cholera is an infectious bacterial disease affecting domestic and wild birds, and is the most significant infectious disease of wild waterfowl in North America.

As noted in the Wildlife Disease Reference Library available at the Game Commission’s website, an avian cholera outbreak in Pennsylvania’s wild bird populations has never been documented. Avian cholera is diagnosed annually at about a dozen poultry and game-bird production facilities in the commonwealth, but this is the first occurrence at a Game Commission game farm in nearly a decade.

The strain diagnosed at Loyalsock Game Farm last week is considered by veterinarians to be a mild strain with relatively low levels of daily mortality. Following detection, Game Commission staff consulted animal and wildlife health experts at Penn State and elsewhere, who advised treating the infected flock with antibiotics prior to a subsequent release.     

The antibiotic treatments have proven effective and daily mortality of birds has decreased to baseline levels in the flock, but given the risk that some surviving birds could remain carriers of the bacteria causing the disease, the Pennsylvania Game Commission has reconsidered its earlier decision and chosen to abandon plans to release the pheasants.

Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe said the decision was not made lightly.

The commission raises pheasants for the sole purpose of releasing them, and providing a valued small-game hunting opportunity for hunters, Roe said.

Propagation is a significant investment, funded in large part by revenues from the sale of hunting and furtaker licenses, he said. And it’s frustrating when that end product can’t be given back to hunters, he said.

“In this case, however, we felt we had to cut our losses and minimize the risk to wildlife populations,” Roe said.

Roe said even the slight chance a released bird could continue to carry the disease is a risk Game Commission staff currently is unwilling to take.

The quarantined flock will be euthanized using carbon-dioxide chambers and disposed of by deep burial on the farm.

“As always, we will be taking the appropriate biosecurity steps to ensure a clean facility,” he said.

Rodents and mammalian predators are suspected bacterium sources in this outbreak and we will be reviewing and upgrading our disease vector control protocols, as well as our other biosecurity protocols and standards. 

Located northeast of Williamsport, the Loyalsock Game Farm provides pheasants for release in Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) open to either-sex pheasant hunting. The 2,400 birds placed under quarantine had been slated for release Dec. 20 in Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Chester, Clearfield, Cumberland, Franklin, Lehigh, Monroe and Montgomery counties.

Even without those pheasants, the Game Commission has surpassed its goal of releasing 200,000 pheasants statewide this year. About 218,000 birds have been released this year.

Late-season pheasant hunting opened statewide Dec. 16. Only males may be harvested in some WMUs, while other WMUs are open to hunting of male or female pheasants. For local regulations, consult the 2013-14 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest.

Pheasant season is closed Christmas Day, but otherwise runs until Feb. 22.

For more information on wildlife diseases, visit the Wildlife Disease Reference Library at the Game Commission’s website, www.pgc.state.pa.us.

 

PRELIMINARY THREE-DAY BEAR HARVEST RESULTS

Hunters check 264 bears in sloppy conditions; 600-pounder added to top 10 list.

 

Despite nasty weather throughout much of the state, Pennsylvania bear hunters added to statewide harvest totals on Tuesday, the third day of the statewide bear season, the Pennsylvania Game Commission announced today.

An additional 264 bears were checked on Tuesday, based on preliminary numbers, bringing the harvest during the statewide season to 2,308.

That number could nudge further upward considering inclement weather left a handful of check stations unable to transmit data from bears checked Tuesday.

Archery and other early bear season harvest data still is being entered into the Game Commission’s database, and is not available at this time.

Bears have been harvested in 51 counties during the statewide season so far.

The top 10 bears processed at check stations by Monday were either estimated or confirmed to have live weights of 557 pounds or more. The largest bear checked Tuesday weighed an estimated 601 pounds.

The largest bear overall – a male estimated at 772 pounds – was taken in Covington Township, Lackawanna County by Daniel J. Beavers, of Covington Township.

Other large bears include: a 632-pound male taken by Michael L. Truax, of Everett, Pa. in East Providence Township, Bedford County; a 627-pound male taken by Wayne A. Gehers, of Mohnton, Pa., in Tioga County’s Bloss Township; a 616-pounder taken by Bradley S. Rohrer of Lancaster, Pa., in Tioga County’s Union Township; a 601-pound male taken by Jeffrey C. Kratz, of Collegeville, Pa., in Shrewsbury Township, Sullivan County; a 597-pounder taken by Jenna L. Schoenagel of Greentown, Pa., in Pike County’s Greene Township; a 595-pounder taken by Maurice C. Younker of Mercersburg, Pa., in Fulton County’s Thompson Township; a 586-pounder taken by Jalynn N. Macnelley of Laceyville, Pa., in Bradford County’s Wilmot Township; a 560-pounder taken by Ernest W. Lucrezi of Beachlake, Pa., in Wayne County’s Berlin Township; and a 557-pounder taken by Ronald P. Fitzgerald of Forksville, Pa., in Sullivan County’s Elkland Township. 

This year’s three-day preliminary harvest compares with 2,442 in 2012, when hunters harvested 3,632 bears – the third-largest harvest in state history. The largest harvest – 4,350 bears – happened in 2011, when preliminary three-day totals numbered 3,023.

The preliminary three-day bear harvest by Wildlife Management Unit was as follows: WMU 1A, 15; WMU 1B, 79; WMU 2C, 218; WMU 2D, 143; WMU 2E, 76; WMU 2F, 269; WMU 2G, 490; WMU 2H, 72; WMU 3A, 155; WMU 3B, 161; WMU 3C, 59; WMU 3D, 193; WMU 4A, 71; WMU 4B, 55; WMU 4C, 54; WMU 4D, 176; and WMU 4E, 22.

The top bear harvest county in the state on the first two days of season was Tioga, with 163.

Two- day harvests by county and region are:

              Northwest: Warren, 130; Jefferson, 63; Venango, 60; Clarion, 46; Forest, 44; Crawford, 31; Butler, 24; and Erie, 4.

Southwest: Somerset, 97; Fayette, 63; Indiana, 38; Armstrong, 35; Westmoreland, 30; and Cambria, 22.

Northcentral: Tioga, 163; Lycoming, 155; Potter, 118; Clearfield, 107; Clinton, 101; Cameron, 96; Elk, 87; Centre, 72; McKean, 64; and Union, 23.

Southcentral: Bedford, 50; Huntingdon, 46; Mifflin, 23; Blair, 22; Juniata, 22; Fulton, 17; Perry, 12; Snyder, 11; and Franklin, 8.

Northeast: Pike, 82; Wayne, 52; Sullivan, 47; Luzerne, 46; Carbon, 31; Monroe, 30; Wyoming, 28; Lackawanna, 26; Bradford, 21; Susquehanna, 13; and Columbia, 10.

Southeast: Schuylkill,18; Dauphin, 9; Lebanon, 5; and Northampton, 1.

 

In addition to participating in the closing day of the four-day season on Nov. 27, hunters with an unfilled bear license may participate in extended bear seasons in specific WMUs that run concurrent with all or portions of the first week of the firearms deer season. For those deer hunters who didn’t purchase a bear license, but are headed to an area where the extended bear season is being held, bear license sales will reopen from Nov. 28 through Dec. 1.

For details about those areas open to extended bear hunting and the dates, please see pages 36 and 37 of the 2013-14 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest. Bear check stations opened during the extended bear seasons can be found on page 38 of the digest.

WAIT IS ON FOR LATE-STARTING 2013 PENNSYLVANIA DEER SEASON
Some big bucks await those heading afield for Dec. 2 opener.

Hunters are known for their great patience – and it’s a good thing, too.

Those eager to start the clock on yet another deer-hunting season are waiting out the latest-starting season opener in years.

Because of the way the calendar falls in 2013, and with the opening day of Pennsylvania’s general deer season traditionally held on the Monday following Thanksgiving, the state’s “unofficial holiday” kicks off a full week later than it does in some years.

But when that special day arrives, hunters statewide are likely to find the wait well worth it.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission is tracking deer populations as stable or increasing in nearly all of the state’s 23 wildlife-management units. That means another good opportunity awaits the approximate 750,000 hunters expected to take to the deer woods on the Dec. 2 opener, and for those hunting during the remainder of the season.

“The opening day of the firearms deer season is something most hunters look forward to all year, and waiting out those few extra days when the season falls late like this can test one’s patience,” said Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe. “But by 7 a.m. that first Monday, the wait all across Pennsylvania will be over, and tens of thousands of lasting memories will be made in the hours, days and weeks that follow.”

 

Statewide season

The statewide general firearms season runs from Dec. 2 to Dec. 14. In many parts of the state, properly licensed hunters may take either antlered or antlerless deer at any time during the season. In other areas, hunters may take only antlered deer the season’s first five days, with the antlerless and antlered seasons then running concurrently from the first Saturday, Dec. 7 to the season’s close.

Rules regarding the number of points a harvested buck must have on one antler also are different in different parts of the state, and young hunters statewide follow separate guidelines.

For a complete breakdown of regulations, consult the 2013-14 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest, which is issued to hunters at the time they purchase their licenses. The digest also is available online at the Game Commission’s website, www.pgc.state.pa.us.

One very important regulation that applies statewide is the requirement for each hunters to wear a minimum of 250 square inches of fluorescent orange material on his or her head, chest and back combined. An orange hat and vest will satisfy the requirement. And for safety’s sake, nonhunters who might be in the outdoors during the deer season and other hunting seasons might also want to consider wearing orange at this time.

 

Deer forecast

While deer populations are being tracked as stable or increasing in most of the state, many other factors influence deer hunting, said Chris Rosenberry, who supervises the Game Commission’s deer and elk section.

The availability of food sources in an area plays a role in the deer harvest at a local level, he said.

This year has produced a spotty acorn crop statewide, said David Gustafson, the Game Commission’s chief forester. A late spring frost affected white oaks and chestnut oaks. And a cold and wet spring in 2012 affected red oaks, which take two years to produce. Those conditions have combined to limit acorn availability in many areas.

That’s not to say there aren’t acorns to be found, Gustafson said. In some cases, though, it can take some work to find them. Meanwhile, soft-mast and fruit crops have been good this year statewide, he said.

And Gustafson said he’s seen areas this year where food has appeared more plentiful in the low-hanging parts of valleys.

In any case, finding those food sources can be the key to hunting success.

While factors like food and weather can influence the deer harvest, Rosenberry said it’s unlikely the late start will play much of a role.

The timing of deer-hunting seasons in relation to the deer’s breeding season, commonly referred to as the rut, can impact the harvest, he said. But he said other factors typically are more important, as evidenced by deer harvests in different seasons with either early or late starts.

Those hunters taking part in the season have a sizeable chance of taking home a trophy. A good crop of adult bucks is produced each year statewide, and last year’s harvest resulted in about 200 new entries into Pennsylvania’s Big Game Records Program, which recognizes exceptional whitetails, bears and elk.

Meanwhile, hunting license sales also are slightly ahead of their 2012 pace.

All of it adds to the potential for an outstanding deer season, Roe said.

“Considering deer and hunter numbers both are good, the pieces are in place for a great season,” Roe said. “And for those hunters who harvest their ‘buck of a lifetime’ this year, it will be the best season ever.

“That chance lies in store for the hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians who will take part in our deer seasons,” he said. “I hope each of them soon discovers that, indeed, good things come to those who wait.”

 

 

Proper licensing

Hunters during the statewide firearms season can harvest antlered deer if they possess a valid general hunting license, which costs $20.70 for adult residents and $101.70 for adult nonresidents.

Each hunter between the ages of 12 and 17 must possess a junior license, which costs $6.70 for residents and $41.70 for nonresidents.

Hunters younger than 12 must possess a valid mentored youth hunting permit and be accompanied at all times by a properly licensed adult mentor, as well as follow other regulations.

In order to harvest antlerless deer, hunters must possess either a valid antlerless deer license or a valid DMAP permit.

Antlerless deer licenses can be used only within the wildlife management unit for which they’re issued. DMAP permits can be used only on the specific properties for which they’re issued.

For many areas, antlerless licenses or DMAP permits might already be sold out. License availability can be checked online through the Game Commission’s website.

Licenses can be purchased online, but as the season nears, hunters might find it better to purchase licenses in person. Deer licenses purchased online are mailed, meaning they might not arrive in time if purchased too close to the start of the season.

 

Tagging and reporting

A valid tag must be affixed to the ear of each deer harvested before that deer is moved. The tag must be filled out in ink by the hunter.

Within 10 days of a harvest, a successful hunter is required to make a report to the Game Commission. Harvests can be reported online at the Game Commission’s website, www.pgc.state.pa.us by clicking on the blue “Report a Harvest” button on the home page. Harvests can also be reported by mailing in the postage-paid cards inserted into the 2013-14 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest, or successful hunters can call 1-855-PAHUNT1 (1-855-724-8681) to report by phone. Those reporting by phone are asked to have their license number and other information about the harvest ready at the time they call.

Mentored youth hunters are required to report deer harvests within five days.

Reporting deer harvests helps to better estimate deer populations in wildlife management units and statewide, and hunters are asked to do their parts in this important process.   

 

Chronic wasting disease

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been detected in two areas of Pennsylvania, and special rules apply to hunters within each Disease Management Area (DMA).

There are two DMAs. DMA 1 encompasses parts of York and Adams counties. DMA 2 includes parts of Bedford, Blair, Huntingdon and Cambria counties.

For the specific boundary line of each DMA, check the Game Commission’s website or turn to the 2013-14 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest.

Hunters may not remove from a DMA any deer parts deemed to have a high-risk of transmitting CWD. The head, backbone and spinal cord are among those high-risk parts, and successful hunters who live outside a DMA can remove and deposit high-risk parts in dumpsters that have been set up on state game lands within each DMA. They can then transport the meat and other low-risk parts outside the DMA.

Hunters can also take their harvests to a processor or taxidermist within the DMA, and the processor or taxidermist can properly dispose of the high-risk parts. In some cases, processors and taxidermists just beyond the border of a DMA have been approved as drop-off sites and those facilities appear on the list of cooperating processors and taxidermists available on the Game Commission’s website.

The Game Commission will be taking samples from about 1,000 deer in each DMA, but just because a hunter drops a deer off at a processor or taxidermist, or deposits high-risk parts in a dumpster on game lands, doesn’t mean the deer will be tested for CWD.

To ensure a harvested deer will be tested, hunters can make arrangements with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Veterinary Laboratory. There is a fee associated with testing. More information about this process can be found online at www.agriculture.state.pa.us.

Transporting a deer head outside a DMA so the deer can be disease-tested at a lab is a permitted exception to the rule prohibiting the removal of high-risk parts from a DMA. Deer heads should be double-bagged in plastic garbage bags before they are removed from the DMA.

Chronic wasting disease is transmitted from deer to deer by direct and indirect contact. It is always fatal to deer that become infected, but it is not known to be transmitted to humans.

Out of an abundance of caution, people are advised not to consume meat from deer that test positive for CWD.

For more information on CWD and rules applying within DMAs, visit the Game Commission’s website.