Pennsylvania Game Commission

Last week the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture announced the detection of a new CWD-positive deer on a Warren County hunting preserve. Read full news release here https://bit.ly/3fO7BQq. The detection of this CWD-positive deer has led to the establishment of a new Disease Management Area DMA5 and new regulations to reduce the risk of the disease spreading in Warren County. Click here for a map of DMA 5 https://bit.ly/2SPv0Yt. Please note, within a DMA it is un...lawful to remove or export high-risk deer parts, use or to possess cervid (deer, elk, moose, caribou) urine-based attractants, to feed wild free-ranging deer or elk, and to rehabilitate wild, free-ranging cervids. Read more https://bit.ly/3iiZPje.

Join us Thursday, June 10, 2021 at 1:00 PM for PGC LIVE with Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans to recap last year, discuss the upcoming 2021-22 hunting season, learn about Pennsylvania’s new licensing system and ask questions.

Pennsylvania's 2021-22 hunting licenses go on sale on Monday, June 14! With a 14-day statewide concurrent antler and antlerless firearms season, expanded Sunday hunting opportunities and 187 elk licenses allotted across three seasons, Pennsylvania’s 2021-22 hunting seasons provide many opportunities for hunters to get afield. Read more: https://bit.ly/3yVJKG4. Starting June 14 hunters will be able to purchase their 2021-22 hunting licenses at local issuing agents or online on Pennsylvania’s new licensing system, huntfish.pa.gov. Click here for a map of issuing agents: https://bit.ly/3icKuk2.

Don’t miss your chance to enter the 2021 Turkey Hunt Photo Contest! Today, June 1, 2021 is the last day to submit photos. To enter, send ONE turkey hunting related photo, taken in 2021, to [email protected], with the subject line: Turkey by Tuesday, June 1, 2021. Photos submitted must be related to turkey hunting and can include hunting blind photos, turkey calling photos, harvest photos and more! Participants could win a custom Pennsylvania made turkey call and an assor...tment of Game Commission merchandise! Let friends and family know your competing and encourage them to vote for your photo by posting it on your Facebook page with the hashtag #PGCTurkeyHuntContest. For contest details, click here https://bit.ly/3nw5gvA. Photo: Billy Marks from Tioga County, 2020.

The public shooting range at State Game Lands 58, Mifflin Township, Columbia County, will be closed for repairs and general maintenance on Jan. 6 and 7, 2021. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Hunters who haven’t purchased their 2020-21 Pennsylvania hunting or furtaker licenses, or who need to purchase a permit or privilege for a late-season hunting adventure should do so this week. Pennsylvania’s Automated Licensing System (PALS) will be temporarily unavailable, beginning on Tuesday, Jan. 12. The temporary shutdown is necessary to complete an upgrade to a new licensing system. While most hunters and trappers have purchased their general licenses already, many hu...nting seasons are underway, and some individuals might find themselves in sudden need of an archery, muzzleloader or migratory bird license, or perhaps a shooting-range permit or Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) permit. Please note during this time, hunters will not be able to report harvests online but can continue to report through the mail with the postcards included with the Hunting & Trapping Digest. In addition, those needing to report harvests by phone during this time should call 1-833-463-6293. READ MORE: https://bit.ly/3hMxAqY.

It’s never too early to start making plans to help wildlife this spring. Consider ordering a new, handcrafted wildlife home from the Pennsylvania Game Commission's Howard Nursery, located in Centre County. Wildlife homes available include homes for bluebirds, barred owls, bats, flying squirrels, bees, and wood ducks. Download a 2021 wildlife home order form here https://bit.ly/3b5mjk7.

Interested in seeing where black bears were harvested this year in Pennsylvania? Check out the Game Commission’s Bear Harvest Data page here www.pgcapps.pa.gov/Harvest/Bear. Other information, such as the 2020 black bear harvest estimated totals, highest weights and top harvested counties are also available on this site. *The extended black bear season is still underway in WMUs 2B, 5B, 5C and 5D, (through Saturday, Dec. 12). To learn more about Pennsylvania black bears, hunting seasons and regulations and more, visit http://bit.ly/321cZFw.

EPISODE 12: Bear Conservation in the Keystone State is now available! LISTEN HERE https://bit.ly/37KBy09. Pennsylvania is home to more than 20,000 black bears and they can be found in all 67 counties. Whether you hunt bears or just enjoy learning about them, this episode is full of information about black bears in the Keystone State, including biology, behavior and much more. Mark Ternent is the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Northcentral Region Wildlife Management Super...visor and has worked with bears for 30 years, including 20 of them as the agency’s bear biologist. Mark went from studying prairie chickens in the Midwest, to turkeys in the Ozarks, to grizzly bears in Wyoming and then to Pennsylvania as the agency’s black bear biologist in 2000. In Pennsylvania, we have 12 million people and a robust bear population, so regardless of where you live or recreate in the state, it’s possible for humans and bears to end up in the same places. The Game Commission receives about 5,000 reports of nuisance bears a year. Whether you want to see a bear in the woods or you’re trying to avoid a run-in, Mark shares some tips on how we can best live together in Penn’s Woods. The new Call of the Outdoor Podcast is Available Now! https://bit.ly/37KBy09.

In the spirit of making this holiday season a little brighter, a few of our state game wardens in the Northeast Region recently partnered with the Pennsylvania State Police to purchase gifts for families in need through the Shop with a Cop program. Shop with a Cop chapters have taken more than 5,000 children shopping since the program’s inception; however, COVID-19 protocols had Game Wardens and Troopers using Christmas gift lists to purchase items for the children and their parents. Event Coordinator and Sullivan County Deputy Game Warden Mike Scott thanks the Eagles Mere-LaPorte Lions Club, Dushore Lions Club, Sullivan County Kiwanis, Chief Oil and Gas and the many private donors that made this event possible. Christmas will be a little brighter for many deserving families this year.

With Halloween right around the corner, what better time to celebrate International Bat Week! Did you know Pennsylvania is home to nine species of bats, five of which are listed as threatened or endangered? Despite the rumors, bats provide us with valuable ecological services, such as insect control. One little brown bat alone is estimated to consume between 300-3,000 insects in one night! In fall, winter and early spring, however, insects are not readily available to bats i...n Pennsylvania. At this time, three species of bats migrate south; the other six hibernate underground, usually in caves. Pennsylvania’s cave bats are true hibernators, meaning they do not eat during hibernation, instead bats survive by slowing burning fat accumulated through the summer. During hibernation a bat’s body temperature drops close to the air temperature; respiration slows; and the heartbeat drops from approximately 250 beats to 10 beats per minute. Threats to bats include vehicle collisions, wind farms, diseases, specifically white-nose syndrome, and disturbances during hibernation. Here are some ways you can help bats survive: reduce pesticide use; put up a bat house for roosting; don’t disturb bats while hibernating; and safely remove bats when found in your home. Learn how to safely remove a bat from your home here https://www.pgc.pa.gov//Ba/Pages/BatProblemsSolutions.aspx. Build a bat box https://www.pgc.pa.gov/InformationResources/GetInvolved/Pages/WildlifeHomePlans.aspx

Recently, Range Resourcesa petroleum and natural gas companypartnered with the Pennsylvania Game Commission to establish the first handicap accessible hunting trail on State Game Lands 232 in Claysville in Washington County. The handicap accessible hunting trail provides entrance to a Game Commission managed dove field, which attracts hunters of not only doves but also turkey, waterfowl and deer. After temporarily using the area as a workspace during the completion of a na...tural gas well site, Range Resources worked with State Game Warden Dan Puhala to renovate and expand the parking lot and trail entrance to improve accessibility for handicap hunters. Additionally, old telephone poles were repurposed to line the perimeter of the expanded parking lot to deter and prevent vehicles from entering the field. A 7’x7’ landing at the opening of the field serves as an additional space for handicap hunters to shoot game if they prefer to not enter. The Game Commission hopes to expand the trail further into the field in the coming years. The Pennsylvania Game Commission would like to thank Brandon Carson, Travis Thompson and Jason Dockum from Range Resources for their help with this project and look forward to working together again in the future. For those interested, Pennsylvania’s 2020-21 dove season is open now until Nov. 27 and reopens Dec. 18, 2020 to Jan. 12, 2021.

Join the Pennsylvania Game Commission for a collaborative session of From the Field, co-hosted by Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art, on Tuesday, Dec. 22, at noon. Register online now https://bit.ly/3qvc2CW. Volunteers from the center will showcase research efforts on Pennsylvania’s smallest owl: the Northern Saw-Whet Owl. This event is part of the Game Commission's virtual learning initiative Wildlife on Wi-Fi. Email us at [email protected] with any questions or for more information.

We have been getting a lot of questions lately about CWD regulations, specifically the removal of antler point restrictions, in Pennsylvania’s Disease Management Areas (DMA). To clarify, while proposed in the CWD Response Plan earlier this year antler point restrictions have NOT been removed or changed in any of Pennsylvania’s DMAs. Antler point restrictions for each Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) can be found on page 26 of your 2020-21 Hunting and Trapping Digest. Questions about CWD regulations can be answered by calling the CWD hotline at 1-833-INFOCWD or emailed to [email protected]. Learn more about CWD here https://www.pgc.pa.gov//W/Pages/ChronicWastingDisease.aspx.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission is currently working on a new, multi-year goose study that aims to monitor goose movement during hunting season via the use of Global System for Mobile Communication, or GSM, Collars. The collars are only being placed on female adults before they molt and the collars use 3G cell phone towers to regularly download data back to our waterfowl biologists. The information gathered from this study will help determine best management practices to i...mprove goose habitat in the Pymatuning and Middle Creek Wildlife Management Areas and to improve hunter success in these areas in the future. Hunters are asked to not target collared geese, as that interferes with the study. But if one is harvested, please report it by emailing the address on the collar. You can learn more about waterfowl hunting in Pennsylvania here https://bit.ly/3maMFDH.

What is wrong with this deer? Is the meat safe to consume? Is it contagious? These are some common questions we are asked after someone sees a deer with cutaneous fibromas or deer warts. As the name implies, fibromas are wart-like growths that occur on the skin of infected animals. Deer warts are caused by a virus which is believed to be spread through broken skin or by biting insects. The virus is confined to the skin and is not known to infect humans While they look gross,... deer warts rarely affect deer survival and have little impact on wild deer populations. Occasionally, they may become ulcerated resulting in secondary bacterial infections which would make the deer unfit for consumption. And while the Game Commission is not a food safety agency and cannot offer assurances in that regard if you do not encounter abnormal odor, color, or texture, the meat is considered safe to eat as long as it is cooked properly. You can learn more about deer warts here: https://bit.ly/3khsOC2. Photo submitted by: Jim Seibert.

EPISODE 11: Bear Hunting in the Keystone State, Part 1, is now available! LISTEN HERE https://bit.ly/2TjQf1L. If you’re a Pennsylvania bear hunter, you’re in luck, because the hunting opportunities have never been better! It’s an exciting time, between expanded seasons, including one of Pennsylvania’s first-ever Sunday big game hunting opportunities on Nov. 22 for the statewide regular firearms bear season, and a robust bear population totaling about 20,000. In this epis...ode, Pennsylvania native and lifelong hunter Frank Sutliff, shares his insights on bear hunting in our state, and what to look for when you’re planning your hunt. Frank is from Renovo, Clinton County, which is well-known for its black bear hunting, due to the rugged terrain in that northern area of the state. Frank grew up hunting and fishing in the great outdoors and went on to create Top Calls, a well-known Pennsylvania call company specializing in turkey, deer, waterfowl and predator calls. He shares some of his favorite bear hunting tips and stories from his time in the woods. The new Call of the Outdoor Podcast is Available Now! https://bit.ly/2TjQf1L.

Pennsylvania's 2020-21 Hunting & Trapping Digest is available online and on the Pennsylvania Game Commission app https://bit.ly/3flzBI2. In addition to seasons and bag limits - other helpful information - such as fluorescent orange requirements, wildlife management units, legal hunting hours, CWD information, new updates for the year, (and much more), are included. Hunters are encouraged to read and reference the digest throughout the seasons to ensure all laws, rules, regu...lations and updates are understood and followed. Steve Hetrick, of Butler County, is pictured on the cover of this year's digest with his Armstrong County buck.

Pennsylvania's statewide pheasant season opens tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 24. To those headed afield: Have fun, good luck and hunt safely! Click here for pheasant hunting info in the Hunting & Trapping Digest: https://bit.ly/3399nUw. Remember that a pheasant permit is required to hunt; click here to get yours online: http://bit.ly/2W4sxdB. Your purchase directly helps to ensure the future of pheasant hunting in the Keystone State. Thanks for being a Pennsylvania hunter!

The annual field day for the Charles E. Bechtel Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society was scheduled to occur in April on SGL 080 in Schuylkill County. Unfortunately, the event was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The chapter had planned to assist the Game Commission in the planting of tree and shrub seedlings in a section of an ongoing project that is geared toward promoting young forest habitat across 900-acres. Luckily these challenges were able to be overcome, and a ...smaller field day was scheduled to occur in this fall. Several members of the chapter and Game Commission staff planted 1,500 seedlings across an 8-acre site. Seedlings planted consisted of various oaks, winged sumac, pasture rose, and shortleaf pine, all species associated with young forest habitats. The Charles E. Bechtel Chapter has been an important partner of the Game Commission over the past three decades. Through annual field days and fundraising efforts, they have assisted the Game Commission in promoting young forest habitat across several thousand acres of game lands in Berks, Lebanon, and Schuylkill Counties.

Pennsylvania Game Commission K-9 Ayla and OSI Shawn Barron serve as the agency’s K-9 team in the southwest region. They recently did an article search demonstration for Deputy State Game Wardens serving Somerset and Cambria counties. K-9 Ayla successfully located a freshly-fired revolver and a wallet during the search, which demonstrated her ability to locate items with both human scent and gun-shot residue. Thank you to Cambria County Deputy State Game Warden Phil Andraychak for the photos!