As the statewide deer seasons kick off, hunters will have their first opportunity to recover big game they’ve shot by tracking the animal’s escape trail with a leashed dog.
Gov. Tom Wolf earlier this year signed into law a bill that allows for the use of leashed tracking dogs to recover big game that cannot be recovered by hunters.
The legislation, sponsored by state Sen. Mario M Scavello, provides another choice for hunters who have shot and inflicted injury on a white-tailed deer, black bear or elk, but lose the trail.
“This law will provide greater recovery of big game shot by hunters,” noted Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans. “Trailing big game can require specialized tracking skills, especially after nightfall. And if it’s a warmer night, or rain is approaching, every minute matters. Within a few hours, downed big game might spoil.”
Scavello’s bill recognized and championed the need for properly trained and controlled tracking dogs.

This simple and humane change in law is of great benefit to both our hunting community and some of Pennsylvania’s most-valued natural resources, white-tailed deer, black bears and elk, Scavello said.
Big-game hunters may use tracking dogs to recover big game in the 2018-19 seasons. Dogs cannot be used to locate big game unless an animal has been shot.
It’s important to remember that the new leashed tracking dog language to the Game and Wildlife Code really doesn’t change how hunters can track wounded big game, said Randy Shoup, Bureau of Wildlife Protection director. The only difference is the tracking dog.
During hunting hours, big game can be tracked with a sporting arm, which can be possessed only by the hunter. After hunting hours close, a sporting arm cannot be used to dispatch downed big game. This includes Sundays and the day after season closes.

In addition, hunters tracking big game after hours, or on Sundays are asked to contact the Game Commission region office serving the county where the animal will be tracked, to alert the local state game warden of the recovery effort. It’s possible the game warden might accompany the tracker.
During tracking, the hunter and the tracker (dog owner) must be licensed for the big game being tracked and meet the season’s florescent orange requirements. In addition, the longstanding expectation for hunters, and now trackers, to respect private property boundaries remains in place.
Trackers do not register with and are not certified or licensed by the Game Commission. Trackers might charge for their services, but the Game Commission will not resolve differences between trackers and hunters. Commercial activity on state game lands is prohibited so tracking dog owners cannot charge for their services there.

MEDIA CONTACT: Travis Lau – 717-705-6541

COURTESY OF PA GAME COMMISSION

Watch the 9-minute film

Between 2001 and 2005, the ruffed grouse population suffered a 63 percent decline in Pennsylvania. No one was sure why but in 2015 through 2016, Game Commission biologist Lisa Williams and her team confirmed their suspicions about Pennsylvania’s state bird being affected by the West Nile Virus (WNV).

Grouse chicks were hatched from eggs gathered in the wild, and then inoculated with WNV. Within the first week 40 percent of the chicks died. After two weeks, an additional 40 percent of the chicks showed so much organ damage that they probably could not have survived in their natural environment.

After the challenge study was completed, the laboratory findings were then tested on wild grouse in Pennsylvania by looking for WNV-positive antibodies in harvested grouse. This testing is the first of its kind where lab results were then tested in wild populations.

Williams rallied hundreds of hunters across the state to send in blood samples when they harvested a grouse during the hunting season. Game Commission pathologist Justin Brown and their research partners at Colorado State University and the University of Guelph then did the careful lab work to assess WNV exposure in wild grouse. By incorporating these findings into habitat management planning, the Game Commission and partners hope to direct habitat management efforts to areas where grouse populations have the best chance of responding.

Williams’ research then caught the ear of one of the Game Commission staff filmmakers.

Game Commission filmmaker Tracy Graziano, armed with her Canon C500 and Final Cut X editing program, set out to tell Williams’ story that continues to unfold even today. Graziano completed the 9-minute documentary in late January 2017 after 18 months of shooting and countless hours in the field. She has been with the agency for eight years but has been creating science and wildlife documentaries since 1999.

“The most rewarding thing I can hope for in any of my film projects is to help influence change for the benefit of wildlife and conservation,” said Graziano.

“With more than 27,000 YouTube views to date, I believe the ‘Ruffed Grouse’ film was critically important in raising awareness among hunters about the risk of WNV to grouse and is one of the reasons other state wildlife agencies started looking into WNV as a contributing cause of decreasing grouse populations,” Lisa Williams said.

Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans concurs.

“Lisa Williams’ research into the ruffed grouse population decline in Pennsylvania is cutting-edge science-based wildlife management,” Burhans said. “Documenting these important findings by using the latest technology by skilled filmmaker Tracy Graziano so others can learn and benefit exemplifies why the Pennsylvania Game Commission is at the forefront in modern wildlife management.”

“Ruffed Grouse” won awards from the following:

• The University of Idaho Fish & Wildlife Film Festival 2017, Idaho, “Natural History Documentary-Short” category
• American Conservation Film Festival 2017, West Virginia, Official Selection “Conservation Film Short” category
• Wildlife Conservation Film Festival 2017, New York, Official Selection “Wildlife Conservation” category
• FIIN 2017, Portugal, Official Selection “Films of Nature” category
• NatureTrack Film Festival 2018, California, Official Selection “Conservation” category
• Outdoor Film Festival 2018, Utah, Official Selection “Categories by Species”

This past July, the “Ruffed Grouse” film was recognized with its most recent award at the Association for Conservation Information (ACI) conference in Springfield, Missouri. The film took third place in the 2018 “Video Long” category.

ACI is a professional organization that recognizes excellence in educational work completed by state and federal fish and wildlife agencies across North America.

It’s Wild Game Wednesday!

Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt a special sense of pride when preparing a meal that included fresh, wild game. There is just something satisfying about knowing exactly where your meat came from that makes wild game meals even more appealing – and – appetizing! Oftentimes, there is an exciting story to accompany the game that’s been prepared. Delicious food paired with great conversation, what more could you ask for?

On Wild Game Wednesday, we take a moment to recognize one of the most important reasons people take to the woods and fields to hunt: to fill their freezers with types of fresh, organic meat. These weekly posts include delicious, easy and in-season wild game recipes from the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Game Cookbook that you and your family can prepare.

For all our goose hunters out there, this one is for you! Let us know if you try this recipe.

If you are interested in more wild game recipes submitted by people from around Pennsylvania, visit www.theoutdoorshop.state.pa.us/FBG/ to purchase the second edition of the cookbook for less than $10!

Courtesy PA Game Commission

We realize not everyone will be able to visit Benezette this fall, but we still want you to have the elk-viewing opportunity. The live elk cam streaming on our website lets you be able to watch for elk from the comfort of your own home! WATCH IT LIVE HERE. We’ve had a very active elk cam season so far this season, so be sure to check it out. The best times to view are at dawn and dusk. You may also see white-tailed deer, turkeys and groundhogs. This stream is the product of the coordinated efforts of the Pennsylvania Game Commission, HDonTap and the North Central Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ELK IN PENNSYLVANIA.

Courtesy PA Game Commission

If you haven’t yet purchased your 2018-19 Pennsylvania hunting license, now might be the time.

The new license year began July 1, so only 2018-19 licenses are valid when hunting or using Game Commission shooting ranges. And the sale of 2018-19 antlerless deer licenses is about to begin, and only hunters holding valid general licenses may apply.

Pennsylvania residents are given preference in applying for antlerless licenses, and resident hunters may apply for their first antlerless licenses beginning Monday, July 9.

Nonresidents may submit their first applications a week later, beginning Monday, July 16.

The application dates identified in the Game Commission’s 2018 Pennsylvania Wildlife Calendar do not represent the beginning of the application period.

There have been some slight modifications to the pink envelopes in which antlerless license applications are sent. The check boxes on the face of the envelope, which identify whether one, two or three applications are being sent, and whether the applicants are residents or nonresidents, have been grouped in one box. And peel-and-stick strips on the edges of the envelope have replaced the moisten-and-seal adhesive. Otherwise, the envelope essentially is the same. And the old envelopes still will be accepted by county treasurers.

Resident applicants need to make checks and money orders payable to “County Treasurer” for $6.90 for each license they seek. The fee for nonresidents is $26.90 per license.

A list of participating county treasurers and their addresses is provided by issuing agents when licenses are purchased and can be found within the 2018-19 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest, which can be purchased with a license or viewed online.

Applications that are incomplete or sent without proper remittance will be rejected and returned to the applicant. Applications received before the Monday start of any round also will be returned to sender.

In any WMU where antlerless licenses remain, resident and nonresident applicants may apply for a second license beginning Aug. 6, and a third license Aug. 20.

Applications during these rounds are accepted by mail only, and must be mailed with proper remittance in an official pink envelope, which ordinarily is provided by the license-issuing agent at the time a general hunting license is purchased.

In most parts of the state, hunters are limited to purchasing a total of three antlerless licenses.

However, in WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D, an unlimited number of licenses can be obtained. Each hunter may apply for only one license per round in those WMUs until Aug. 6, when an unlimited number of applications can be submitted. Only three applications can be mailed in each envelope.

If licenses remain, over-the-counter sales begin Aug. 27 in WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D, and Oct. 1 in all other WMUs.

Courtesy PA Game Commission  www.pgc.pa.gov