Each summer, Pennsylvanians help track wild turkey populations by reporting their turkey sightings to the Game Commission, and a new survey period is about to begin.

The Pennsylvania Wild Turkey Sighting Survey opens July 1 and will run through August. The two-month window follows the current national standard used by all state wildlife agencies, providing comparable data across the wild turkey’s entire range.

Turkey sighting reports can be made through the Game Commission’s mobile app or on the agency’s website, www.pgc.pa.gov.

On the website, click on “Turkey Sighting Survey” in the Quick Clicks section. The mobile app can be found by searching for “Pennsylvania Game Commission” in the Google Play Store or Apple’s App Store, and selecting “Turkey Sighting Survey.”

The public is encouraged to report any turkeys observed during July and August. Information submitted helps the agency analyze turkey reproduction. Participants are requested to record the number of wild turkeys they see, along with the general location, date, and contact information if agency biologists have any questions. Viewers can also access results from previous years.

“The turkey survey enhances our agency’s internal survey, which serves as a long-term index of turkey reproduction and is used in our turkey population model,” explained Mary Jo Casalena, agency wild-turkey biologist. “By reporting all turkeys seen during each sighting, whether gobblers, hens with broods or hens without broods, the data help us determine total productivity, and allow us to compare long-term reproductive success.”

Many factors including spring weather, habitat, previous winter-food abundance, predation and last fall’s harvest, affect wild-turkey productivity. The 2020 spring-turkey population was approximately 196,260, which was 11 percent below the previous three-year average of 219,400. Fortunately, last summer’s average reproductive success (2.7 poults per hen), allowed for stability in the statewide turkey population coming into this spring’s breeding season. At the Wildlife Management Unit level, reproductive success in 2020 improved in 10 of 23 WMUs compared to the previous three-year average. It was similar to the previous three-year average in two WMUs, but declined to below average in 11 WMUs. Areas where reproduction declined were scattered with no region showing a strong pattern of declines or increases in reproduction.

Reproductive success in 2020 also varied considerably among the Mid-Atlantic states. Poult production was lowest in Delaware (1.0 poult/hen) and Maryland (1.9 poults/hen). Interestingly Maryland experienced one of the highest reproductive rates the previous year at 2.7 poults/hen in 2019. Production was highest in New Hampshire and Maine (4.0 poults/hen). Large sample sizes in New York, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire provided tighter confidence intervals for these estimates compared to the other states.

“Thanks to the popularity of this survey in Pennsylvania, we have high confidence in our estimates,” Casalena emphasized. “Let’s maintain these results in 2021 and even increase participation.”

MEDIA CONTACT: Travis Lau – 717-705-6541

https://www.media.pa.gov/Pages/game-commission-details.aspx?newsid=477

Field Days introduce participants to outdoor sports such as archery, trapping, and hunting through closely supervised hands-on activities. An adult must accompany all youth participants and can accompany more than one youth. Please ensure that your child meets the age requirements of the specific event that you are registering for as each event is different. If you are interested in hosting one of your events on this page, please contact [email protected]

https://www.register-ed.com/programs/39

With more Sunday hunting opportunities on the way, additional days available for hunters to fill their antlerless deer tags and the biggest allotment of elk licenses yet, the 2021-22 season is one that Pennsylvania hunters eagerly are awaiting.

And they won’t have to wait for long.

Hunting and furtaker licenses for 2021-22 will go on sale Monday, June 14 and the new license year begins July 1.

General hunting licenses and furtaker licenses each cost $20.97 for Pennsylvania residents and $101.97 for nonresidents.

Resident senior hunters and furtakers ages 65 and older can purchase one-year licenses for $13.97, or lifetime licenses for $51.97. For $101.97, resident seniors can purchase lifetime combination licenses that afford them hunting and furtaking privileges.

Like other hunters and trappers, seniors still need to purchase bear licenses to pursue bruins and obtain permits to harvest bobcats, fishers or river otters. Hunters who acquired their senior lifetime licenses after May 13, 2017 are required to obtain an annual pheasant permit to hunt or harvest pheasants.

A complete list of licensing requirements can be found at www.pgc.pa.gov.

Once again this year, additional hunting will be offered on three Sundays – Sunday, Nov. 14; Sunday, Nov. 21; and Sunday, Nov. 28. But unlike last year, when those Sundays were open only for deer or bear hunting, this year they’re open for other species that are in season, too, except turkeys and migratory game birds. A complete guide to Sunday hunting is included in the 2021-22 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest issued to all license buyers.

Pennsylvania elk hunters in 2021-22 also will be out there in record numbers. The 187 licenses available marks an increase from the 164 allocated the previous year. A record 56 of the 2021-22 licenses are for bulls. And the January late season, which in its first two years was open only to antlerless elk hunting, in 2022 will be open to bull hunting, as well. Ten of the 49 licenses to be issued for the Jan. 1 through 8 late season are for bulls.

The January late season is one of three elk seasons. There are 14 antlered and 15 antlerless licenses available for the archery-only elk season, which runs from Sept. 11 through 25, when bulls are in the rut. There are 32 antlered and 77 antlerless licenses available for the general six-day regular elk season, which runs from Nov. 1 through 6.

Licenses are awarded by lottery. License applications can be submitted online or at any license issuing agent. A separate application, costing $11.97, is needed for each season. Hunters wishing to apply for all three pay $35.91. In each drawing, season-specific bonus points are awarded to those who aren’t drawn.

The deadline to apply for an elk license is July 31.

Many hunters who regularly buy their licenses as soon as sales begin are motivated by securing a Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) permit, which are available in limited numbers and enable holders to harvest antlerless deer in any established deer season.

Buying early also helps ensure hunters won’t miss their opportunity to apply for an antlerless deer license.

A resident Pennsylvanian who buys their 2021-22 hunting license is eligible to apply for an antlerless deer license July 12. Nonresidents can apply July 19. And a second round in which a hunter can receive a second antlerless deer license begins Aug. 2 for Wildlife Management Units where licenses remain. And if licenses still remain, a final round begins Aug. 16.

It’s as important as ever this year for hunters to submit their antlerless deer license applications on schedule. A total of 925,000 antlerless deer licenses are available, down from 932,000 last year. Hunters statewide now have the opportunity to apply for and receive additional antlerless deer licenses, as long as licenses remain available, and provided that a hunter holds no more than six unfilled antlerless licenses at a time. And the return of concurrent hunting for antlered and antlerless deer during the duration of the firearms deer season gives hunters in much of the state additional time to fill their tags.

Further details are outlined in the Hunting & Trapping Digest.

Hunting licenses can be purchased online at https://huntfish.pa.gov, a newly launched customer-friendly licensing platform. Just create an account or log into one you previously created to purchase all the licenses you need. A map to locate a license issuing agent near you can be found on the Licenses and Permits page at www.pgc.pa.gov.

Hunting

Modifications for the 2019 seasons include expanding the mid-October muzzleloader and special firearms deer seasons to include bears statewide; increasing to two weeks the length of the statewide archery bear season and shifting it to the two weeks following the muzzleloader and special firearms bear seasons; and expanding 4-day extended bear seasons to seven days in most wildlife management units (WMUs) where they are held.

Bear Feeding Ban: It is unlawful to intentionally lay or place food, fruit, hay, grain, chemical, salt or other minerals that may cause bears to congregate or habituate an area. In addition, if nuisance bears are being attracted to an area by other wildlife feeding, game wardens can issue written notice to temporarily halt the activity.

Bear Hunting Link to PA Game Commission

Courtesy of Pennsylvania Game Commission

A Saturday opener for the firearms deer season and the possibility of more older bucks throughout the Commonwealth have many Pennsylvanians excited about Nov. 30 and the weeks to follow.

Last year’s firearms deer season saw rainy weather nearly statewide throughout much of the opening day. But even then, 30 percent of the antlered deer harvested in the 2018-19 firearms season were taken on opening day. It was the best day of the season for buck harvest.

It’s likely that opening day will continue to be the best for buck harvest this year, when the season will open on a Saturday, said Christopher Rosenberry, supervisor of the Game Commission’s Deer and Elk Section.

“We expect the opening Saturday to become the biggest harvest day for bucks,” said Rosenberry. “The first Monday will play a lesser role, but how much less remains to be seen. The second Saturday, since it is concurrent with the start of antlerless season, will probably become the second-biggest harvest day for bucks.”

And there now is a third Saturday in the season, as well, since the season was expanded from 12 days to 13 to accommodate a Saturday opener in which more hunters likely will be able to participate.

Pennsylvania’s firearms season historically has drawn the biggest crowds of all hunting seasons and consequently has been the state’s principal deer-management tool for more than a century. Its coming preoccupies many Pennsylvanians through their Thanksgiving meals and sends many more to a variety of outlets to fill their last-minute needs.

“Every deer hunter wants to be afield for the opener,” noted Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans. “They spend days and days, scouting, buying specialized gear and getting their packs ready.

“When they’re sitting in the dark, waiting for daylight and hoping for a big buck to come, most deer hunters couldn’t be happier, particularly if their son or granddaughter is joining them. It’s a fulfilling experience, regardless of what happens.”

“Older, bigger-racked bucks are making up more of the buck harvest than they have for at least a couple decades,” Rosenberry said. “Hunters like the bucks in Pennsylvania today compared to what many of them saw 30 years ago.”

Every year, Pennsylvania hunters are taking huge bucks. Some are “book bucks,” antlered deer that make the Pennsylvania Big Game Records book or Boone & Crockett Club rankings. Others simply win neighborhood bragging rights.

But it’s important to remember, every deer matters when only about a third of hunters harvest whitetails during Pennsylvania’s slate of deer seasons.

“Whether it’s a young hunter’s first deer, or a big buck that fell to a hunter on a dark-to-dark sit, they all matter to these hunters, their families and the communities in which they live,” emphasized Burhans. “Hunting deer has been an exciting Pennsylvania pastime for centuries, and it’s sure to remain that way for many generations to come.”

STATEWIDE SEASON

The statewide general firearms season runs from Nov. 30 to Dec. 14. In most areas, hunters may take only antlered deer during the season’s first six days, with the antlerless and antlered seasons then running concurrently from the first Saturday, Dec. 7, to the season’s close. In WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D, however, properly licensed hunters may take either antlered or antlerless deer at any time during the season.

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

For a complete breakdown of antler restrictions, WMU boundaries and other regulations, consult the 2019-20 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest, which is available online at the Game Commission’s website, www.pgc.pa.gov.

Hunters statewide must wear at all times a minimum of 250 square inches of fluorescent orange material on their head, chest and back combined. An orange hat and vest will satisfy the requirement. Nonhunters who might be afield during the deer season and other hunting seasons are asked to consider wearing orange, as

HUNT SAFELY FROM TREE

STANDS- WEAR A HARNESS

Wearing a full-body harness is essential to staying safe when using a tree stand, but a harness can prevent falls to the ground only if it is connected to the tree.

“That means you must wear your harness, and be sure it’s connected to the tree, at all times you’re in the stand, as well as when you’re getting into and out of the stand, or climbing or descending trees,” explained Meagan Thorpe, Game Commission hunter-education chief.

A hunter using a climbing stand should tie-in the safety rope or strap that pairs with the harness before beginning to climb.

BEAR SEASON’S NOT OVER YET

As we are getting ready to close out the statewide firearms bear season, remember an opportunity to harvest a bear still exisits in many WMU’s throught the state during the firearms deer season.

EXTENDED BEAR SEASON DATES

Nov. 30-Dec. 7, 2019

WMU’s: 1B, 2C, 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 4A, 4B,

4C, 4D, 4E, 5A

Nov. 30- Dec. 14, 2019

WMU’s: 2B, 5B, 5C, 5D

From all of us here at the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Happy Thanksgiving. Good luck and hunt safely!

Courtesy of Pennsylvania Game Commission

A recent State of the Birds report and Science article reveal that North America has lost nearly 3 billion breeding birds since 1970 – that’s a staggering 29 percent of all birds!

The results show tremendous losses across diverse groups of birds and habitats. However, the news is not all bad. Some bird populations, like waterfowl and raptors, have been improving due to dedicated efforts to understanding the problems and by developing science-based solutions. When we invest in wildlife, gains are made.

Among the steep continental declines are Eastern forest birds — 63 percent of species are declining, resulting in a loss of 166 million forest birds. One of those species, the wood thrush, is widespread throughout Pennsylvania and its beautiful song forms the soundtrack of Penn’s Woods.

In fact, Pennsylvania is home to more than 8 percent of the global population, yet it is a Species of Greatest Conservation Need throughout the northeastern United States due to habitat loss, habitat degradation and a nationwide population decline of approximately 50 percent since the mid-1960’s.

Aiming to develop solutions for wood thrushes in Pennsylvania oak forests, the Pennsylvania Game Commission and Penn State University are conducting a study on state game lands to understand forest habitats that support a greater number of wood thrush nests and produce more young.

The practice involves creating small canopy gaps consistent with small-scale forest utilization (for example, sustainable firewood harvesting). If we find that this practice is successful, we’ll share the guidance so everyone in Pennsylvania will have a simple, effective means of managing forests for wood thrushes, an important, native component of Pennsylvania forest ecosystems.

But, wood thrushes are just one of 90 bird Species of Greatest Conservation Need identified in the Pennsylvania Wildlife Action Plan. The Game Commission is your state wildlife agency responsible for ensuring native wild birds, mammals and the habitats that sustain them are here now and into the future. Yet, over 80 percent of the species under our care lack reliable funding to safeguard their survival. Here are a few ways you can help!

• Take action. Check out these 7 Simple Actions you can take to #BringBirdsBack. Also, learn what actions you can take for birds and other Species of Greatest Conservation Need in a geography you care about through the Wildlife Action Plan Conservation Opportunity Area Tool.
• Be a voice for birds. Ask your congressman or congresswoman to support bird-friendly bills, like the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, that will provide increased and reliable funding for states to develop and implement science-based solutions – like the wood thrush project – to prevent species from becoming endangered.
• Share your love for birds, other wildlife, and the outdoors with friends and family, especially the next generation!

Courtesy of Pennsylvania Game Commission

Birds Are In Trouble

The Pennsylvania Game Commission and Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission see today’s introduction of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act in the U.S. House of Representatives as landmark legislation that could provide more care for Pennsylvania’s and the nation’s growing list of fish and wildlife with the greatest conservation needs.

The bipartisan legislation introduced by Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) with at least 61 bipartisan cosponsors, including four from Pennsylvania, would dedicate $1.3 billion annually by Congress to states to conserve troubled fish and wildlife.

Similar legislation was introduced in the 115th U.S. Congress in December 2017, calling for dedicated funding from $5 billion to $12 billion in annual revenues generated by energy- and mineral- extraction royalties currently collected by the federal government from industries on federal lands and waters. That bill, which had 116 cosponsors, reached the U.S. House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands. Hearings were held, but the bill went no further.

The legislation, now before Congress for its third consecutive year, has strong, bipartisan support for its innovative approach to solving America’s ongoing and deepening wildlife crisis. But like other historic conservation legislation – U.S. Migratory Bird Act, Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act (Dingell–Johnson), U.S. Endangered Species Act – it takes time to build majority support in the House and Senate and for Americans to remind their legislators of this country’s lasting commitment to wildlife conservation.

The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act proposes to provide sufficient funding to states to proactively conserve imperiled species identified in State Wildlife Action Plans. It is championed by the Blue Ribbon Panel on Sustaining America’s Diverse Fish & Wildlife Resources, a think-tank of 26 energy, business and conservation leaders assembled in 2014 by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, which serves North America’s state and provincial wildlife management agencies.

Pennsylvania currently receives about $1.5 million in federal State Wildlife Grant funds annually to manage the state’s 664 fish and wildlife species of greatest conservation need and their associated habitats to work toward goals in the State Wildlife Action Plan.

Under the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, Pennsylvania would receive dedicated annual federal fish and wildlife conservation funding that could exceed $30 million to better address the conservation actions for these species.

“Sometimes our actions in the crusade for American wildlife seem like listening to a broken record,” noted Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans. “But that repetition is needed to reach the masses and drive home our message that wildlife needs you to step up, get involved.

“The dividends this act can provide Pennsylvania should make its passage important to anyone who wants healthy and diverse wildlife communities and all the benefits those creatures provide daily to millions of Americans,” Burhans noted. “If we fail, wildlife everywhere loses, and our outdoors will relinquish more of its enchanting beauty. We’re approaching the eleventh hour. The time to act is now.”

The Fish and Boat Commission also recognizes the almost unprecedented value and expanded coverage this legislation could provide Pennsylvania’s fish and wildlife conservation.

“The state fish and wildlife agencies across the nation greatly appreciate the bipartisan recognition by Congress that our nation’s fish and wildlife are in peril and need help and attention,” said Fish and Boat Commission Executive Director Tim Schaeffer. “While additional funding will be directed towards fish and wildlife species of greatest conservation need, the conservation efforts that will be applied by the states will benefit all species and enhance fish and wildlife populations and communities for the benefit of all people who enjoy angling, hunting and wildlife-associated recreation.”

“The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act legislation not only provides the states the requisite funding to continue the job of fish and wildlife management and conservation,” noted Schaeffer, “but also provides the necessary security to ensure that our children and grandchildren can enjoy all of the species that rely on clean water and healthy habitats.”

The Game Commission and Fish and Boat Commission are working closely with state and national conservation partners to bring this once-in-a-lifetime initiative to a vote in Washington, D.C. The need for long-term dedicated funding is obvious, and the agencies are urging all Pennsylvania voters and conservationists to let legislators know how important the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act is to them and Pennsylvania.

Estimates have a third of all American fish and wildlife as vulnerable or at risk.

Through federal funding provided by the State Wildlife Grants Program – created by Congress in 2000 – to support Pennsylvania’s species of greatest conservation need, conservation actions taken by the Game Commission, Fish and Boat Commission, and partners have averted federal endangered species listings, such as the golden-winged warbler, and led to state delisting of several species: bald eagle, osprey, silver chub and spotted darter. Right now, wildlife needs all the friends it can muster to get the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act across the finish line.

“Our existing funding model can no longer keep up with the needs of the full array of fish and wildlife in this country,” said Ron Regan, Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies executive director. “This bill will allow all Americans to become investors in conserving our nation’s fish and wildlife heritage.”

The emphasis of Wildlife Action Plans is proactive management that keeps marginal wildlife populations from slipping into more expensive care. In fact, most species identified in Pennsylvania’s Wildlife Action Plan do not appear on state or federal threatened or endangered species lists. But most also aren’t receiving sufficient care; there isn’t enough federal funding to provide it.

Pennsylvania is renowned for its enchanting mountains, meandering rivers and expansive marshes. But what value does it have without fish and wildlife? They’re the pulse of the Commonwealth’s great outdoors, what makes it so unforgettable.

To get involved, all Pennsylvanians are asked to contact their legislators in the U.S. House of Representatives and ask them to support the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act. Let them know America’s conservation of imperiled fish and wildlife currently is insufficient and that the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act would bridge the funding shortfalls that make compromised fish and wildlife more vulnerable.

To learn more about the management of Pennsylvania’s wildlife and the state’s Wildlife Action Plan, visit the Pennsylvania Game Commission website at www.pgc.pa.gov. To learn more about the management of fish, reptiles, amphibians and other aquatic life, visit the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission’s website at www.fishandboat.com. To learn more about Recovering America’s Wildlife Act visit OurNatureUSA.com.

Courtesy of Pennsylvania Game Commission