News Items of Interest...

Pennsylvania deer hunt total lowest since 1987 Wednesday, March 24, 2010 The Associated Press Deer hunters in Pennsylvania bagged the lowest number of deer in the state since 1987. The Pennsylvania Game Commission says hunters killed an estimated 308,920 deer during the 2009-10 deer season, an 8 percent drop from the season before. The record low was 300,014 deer taken in 1986-87. The agency's chief deer biologist, Chris Rosenberry, declined to speculate on the reason for the low total. But Stephen Mohr, president of Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania, called the current deer management program "fatally flawed." His group has filed suit accusing the commission of mismanaging the deer population. Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10083/1045230-100.stm Increasing funds for pheasant hunting a conundrum for commission Buzz up!By Bob Frye, TRIBUNE-REVIEW Sunday, March 21, 2010 How to put a stamp on it? Might the answer to funding the state's pheasant program be requiring pheasant hunters to buy a stamp, but make the price of it high enough to support pheasant propagation on its own? That's what New Jersey does. It charges hunters $40 annually for a pheasant stamp, but only allows those who possess one to hunt birds. None of the groups pushing for a hunting license fee increase in Pennsylvania has suggested going that high. But half measures -- like calling for a stamp that raises just half the money needed to pay for the program -- isn't winning much agreement Who should pay for the state's pheasant hunting program? Just the hunters who hunt pheasants? Or all hunters? Agreement on an answer has been hazy at best. The Pennsylvania Game Commission's pheasant management plan calls for annually stocking 250,000 farm-raised birds -- or two-and-a-half times the 100,000 it is raising now -- when finances allow. See the rest by clicking here. State hatchery's open house offers behind-the-scenes peek Sunday, March 21, 2010 By Deborah Weisberg, Special to the Post-Gazette Andy Starne/Post-GazetteCarp feeding at the spillway of Pymatuning State Park near Linesville, Pa.Leave it to the experts to tell your kids where babies come from -- babies with fins and tails, at least. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission demonstrates the fish spawning process at its annual open house at the Linesville State Fish Hatchery, in Crawford County near Pymatuning Reservoir from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. April 3. Plenty of activities are planned, including a show-and-tell on how biologists "age" fish, bluegill printing on T-shirts, and casting practice for kids. But walleye reproduction is the main event, said Larry Hines, the commission's production manager for northern hatcheries. Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10080/1044171-358.stm