PA STATE’S HUNGRY THANKFUL FOR HUNTERS

HARRISBURG, PA - When they sit down at the dinner table on Thursday, Pennsylvania’s hunters will have plenty for which to be thankful. It's prime time for Pennsylvania hunting and, with any luck, some game bags or ear tags have been filled already, or are nearly about to be.

But as hunters are giving thanks, they should know also they’re in a prime position to receive thanks for what they might choose to give.

Each year, the generosity of Pennsylvania’s hunters results in about 200,000 meals for the state’s hungry.

By donating venison through Hunters Sharing the Harvest – a program that works through a network of meat processors to channel venison donations to local food banks, soup kitchens and hungry families – hunters extend their helping hands to those in need.

And, once again this year, the Pennsylvania Game Commission and other partners are making it easy for hunters to help out. The Game Commission again donated $20,000 to the program – money that enables Hunters Sharing the Harvest to accept venison donations without charging hunters. In prior years, hunters who donated venison needed also to pay a $15 tax-deductible fee to cover deer-processing costs.

This partnership helped Hunters Sharing the Harvest in the 2017-18 deer seasons set a record for donations, when hunters donated 3,337 deer yielding 130,930 pounds of venison that provided 667,400 meals for people in need. Through Hunters Sharing the Harvest, hunters have donated more than 1.3 million pounds of venison to the state’s hungry since 1991.

Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans said the agency is proud to partner with Hunters Sharing the Harvest, a program that exemplifies the generosity of Pennsylvania’s hunters.

“There’s no greater gift than feeding someone who is hungry, and our state’s hunters have stepped up to do that, time and again, by working through the program to generously donate meat from the deer they harvest to people in need,” Burhans said.

At a Tuesday news conference to kick off the busiest season for venison donations, Hunters Sharing the Harvest Executive Director John Plowman thanked the Game Commission and others who have helped to make the program a success. All deer donated through Hunters Sharing the Harvest must be processed professionally by a participating butcher. For information on where to take deer to be donated, or to learn more about the program generally, visit Hunters Sharing the Harvest’s website, www.sharedeer.org.

PA Deer farm operators claim wild deer are infecting their stock

By John Hayes / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. — The “ridge and valley” region is a beautiful swath of south-central Pennsylvania. Rising out of the Maryland panhandle, it spreads about 80 miles between the Allegheny Front west of Altoona and the Piedmonts east of Harrisburg. For centuries the rolling gap separating the mountain chains has served as a corridor between northern and southern Indian nations, William Penn’s charter and the Virginia colony and Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War.

Now, a new type of warfare is raging through those hills and plains. On one side, the Pennsylvania Game Commission and many of the state’s hunters are losing a war of attrition against a serious deer disease they say has entered free-ranging populations from commercial deer farms in the region. On the other side, deer farmers claim to be economic victims in the war against chronic wasting disease, a little-understood and always-fatal sickness that is killing fenced and free-ranging deer throughout the ridge and valley.

“This is serious. We all know that,” said Jarrid Barry, a Blair County deer farmer and president of the Pennsylvania Deer Farmers Association. Two weeks ago Barry testified before the state House Game and Fisheries Committee on the spread of chronic wasting disease. “We’re frustrated because we’re getting blamed for this. It’s put some of us out of business even though the mapping shows just the opposite — it’s in the wild deer and our deer are getting it inside the fence.”

Originally found on a deer research facility in Colorado in 1969, CWD is a transmissible neurological disorder of deer and similar animals. It carves sponge-like holes in the brains of its victims, similar to mad cow disease in cattle and scrapie in sheep. Not caused by a parasite, bacteria or virus, CWD is the result of an oddly folded protein, or prion, that is resistant to an enzyme that breaks down proteins and peptides. The resistance is transferred when a prion touches a healthy protein.

Chronic wasting disease is completely undetectable in live deer for up to a year before it inevitably causes loss of body condition, disorientation, behavioral abnormalities and death. It is not known how long the prions remain viable, but they’ve been found to be infective for at least a decade after being passed onto the ground by a diseased animal, and can survive tremendously high temperatures. Despite longtime scientific consensus to the contrary, recent research suggests CWD may be transferable to humans who eat the malformed protein.

The disease has been confirmed in 24 states. Since it was detected on an Adams County deer farm in 2012, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, which regulates the deer farming industry, has counted 46 captive deer that tested positive. Those farms were closed by the department, and any farm linked by deer exchanges were subject to quarantine until proven safe. Among free-ranging deer in Pennsylvania, chronic wasting disease recently crossed a transmission threshold, jumping from a total of 25 cases in 2016 to 125 confirmed positives this year. The Game Commission established four disease management areas around those locations (one has been eliminated), where special hunting and deer-handling regulations attempt to control the export of high-risk parts that harbor greater concentrations of prions.

In 2017 the Game Commission’s CWD pointman Wayne Laroche toured the state with a stop in Monroeville. Researchers, he said, have found spotty distribution of CWD in wild deer from the Rocky Mountains to southcentral Pennsylvania, suggesting the disease is radiating out from hotspots near deer farming facilities. Laroche’s presentation included a map showing the locations of CWD cases in the proximity of some of the state’s 860 deer farms, many clustered in the ridge and valley region surrounding Barry’s Powder Ridge Whiltetail Deer Farm.

“I’ve seen that map,” said Barry, during a recent tour of his 30-acre deer breeding facility. “It shows the disease moving up from counties in West Virginia where they’ve had more than 300 cases of CWD in wild deer since 2005, but no cases in deer farms. Up from Maryland where they’ve had about 30 cases of CWD in free-ranging deer and none in farm deer. When you see [on the map] 125 positives in Pennsylvania and 46 in fenced deer facilities, I don’t know how you look at Wayne’s map and see the disease coming out of deer farms.

Barry’s medium-size family-owned facility started with three bred does in 2007. Now, his 150 deer are raised primarily for sales to hunting preserves and stud service. Through selective breeding, he said, his 3- to 4-year-old bucks grow racks averaging 105 to 120 inches.

Some 3,500 jobs and $103 million in commerce are generated by Pennsylvania deer farms. Those that exchange deer within the state only are required by the Agriculture Department to be enrolled in a herd monitoring program in which CWD testing is performed on 50 percent of their deer that die at more than 1 year of age. Farms that move deer across state lines must have post-mortem CWD tests are performed on every deer that is at least a year old at death. In addition, deer farms involved in interstate commerce are subject to an intensive inventory process and hands on inspections of all deer by independent contractors every three years. Two forms of ID must be placed on every animal, and farms must comply with herd certification program protocols for at least five years before moving an animal out of state.

“Every deer that has tested positive in a captive farm in Pennsylvania was born in Pennsylvania,” said Barry. “There hasn’t been one animal shipped into our state that has tested positive for the disease. So get rid of that idea that we brought it in through an animal shipment, because there’s no evidence to support that.”

He admits it’s more difficult to monitor free-ranging deer, but more could be done, he said, to control the spread of CWD. Barry suspects that one of the main vectors for the disease may be successful hunters who carelessly discard carcasses of infected deer that were killed before showing signs of the CWD.

“Last year was the most mortalities [the Game Commission] ever tested and it was around 2 percent — 8,000 deer out of 300,000 deer shot,” said Barry. “When they find a case, how long was [the disease] there before they found it? Compare that with, behind fences last year in Pennsylvania, 65 percent of all the deer that died were tested for CWD.”

Barry’s enclosure exceeds the requirements of state law with an electric fence and two high fences separated by 8 feet, and his deer are certified for interstate sale. Nevertheless, five years after opening, a wild-deer disease management area was established that coincidentally encompasses the farm. Powder Ridge Whitetails has never had a case of CWD, he said, but special regulations prohibit him from selling his product out of state.

“My business is down, I have to get rid of some of my does,” he said. “To tell you the truth, I’m scared to death. I love deer, but I have deer outside my fences every day that potentially have the disease. One positive and my family business is out of business.”

John Hayes: jhayes@post-gazette.com

PA GAME COMMISSION RELEASES 2017/18 DEER HARVEST REPORT

HARRISBURG, PA - Pennsylvania’s buck harvest increased 10 percent, and the overall deer harvest also was up 10 percent, in the state’s 2017-18 hunting seasons, which closed in January, the Pennsylvania Game Commission reported today.

Hunters harvested an estimated 367,159 deer in the 2017-18 seasons, which easily topped the overall deer harvest of 333,254 in the 2016-17 seasons. Across the 23 Wildlife Management Units (WMU) used by the Game Commission to manage whitetails, the deer harvest decreased in only three units.

The 2017-18 buck harvest totaled 163,750, representing a 10 percent increase over the 2016-17 buck harvest of 149,460. It is the second largest harvest of bucks since antler restrictions were put in place in 2002. The largest harvest – 165,416 – occurred in the first year of antler restrictions.

The 2017-18 buck harvest also compares well with big buck harvests in Pennsylvania since the Game Commission began using calculated harvests in 1986. From that perspective, the 2017-18 buck harvest ranks as the 10th best.

But when comparing deer harvests over time, it’s important to remember that deer and hunter numbers have changed from decade to decade.

In the 1987-88 deer seasons, 16 percent of deer hunters took a legal buck. Ten years later, that rate increased to 19 percent. In the 2007-08 seasons, which were five years into antler restrictions, 15 percent of deer hunters took an antlered deer. In the 2017-18 seasons, more than 20 percent of deer hunters took an antlered deer.

The antlerless deer portion of the 2017-18 harvest also increased. Totaling 203,409, the antlerless harvest was up 11 percent over the 2016-17 antlerless harvest of 183,794. But that was by design. The 2017 antlerless license allocation increased about 7 percent over 2016’s allocation.

About 64 percent of the antlerless deer harvest was adult females; button-bucks comprised 19 percent and doe fawns made up 17 percent.

In what is becoming an annual occurrence, bowhunters accounted for about a third of Pennsylvania’s 2017-18 overall deer harvest, taking 118,110 deer (62,830 bucks and 55,280 antlerless deer) with either bows or crossbows. The archery harvest also increased 10 percent over 2016-17’s total harvest of 109,250.

Good fortune also came to muzzleloader hunters, who took 23,490 deer (1,310 bucks) in the 2017-18 seasons. This harvest also represented an about 10 percent increase in overall muzzleloader harvest.

The percentage of older bucks in the 2017-18 deer harvest remained high. About 57 percent of the bucks taken by hunters were at least 2½ years old. The remainder were 1½ years old.

Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans found the latest harvest news from Pennsylvania’s deer woods to be indicative of the big bucks and good deer hunting that can be found in the state’s forests and from farming valley to farming valley.

“Everywhere I go, hunters are telling me about and showing me photos of the trophy bucks they took last season,” Burhans said. “It’s something that started months ago and hasn’t stopped. I consider it a pleasure to share their excitement and see their pride.”

Agency staff currently is working to develop its 2018 antlerless deer license recommendations, which will be considered at the April 24 meeting of the Board of Game Commissioners.

In addition to harvest data, staff will be looking at deer health measures, forest regeneration and deer-human conflicts for each WMU as it assembles antlerless allocations, according to Matthew Schnupp, agency Bureau of Wildlife Management director.

Total deer harvest estimates by WMU for 2017-18 (with 2016-17 figures in parentheses) are as follows:

WMU 1A: 6,300 (6,500) antlered, 12,600 (10,400) antlerless;

WMU 1B: 8,300 (7,900) antlered, 13,000 (8,200) antlerless;

WMU 2A: 6,100 (7,000) antlered, 10,900 (9,200) antlerless;

WMU 2B: 4,500 (5,800) antlered, 14,000 (14,000) antlerless;

WMU 2C: 9,800 (8,300) antlered, 7,972 (8,335) antlerless;

WMU 2D: 14,700 (12,800) antlered, 17,391 (16,400) antlerless;

WMU 2E: 6,900 (5,200) antlered, 6,669 (5,341) antlerless;

WMU 2F: 9,500 (7,700) antlered, 7,202 (6,700) antlerless;

WMU 2G: 8,200 (6,200) antlered, 5,501 (4,000) antlerless;

WMU 2H: 1,700 (1,900) antlered, 1,900 (1,900) antlerless;

WMU 3A: 5,400 (5,400) antlered, 5,000 (3,800) antlerless;

WMU 3B: 8,900 (7,500) antlered, 7,000 (7,300) antlerless;

WMU 3C: 8,700 (8,600) antlered, 11,900 (11,000) antlerless;

WMU 3D: 4,700 (4,300) antlered, 4,200 (4,200) antlerless;

WMU 4A: 4,800 (4,400) antlered, 7,672 (7,913) antlerless;

WMU 4B: 5,600 (5,200) antlered, 7,108 (6,200) antlerless;

WMU 4C: 6,800 (6,400) antlered, 6,500 (5,300) antlerless;

WMU 4D: 10,600 (7,900) antlered, 8,417 (7,533) antlerless;

WMU 4E: 8,200 (7,300) antlered, 8,700 (7,500) antlerless;

WMU 5A: 2,900 (3,000) antlered, 3,801 (4,000) antlerless;

WMU 5B: 9,000 (8,900) antlered, 12,800 (12,400) antlerless;

WMU 5C: 8,800 (8,300) antlered, 15,600 (15,600) antlerless;

WMU 5D: 3,300 (2,900) antlered, 7,500 (6,500) antlerless; and

Unknown WMU: 50 (60) antlered, 76 (70) antlerless.

Season-specific 2017-18 deer harvest estimates (with 2016-17 harvest estimates in parentheses) are as follows:

WMU 1A: archery, 2,710 (3,030) antlered, 3,320 (2,950) antlerless; and muzzleloader, 90 (70) antlered, 1,480 (1,250) antlerless.

WMU 1B: archery, 3,370 (3,230) antlered, 2,730 (1,820) antlerless; muzzleloader, 30 (70) antlered, 970 (1,080) antlerless.

WMU 2A: archery, 2,040 (2,440) antlered, 2,030 (1,900) antlerless; muzzleloader, 60 (60) antlered, 1,170 (1,100) antlerless.

WMU 2B: archery, 3,060 (4,260) antlered, 6,490 (6,750) antlerless; muzzleloader, 40 (40) antlered, 1,010 (750) antlerless.

WMU 2C: archery, 3,400 (3,320) antlered, 1,500 (1,789) antlerless; muzzleloader, 100 (80) antlered, 1,000 (1,006) antlerless.

WMU 2D: archery, 5,720 (5,350) antlered, 2,800 (2,590) antlerless; muzzleloader, 80 (150) antlered, 2,100 (1,910) antlerless.

WMU 2E: archery, 2,040 (1,760) antlered, 1,120 (908) antlerless; muzzleloader, 60 (40) antlered, 880 (626) antlerless.

WMU 2F: archery, 3,110 (2,530) antlered, 1,340 (1,100) antlerless; muzzleloader, 90 (70) antlered, 1,060 (800) antlerless.

WMU 2G: archery, 2,050 (1,620) antlered, 1,110 (830) antlerless; muzzleloader, 50 (80) antlered, 990 (670) antlerless.

WMU 2H: archery, 390 (480) antlered, 320 (310­) antlerless; muzzleloader, 10 (20) antlered, 280 (290) antlerless.

WMU 3A: archery, 1,670 (1,470) antlered, 1,110 (700) antlerless; muzzleloader, 30 (30) antlered, 690 (500) antlerless.

WMU 3B: archery, 3,030 (2,440) antlered, 1,560 (1,380) antlerless; muzzleloader, 70 (60) antlered, 1,040 (1,020) antlerless.

WMU 3C: archery, 2,530 (2,340) antlered, 2,200 (1,880) antlerless; muzzleloader, 70 (60) antlered, 1,400 (1,220) antlerless.

WMU 3D: archery, 1,550 (1,470) antlered, 1,230 (1,060) antlerless; muzzleloader, 50 (30) antlered, 570 (440) antlerless.

WMU 4A: archery, 960 (940) antlered, 1,250 (1,374) antlerless; muzzleloader, 40 (60) antlered, 950 (1,031) antlerless.

WMU 4B: archery, 2,060 (1,850) antlered, 1,760 (1,400) antlerless; muzzleloader, 40 (50) antlered, 740 (600) antlerless.

WMU 4C: archery, 2,770 (2,570) antlered, 1,800 (1,380) antlerless; muzzleloader, 30 (30) antlered, 700 (620) antlerless.

WMU 4D: archery, 3,020 (2,420) antlered, 1,920 (1,629) antlerless; muzzleloader, 80 (80) antlered, 1,080 (876) antlerless.

WMU 4E: archery, 3,040 (2,750) antlered, 1,870 (1,570) antlerless; muzzleloader, 60 (50) antlered, 1,030 (730) antlerless.

WMU 5A: archery, 870 (970) antlered, 1,060 (870) antlerless; muzzleloader, 30 (30) antlered, 440 (330) antlerless.

WMU 5B: archery, 4,830 (4,730) antlered, 4,920 (4,330) antlerless; muzzleloader, 70 (70) antlered, 1,180 (970) antlerless.

WMU 5C: archery, 5,800 (5,300) antlered, 6,890 (6,990) antlerless; muzzleloader, 100 (100) antlered, 1,210 (1,010) antlerless.

WMU 5D: archery, 2,770 (2,280) antlered, 4,890 (4,180) antlerless; muzzleloader, 30 (20) antlered, 210 (220) antlerless.

Unknown WMU: archery, 40 (0) antlered, 60 (10) antlerless; muzzleloader, 0 (0) antlered, 0 (10) antlerless.

For additional information on Pennsylvania’s 2017-18 deer harvest, please go to the agency’s website – www.pgc.pa.gov – and go to the “White-Tailed Deer” page, then select 2017-18 Deer Harvest Estimates.

PENNSYLVANIA’S DEER PLAN SCORES WELL INTERNATIONALLY

The Game Commission’s deer management plan has the right stuff.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission’s deer management plan recently was rated one of North America’s best by Simon Fraser University in a recently published study that measured the scientific soundness and transparency of varied state and provincial wildlife management plans.

Pennsylvania tied with Wisconsin for the highest-scoring deer plans in North America among states and provinces that participated in the research conducted by Kyle A. Artelle and colleagues. The study used a framework that identified four fundamental hallmarks of science relevant to natural resource management – measurable objectives, evidence, transparency and independent review – and tested for their presence through 11 specific criteria in plan assessments, according to a research article recently published on the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Science Advances website.

The research paper, titled Hallmarks of science missing from North American wildlife management, challenged the widespread assumption that wildlife management in North America is science-based. Contributing to the investigation were researchers from Simon Fraser University, University of Wisconsin, University of Victoria, Hakai Institute and the Raincoat Conservation Foundation.

Pennsylvania’s deer plan earned the highest score out of 667 species management plans among 62 wildlife management agencies in the United States and Canada.

“Pennsylvania’s deer management plan was developed to meet high scientific standards,” said Chris Rosenberry, agency Deer and Elk Section chief. “This article validates those efforts.”

Rosenberry believes work in deer management from 2006 to 2009 paved the way for the Game Commission’s deer plan to achieve the level of proficiency and transparency it has today.

“No management plan is perfect,” Rosenberry emphasized. “There’s always room for improvement. And it’s that mindset that has made Pennsylvania’s deer plan stronger and more defendable today than it was 10 years ago. But it was and remains a science-based plan.”

One of the most important take-home messages coming from this independent research is that it wasn’t sanctioned by Pennsylvania hunters or the Commonwealth’s deer managers, emphasized Matthew Schnupp, agency Wildlife Management Bureau director.

“This rating is a third-party assessment, an objective evaluation derived from specific scientific standards that were applied to the management plans of dozens of state and provincial agencies,” Schnupp said. “It clearly illustrates our deer biologists have our white-tailed deer plan moving in the right direction.”

After applying hallmarks of science to 667 hunt-management plans, Artelle and colleagues concluded 60 percent of them featured fewer than half of the indicator criteria.

“The key to honest discussions about wildlife management and conservation is clarity about where the science begins and ends,” said Artelle, who is now a biologist with the Raincoat Conservation Foundation and a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Victoria. “Our approach provides a straightforward litmus test for science-based claims.”

STATE’S HUNGRY THANKFUL FOR HUNTERS

HARRISBURG, PA - When they sit down at the dinner table on Thursday, Pennsylvania’s  hunters will have plenty for which to be thankful. It's prime time for Pennsylvania hunting and, with any luck, some game bags or ear tags have been filled already, or are nearly about to be.

But as hunters are giving thanks, they should know also they’re in a prime position to receive thanks for what they might choose to give.

Each year, the generosity of Pennsylvania’s hunters results in about 200,000 meals for the state’s hungry.

By donating venison through Hunters Sharing the Harvest – a program that works through a network of meat processors to channel venison donations to local food banks, soup kitchens and hungry families – hunters extend their helping hands to those in need.

And, once again this year, the Pennsylvania Game Commission and other partners are making it easy for hunters to help out. The Game Commission again donated $20,000 to the program – money that enables Hunters Sharing the Harvest to accept venison donations without charging hunters. In prior years, hunters who donated venison needed also to pay a $15 tax-deductible fee to cover deer-processing costs.

Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans said the agency is proud to partner with Hunters Sharing the Harvest, a program that exemplifies the generosity of Pennsylvania’s hunters.

“There’s no greater gift than feeding someone who is hungry, and our state’s hunters have stepped up to do that, time and again, by working through the program to generously donate meat from the deer they harvest to people in need,” Burhans said.

At a Tuesday news conference to kick off the busiest season for venison donations, Hunters Sharing the Harvest Executive Director John Plowman thanked the Game Commission and others who have helped to make the program a success. All deer donated through Hunters Sharing the Harvest must be processed professionally by a participating butcher. For information on where to take deer to be donated, or to learn more about the program generally, visit Hunters Sharing the Harvest’s website, www.sharedeer.org.

WILL PENNSYLVANIA’S BUCK HARVEST INCREASE A THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR?

HARRISBURG, PA - Pennsylvania’s coming firearms deer season packs promise for hundreds of thousands of hunters as they await its opener the Monday after Thanksgiving.

Unseasonably warm weather and an abundance of fall mast made it more challenging to pattern deer movements throughout the statewide six-week archery season, which concluded Nov. 11. Now “rifle season” offers the next opportunity to hunt deer in Penn’s Woods.

Most of Pennsylvania’s deer harvest comes from hunters participating in the firearms season. It has been the Commonwealth’s principal tool for managing deer for more than a century. It is the season that draws the largest crowd. The season for which some rural schools still close their doors on the opener to allow their students – and teachers – to hunt.

The firearms season opener is the day every deer hunter wants to be afield. It’s almost always the most exciting day of the season and therefore usually offers the greatest opportunity. About a quarter of the season’s buck harvest occurs on the opener.

But this firearms season – not just its opening day – has the potential to be something special.

“Agency deer biologists believe there’s a chance we’ll see the state’s buck harvest increase for the third consecutive year,” explained Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans. “It’s an exciting possibility that banks on last year’s massive acorn crop and a mild winter paving the way for big bucks to get bigger and for more young bucks grow into legal racks.

“There’s no doubt something special is happening,” Burhans continued. “For the past few months, hunters have been sending us trail-cam photos of amazing bucks, maybe even new state records. Our field officers also are seeing plenty of bucks from farm country to the big woods. Some are real wall-hangers out there.”

Larger-racked – and older – bucks are making up more of the deer harvest with each passing year. Last year, 149,460 bucks were taken by hunters, making it the second-largest buck harvest in Pennsylvania since antler restrictions were started in 2002.

In 2016, 56 percent of the antlered buck harvest was made up of bucks 2½ years old or older, said Chris Rosenberry, who supervises the Game Commission’s Deer and Elk Section. The rest were 1½ years old.

“Older, bigger-racked bucks are more of the norm in the forests of Pennsylvania than they have been for at least a couple decades,” Rosenberry said. “There’s no doubt antler restrictions paved the way. It was a big step forward 15 years ago, and today we’re seeing the results for protecting young bucks.”

Every year, Pennsylvania hunters are taking once-in-a-lifetime 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 bucks don’t have to be big to be special.

“A buck that eludes hunters for years and years on a mountain or in a farming valley is just as special as the big boys that make the books,” emphasized Burhans. “The elusive ones might even be more meaningful to the hunters who pursue them because sometimes those chases go on for years, and involve hunting camps, families or groups of friends.”

Statewide Season

The statewide general firearms season runs from Nov. 27 to Dec. 9. In most areas, hunters may take only antlered deer during the season’s first five days, with the antlerless and antlered seasons then running concurrently from the first Saturday, Dec. 2, 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 differ 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 2017-18 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest, which is available online at the Game Commission’s website, www.pgc.pa.gov.

One very important regulation that applies statewide is the requirement for all hunters to 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. And for safety’s sake, it’s a good idea for nonhunters who might be afield during the deer season and other hunting seasons to consider wearing orange, as well.

Field Conditions for Deer Season

Precipitation through spring and summer have fostered an exceptional supply of fall foods in Penn’s Woods. Trees held their leaves longer. Grazing grass continued to grow. Soft and hard mast crops have been remarkably plentiful.

These conditions have made deer movements tough to sort out. Often, there isn’t a pattern. Deer are keying on food sources within good cover and staying there. That makes hunting more challenging, especially if you don’t scout to confirm deer are using the area you plan to hunt.

“There were regional bumper crops of red-oak acorns last year, and we sort of expected lower production this fall,” explained Dave Gustafson, Forestry Division chief in the Game Commission’s Bureau of Wildlife Habitat Management. “But even the areas reporting bumper crops last year are seeing at least decent red-oak acorn crops this year. And many areas that didn’t see red-oak acorns last year have a better-than-average crop this year.”

White-oak acorn yields have been a little less predictable, but hunters who find acorns beneath white and chestnut oaks are likely to find other oak trees in that area producing acorns in good numbers, Gustafson said.

“Even on specific ridges, the acorn – and beechnut – crop can vary by elevation or slope,” Gustafson said. “Down low, it might vary from woodlot to woodlot, or by tree size.”

When the forest is full of food, and corn remains standing in farming areas, hunters have more work to do to find deer. In these years – like this year – it often takes considerable field time to pinpoint areas whitetails are using.

Deer generally go where the easiest – and often, most nutritious – meal is available. But preferences and hunter pressure can inspire their selection.

This fall, there are abundant crops of acorns – types vary – and beechnuts. Crabapples and other soft mast also are plentiful. So, focus on areas that have sizable yields and see if whitetails are filling up there.

Deer make a mess wherever they eat, so it isn’t hard to sort out whether they’re using an area. Look for raked up leaves, droppings and partially eaten mast for confirmation.

When setting up a hunting stand, it’s also a good idea to use the prevailing wind to your advantage. Wherever you hunt, the prevailing wind should blow from where you expect to see deer to your location. Then, dress for the cold and sit tight.

Remember you’re not alone while you’re afield. Other hunters also are waiting on stand, still-hunting or driving for deer in groups. So, even if your stand over food fails to bring deer, the movements of other hunters might chase deer your way.

“Remember, the firearms deer season opener is like no other,” Burhans noted. “It is hands-down that one day when your chances of taking a buck are the greatest. Everyone heads afield hoping for a big buck. And for many, that wish comes true.”

Proper licensing

Hunters during the statewide firearms season can harvest antlered deer if they possess a valid general hunting license, which costs $20.90 for adult residents and $101.90 for adult nonresidents.

Each hunter between the ages of 12 and 16 must possess a junior license, which costs $6.90 for residents and $41.90 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.

Mentored-hunting opportunities also are available for adults, but only antlerless deer may be taken by mentored adult hunters.

Those holding senior lifetime licenses are reminded they must obtain a new antlered deer harvest tag each year, free of charge, to participate in the season.

To take an antlerless deer, a hunter must possess either a valid antlerless deer license or a valid permit. In the case of mentored hunters, the mentor must possess a valid tag that can be transferred to the mentored hunter at the time of harvest.

In addition to regular antlerless licenses, Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) permits can be used to take antlerless deer. A DMAP permit can be used throughout the 12-day firearms season, but only on the specific property for which it is issued.

Regular antlerless deer licenses may be used only within the wildlife management unit for which they’re issued, in most cases starting on Saturday, Dec. 2. WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D offer concurrent antlered and antlerless deer hunting throughout the statewide firearms deer season.

DMAP permits for some properties might still be available, but at the time of this release, antlerless licenses were sold out in all units but WMUs 2A and 2B.

General hunting 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.

Hunters are reminded the field possession of expired licenses or tags, or another hunter’s licenses or tags is unlawful.

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 with a ball-point pen 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.pa.gov – by clicking on the “Report a Harvest” button on the home page. Reporting online not only is the quickest way to report a harvest, it’s the most cost-effective for the Game Commission.

Harvests also can be reported by mailing in the postage-paid cards that are provided when licenses are purchased, 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. And hunters with DMAP or Disease Management Area 2 permits must report on their hunting success, regardless of whether they harvest deer.

By reporting their deer harvests, hunters play a key role in providing information used to estimate harvests and the deer population within each WMU. Estimates are key to managing deer populations, and hunters are asked to do their part in this important process.

Chronic Wasting Disease

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been detected in three areas of Pennsylvania, and special rules apply to hunters within the state’s two Disease Management Areas (DMA).

There are two DMAs. DMA 2 includes parts of Adams, Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Clearfield, Cumberland, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon and Somerset counties. And DMA 3 includes about 350 square miles in Clearfield, Indiana and Jefferson counties.

For the specific boundaries of each DMA, check the Game Commission’s website or turn to the 2017-18 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest.

Hunters may not remove from any 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 then can transport the meat and other low-risk parts outside the DMA.

Hunters also can 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.

Hunters who take deer within DMAs can now have their deer tested – free of charge – for CWD, and at the same time help the Game Commission fight this deadly disease.

The Game Commission has installed large metal bins at 26 locations for the collection of harvested deer heads within DMA 2 and DMA 3. The bins, which are similar to those used for clothing donations, keep contents secure and are checked and emptied every other day through the deer-hunting seasons.

All deer heads brought to the white-colored bins that can be tested for CWD will be tested for CWD, and the hunters who submitted them will be notified of the results as soon as they are available.

All heads submitted for testing must be lawfully tagged, with the harvest tag legibly completed and attached to the deer’s ear, and placed in a tied-shut plastic bag. The head can be bagged before being brought to the bin, or hunters can use the bags provided at bins.

Hunters who harvest deer outside a DMA must make arrangements with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Veterinary Laboratory if they want their deer to be tested. There is a fee associated with this testing. More information about this process can be found online at www.agriculture.pa.gov.

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.

The Game Commission will be sampling for chronic wasting disease statewide, but just because a hunter drops a deer off at a processor or taxidermist doesn’t mean the deer will be tested for CWD.

Chronic wasting disease is transmitted from deer to deer by direct and indirect contact. It is always fatal to deer that become infected, but there’s no known case of it being transmitted to humans.

People are advised, however, not to consume meat from deer that test positive for CWD.

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

Beyond The Hunt Photo and Big Buck Photo Contests

There is so much more to hunting than the harvest. Yet, sometimes we forget to capture those memories with a photo. To participate in the inaugural Beyond the Hunt Photo Contest, the Game Commission encourages you to snap a photo of the landscape or wildlife surrounding your favorite hunting spot, the person sitting beside you in the stand, the meal you share after a successful hunt or any other special moment surrounding your Pennsylvania hunting experience that goes #beyondtheharvest for a chance to win a generous prize package.

To enter, submit a photo showing an aspect of hunting other than the harvest and provide a short explanation about why it is meaningful to you. E-mail the submission to pgc-contest@pa.gov using “BTH” in the subject line. Hunters may send more than one submission. Photos must be taken in Pennsylvania. Entries will be accepted through Dec. 31.

Hunters who take Pennsylvania bucks during the 2017 archery or firearms seasons are eligible to submit photos of their trophies to the Game Commission’s Buck Harvest Photo Contest. Photos will be accepted through Dec. 17, and also should be emailed to pgc-contest@pa.gov. Use “BUCK HARVEST” in the subject line.

Game Commission staff will narrow the submitted photos in each contest into groups of contenders to be posted on the agency’s Facebook page, where users will determine the winning photos by “liking” the images. Those submitting the images of the winning archery and firearms bucks will win trail cameras.

For more information about either contest and prizes, visit the Game Commission’s website.

Deer disease spreads weeks before early PA archery season

By John Hayes / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Since the confirmation Aug. 17 of an outbreak of a lethal white-tailed  deer disease in southwestern Pennsylvania, the count of dead deer has risen from 150 to 450. More deaths are expected.

Less than three weeks before the start of the early antlerless archery season in Wildlife Management Unit 2B, the state Game Commission is investigating the spread of epizootic hemorrhagic disease in Allegheny, Beaver and Washington counties. It was first confirmed as the cause of a deer’s death in Greene Township, Beaver County.

The viral disease cannot be contracted by humans but could threaten livestock. EHD is not related to a more serious problem for Pennsylvania deer, chronic wasting disease, and cannot be spread deer-to-deer. Symptoms include a disheveled appearance, drooling, disorientation and bloody patches of skin. Infected deer are frequently found near water and die from extensive hemorrhages in five to 10 days.

The last major EHD outbreak in southwestern Pennsylvania was detected in August 2007. By November an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 wild deer became infected and died in Allegheny, Beaver, Cambria, Fayette, Greene, Lawrence, Washington and Westmoreland counties. A penned deer in Franklin county also died of EHD.

In 2012 a smaller outbreak spread through parts of Allegheny, Beaver, Greene and Westmoreland counties, as well as Cambria and Crawford counties. About 20 deer were killed by EHD on the grounds of Graterford State Correctional Facility in Skippack, Montgomery County.

The epizootic hemorrhagic virus is common among North American deer but the disease occurs more frequently in Southern states where the small flies that carry it, generically called midges, live longer. The insects die off with the season’s first frost.

Archers could find a dearth of deer in some locations when the season opens next month. The Game Commission noted that there is no evidence that EHD can lead to long-term negative impacts on deer populations. The agency is urging residents to report sightings of sick or dead deer by calling the Southwest Region office at 724-238- 9523.

FINAL Pennsylvania 2017-18 Hunting Seasons Approved

HARRISBURG, PA - The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners today gave final approval to hunting and trapping seasons and bag limits for the 2017-18 license year.

A list of all seasons and bag limits appears at the end of this news release.

The commissioners also set the number of antlerless deer licenses to be allocated, as well as the number of elk licenses to be allocated for the coming license year.

The board voted to allocate 804,000 antlerless deer licenses statewide, which up from 748,000 licenses in 2016. Allocations by Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) are as follows, with the allocation from the previous license year appearing in parentheses: WMU 1A – 52,000 (46,000); WMU 1B – 35,000 (29,000); WMU 2A – 50,000 (43,000); WMU 2B – 60,000 (61,000); WMU 2C – 31,000 (31,000); WMU 2D – 55,000 (55,000); WMU 2E – 22,000 (21,000); WMU 2F – 24,000 (22,000); WMU 2G – 25,500 (21,000); WMU 2H – 7,000 (6,000); WMU 3A – 20,000 (15,000); WMU 3B – 30,000 (28,000); WMU 3C – 42,000 (36,000); WMU 3D – 25,000 (25,000); WMU 4A – 30,000 (30,000); WMU 4B – 26,000 (26,000); WMU 4C – 29,000 (25,000); WMU 4D – 34,000 (34,000); WMU 4E – 27,500 (25,000); WMU 5A – 22,000 (19,000); WMU 5B – 57,000 (50,000); WMU 5C – 70,000 (70,000); and WMU 5D – 30,000 (30,000).

Hunters should note the boundary between WMUs 2C and 2E has changed.

Hunting licenses for 2017-18 go on sale in mid-June and become effective July 1. After hunters purchase a general hunting license, they may apply for antlerless deer licenses based on staggered timelines, which will be outlined in the 2017-18 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest to be made available online.

The board also voted to issue 118 elk licenses (25 antlered, 93 antlerless) for the 2017 hunt.

The licenses again will be awarded by lottery, and the deadline to enter the drawing is July 31.

Elk applications cost $10.90, and only one application may be submitted each license year.

Other modifications approved for the 2017-18 seasons include: moving the statewide archery bear season to the next-to-the-last week of the archery deer season; changing the firearms deer season in Wildlife Management Units 5A and 5B to bucks-only hunting from the opening day through the first Friday; opening a conservative mid-week fall turkey season in Wildlife Management Area 5B, and reducing the season length in WMUs 4A, 4B and 4E; eliminating the post-Christmas segment of the ruffed-grouse season to improve adult survival due to recent population declines; restoring an extended black-bear season in WMU 3A; opening the Central Susquehanna Wild Pheasant Recovery Area to a youth-only pheasant-hunting season; removing restrictions on hunting small game, other than pheasants, in all Wild Pheasant Recovery Areas, and re-establishing statewide put-and-take bobwhite quail hunting with a longer season and larger bag limit, given the lack of wild quail in the state and the low likelihood of quail reintroduction occurring in Pennsylvania anytime soon.

Several highlights pertaining to the 2017-18 seasons and bag limits follow. 

SPLIT FIREARMS DEER SEASONS ADOPTED 

The Board of Game Commissioners adopted a slate of deer seasons for 2017-18, proposing a split, five-day antlered deer season (Nov. 27-Dec. 1) and seven-day concurrent season (Dec. 2-9) in 20 Wildlife Management Units. They are WMUs 1A, 1B, 2A, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G, 2H, 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 5A and 5B. The package also retains the two-week (Nov. 27-Dec. 9) concurrent, antlered and antlerless deer season in WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D.

Hunters with Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) antlerless deer permits may use the permits during any established deer season, so long as the permits are used on the lands for which they are issued. DMAP permit holders will continue to be able to harvest antlerless deer from Nov. 27-Dec. 9 in WMUs 1A, 1B, 2A, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G, 2H, 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 5A and 5B. Fees for DMAP permits are $10.90 for residents and $35.90 for nonresidents.

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

The board retained antler restrictions for adult and senior license holders. 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 mentored youth hunters, junior license holders, disabled hunters with a permit to use a vehicle as a blind and resident active-duty military on leave.

Once again this year, the commissioners gave tentative approval to concurrent hunting of antlered and antlerless deer in WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D during most seasons, with the first segment of the archery season to run from Sept. 16 to Nov. 25 in those WMUs. 

FALL TURKEY SEASON CHANGES OK’D 

The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners today gave final approval to fall turkey seasons for 2017 and spring gobbler dates for 2018.

The board adopted a conservative, midweek fall turkey season in Wildlife Management Unit 5B, which long has been closed to fall-turkey hunting.

The board also gave final approval to reducing the length of the fall season in three Wildlife Management Units – WMUs 4A, 4B, and 4E. Those WMUs all have shown indications of declining turkey population trends.

All recommendations on fall turkey season length are made in accordance with guidelines in the Game Commission’s Wild Turkey Management Plan.

The fall turkey seasons for 2017-18 are as follows. In WMUs 1A, 2A, 4A and 4B, there is a one-week season (Oct. 28-Nov. 4), plus a three-day Thanksgiving season (Nov. 23-25).

In WMU 1B, the season remains one week (Oct. 28-Nov.4), with no Thanksgiving season.

In WMU 2B (shotgun and bow only), the season runs from Oct. 28-Nov. 17 and Nov. 23-25.

In WMU 2C, the season is from Oct. 28-Nov. 17 and Nov. 23-25.

In WMUs 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G, 2H, 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 4C, 4D and 4E, the season runs from Oct. 28-Nov. 11 and Nov. 23-25.

In WMU 5A, the season runs from Nov. 2-4.

In WMU 5B, the season is being held from Oct. 31-Nov. 2.

And in WMUs 5C and 5D, the fall season remains closed.

For the 2018 spring gobbler season, which runs from April 28-May 31, 2018, the board continued with legal hunting hours to reflect the following: from April 28-May 12, 2018 legal shooting hours will be one-half hour before sunrise until noon; and from May 14-31, hunters may hunt all day, from one-half hour before sunrise until one-half hour after sunset.

The one-day Spring Gobbler Youth Hunt will be held on April 21, 2018, and 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 half-day hunt, as well as the other spring season dates. 

2017-18 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 – Sept. 30-Oct. 14 (6 daily, 18 in possession limit after first day). 

SQUIRRELS, Red, Gray, Black and Fox (Combined): Oct. 14-Nov. 25; Dec. 11-23 and Dec. 26-Feb. 28 (6 daily, 18 possession). 

RUFFED GROUSE: Oct. 14–Nov. 25 and Dec. 11-23 (2 daily, 6 possession). 

RABBIT (Cottontail) Special season for eligible junior hunters, with or without required license: Sept. 30-Oct. 14 (4 daily, 12 possession). 

RABBIT (Cottontail): Oct. 14-Nov. 25, Dec. 11-23 and Dec. 26-Feb. 28 (4 daily, 12 possession). 

PHEASANT: Special season for eligible junior hunters, with or without required license – Oct. 7-14 (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 taking pheasants in Wild Pheasant Recovery Areas, except within the Central Susquehanna Wild Pheasant Recovery Area, as authorized by executive order. 

PHEASANT: Male only in WMUs 2A, 2C, 4C, 4E, 5A and 5B. Male and female may be taken in all other WMUs – Oct. 21-Nov. 25, Dec. 11-23 and Dec. 26-Feb. 28 (2 daily, 6 in possession). There is no open season for taking pheasants in Wild Pheasant Recovery Areas, except within the Central Susquehanna Wild Pheasant Recovery Area, as authorized by executive order. 

BOBWHITE QUAIL: Oct. 14-Feb. 28 (8 daily, 24 possession). 

HARES (SNOWSHOE RABBITS) OR VARYING HARES: Dec. 26–Jan. 1, in all WMUs (1 daily, 3 possession). 

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

CROWS: July 1-April 8, 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 – Oct. 28-Nov. 4; WMU 2B (Shotgun and bow and arrow) – Oct. 28-Nov. 17 and Nov. 23-25; WMUs 1A, 2A, 4A and 4B, – Oct. 28-Nov. 4 and Nov. 23-25; WMUs 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G, 2H, 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 4C, 4D and 4E– Oct. 28-Nov. 11 and Nov. 23-25; WMU 2C – Oct. 28-Nov. 17 and Nov. 23-25; WMU 5A – Nov. 2-4; WMU 5B – Oct. 31-Nov. 2; WMUs 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 21, 2018. Only 1 spring gobbler may be taken during this hunt. 

SPRING GOBBLER (Bearded bird only): April 28-May 31, 2018. Daily limit 1, season limit 2. (Second spring gobbler may be only taken by persons who possess a valid special wild turkey license.) From April 28-May 12, legal hunting hours are one-half hour before sunrise until noon; from May 14-31, legal hunting hours are one-half hour before sunrise until one-half hour after sunset. 

BLACK BEAR (Statewide) Archery: Oct. 30-Nov. 4. Only 1 bear may be taken during the license year. 

BLACK BEAR (Statewide): Nov. 18-22. Only 1 bear may be taken during the license year. 

BLACK BEAR (WMUs 3B, 3C and 3D): Nov. 27-Dec. 2. Only 1 bear may be taken during the license year. 

BLACK BEAR (WMUs 2B, 5B, 5C and 5D): Nov. 27-Dec. 9. Only 1 bear may be taken during the license year. 

BLACK BEAR (WMUs 1B, 2C, 3A, 4B, 4C, 4D and 4E): Nov. 29-Dec. 2. Only 1 bear may be taken during the license year. 

BLACK BEAR (WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D) archery: Sept. 16-Nov. 25. Only 1 bear may be taken during the license year. 

BLACK BEAR (WMU 5B) archery: Sept. 30-Nov. 11. Only 1 bear may be taken during the license year. 

BLACK BEAR (WMUs 2B, 5B, 5C and 5D) muzzleloader: Oct. 14-21. Only 1 bear may be taken during the license year. 

BLACK BEAR (WMUs 2B, 5B, 5C and 5D) special firearms: Oct. 19-21, 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): Oct. 30-Nov.4. Only one elk may be taken during the license year. 

ELK, EXTENDED (Antlered and Antlerless): Nov. 6-11. Only one elk may be taken during the license year. Eligible elk license recipients who haven’t harvested an elk by Nov. 5, in designated areas. 

DEER, ARCHERY (Antlered and Antlerless) WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D: Sept. 16- Nov. 25 and Dec. 26-Jan. 27, 2018. One antlerless deer with each required antlerless license. One antlered deer per hunting license year. 

DEER, ARCHERY (Antlered and Antlerless) Statewide: Sept. 30-Nov. 11 and Dec. 26-Jan. 13. One antlered deer per hunting license year. One antlerless deer with each required antlerless license. 

DEER (Antlered and Antlerless) WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D: Nov. 27-Dec. 9. One antlered deer per hunting license year. An antlerless deer with each required antlerless license. 

DEER (Antlered Only) WMUs 1A, 1B, 2A, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G, 2H, 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 5A and 5B: Nov. 27-Dec. 1. 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 1A, 1B, 2A, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G, 2H, 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 5A and 5B: Dec. 2-9. One antlered deer per hunting license year. An antlerless deer with each required antlerless license. 

DEER, ANTLERLESS (Statewide): Oct. 19-21. Junior and Senior License Holders, Mentored Youth Permit 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. 14-21. An antlerless deer with each required antlerless license. 

DEER, ANTLERED OR ANTLERLESS FLINTLOCK (Statewide): Dec. 26-Jan. 13. 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. 27. 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. 27. 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. 

2017-18 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. 21–Feb. 17, 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. 13-Feb. 7. One bobcat per license year. Licensed furtakers may obtain one permit each.

PORCUPINES: Sept. 1-March 31, 2018. (3 daily, season limit of 10)