Wildlife: There is no good reason to feed deer

By Scott Shalaway, Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Shorter days and chilly mornings remind many of us to fill the bird feeders. And for too many people, it's also a reminder to resume feeding deer. That's a habit that makes wildlife biologists cringe.
"There are no benefits to feeding white-tailed deer," said state Game Commission wildlife veterinarian Dr. Justin Brown, in a recent interview. "And that goes for elk, too."

Brown says feeding deer does far more harm than good. To accommodate gradual seasonal changes in diet, the bacteria, enzymes and pH in a deer's gut also change. Supplemental food, usually corn, provided abruptly when it gets cold upsets the digestive system and can lead to acidosis and even death. Deer with bellies full of corn can literally die of starvation because they cannot digest such a high carbohydrate diet.

And just because you don't see any dead deer doesn't mean they are not dying. The effects of acidosis may weaken them so they are more likely to be killed by vehicles, predators, parasites or other diseases.

Furthermore, Brown warns that indirect effects from feeding deer can lead to density-dependent impacts.

"Supplemental food sources cause deer to concentrate in unnaturally large social groups around feeders," he said. "That causes populations to exceed the carrying capacity of the habitat. More deer intensify competition for food and increase aggression. These deer fight more and are prone to injury. More social interaction can also increase the spread of a variety of diseases."

When deer travel to and from backyard feeders, they're more likely to die in collisions with vehicles. Also, backyard deer are notorious for destroying valuable shrubs planted to beautify backyards.
There is no up side to feeding deer in the backyard or on the back forty. Healthy white-tailed deer are perfectly capable of surviving cold, snowy winters without extra food from kind-hearted wildlife lovers.

Fall Reminder: Game Lands Are Hunting Grounds First

           

Some uses not related to hunting or trapping restricted during hunting seasons.

With the calendar now flipped to October, and the fall hunting seasons all to open soon, restrictions are back in place on all tracts comprising Pennsylvania’s 1.4 million-acre state game lands system.

           Unlike state or county parks, or even state or national forests, the primary purpose of Pennsylvania’s state game lands is to provide habitat for wildlife, and hunting and trapping opportunities for Pennsylvanians.

           While many secondary recreational uses of game lands unrelated to hunting or trapping traditionally have been permitted during summer months, such uses are tightly restricted beginning the last Saturday in September, which typically occurs just before the start of the statewide archery deer season.

           The restrictions remain in place through the third Saturday in January, a date that ensures the game lands system adequately serves hunters through the close of the flintlock muzzleloader deer season.

           During the restricted period, the recreational riding of horses and bicycles on game lands is permitted only on Sundays. On Mondays through Saturdays, only riding related to active hunting and trapping is permitted on game lands. 

           Recreational riding of horses and bicycles on game lands is permitted only on marked, designated trails. Designated trails that are approved for snowmobile use don’t open to snowmobiles until the third Sunday of January, and they close April 1.

           Off-road vehicles including ATVs are not permitted anywhere or at anytime on game lands. 

           Hiking is permitted on game lands throughout the year, however, hikers are advised that game lands are hunting grounds where hunting activity is likely to be occurring. Additionally, during the month surrounding the deer and bear firearms seasons – a period from Nov. 15 to Dec. 15 each year – hikers, as well as all other secondary users of game lands, must wear a minimum of 250 square inches of fluorescent orange material on the head, chest and back combined, and the orange material must be visible from 360 degrees.
           The requirement doesn’t apply on Sundays, when hunting for most game species isn’t permitted.
           Totaling more than 1.4 million acres, Pennsylvania’s state game lands system wouldn’t exist without the state’s hunters and trappers. Tracts for game lands are purchased with hunters’ dollars, derived either from the purchase of hunting and furtaker licenses, from a federal excise tax on sporting arms and ammunition, from lands or funding donated to the agency by its many conservation partners, or from things like timber sales and energy leases on existing game lands.

           With the exception of the orange requirement, restrictions on game lands use apply neither to those hiking the Appalachian Trail in areas where the trail crosses game lands, nor to users of some recreational trails, such as Rails to Trails, that are established by cooperative agreement.

           Restrictions on the uses of game lands are intended to protect wildlife habitat, preserve the tracts as prime hunting and trapping locations and make game lands safer for all, said Game Commission Executive Director R. Matthew Hough.

           “The beginning of October and the coming of autumn is always among the most-anticipated time of year for hundreds of thousands of hunters and trappers in Pennsylvania, many of whom use state game lands,” Hough said. “We wish them success in their ventures afield, and we wish all game lands visitors a safe and enjoyable season.”

Statewide Archery Season Begins October 4th In PA!

Pennsylvania Game Commission wishes bow-hunters safe days afield.

Pennsylvania’s archery deer season begins Saturday, Oct. 4, and its return is prompting the Pennsylvania Game Commission to issue some helpful reminders.

Archers can hunt for antlered or antlerless deer from Oct. 4 to Nov. 15, and during the late archery deer season, which runs from Dec. 26 to Jan. 10.

This is a statewide season, however, as announced previously, all hunting and trapping seasons, including the statewide archery season, have been temporarily closed within seven townships in Pike and Monroe counties. Details of the closure are available in Oct. 1 news release (Release #85-14) available at the Game Commission’s website.

At the time of the statewide opener, archery hunters in three urbanized areas of the state will have had a two-week head start to their seasons. Again this year, an early season for antlerless deer was implemented in WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D. That season kicked off on Sept. 20.

Bowhunters in WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D, also may take antlered and antlerless deer during an extended late archery season, which runs from Jan. 12 to Jan. 24.

Archery hunters may use a long, recurve or compound bow, or a crossbow. Bows must have a draw weight of at least 35 pounds; crossbows must have a minimum draw weight of at least 125 pounds.

The Game Commission encourages hunters to spend as much time as possible afield this fall prior to and during the hunting seasons to pattern deer movements and identify areas where fall foods are abundant.

“Scouting during the preseason does much to improve early season success,” Game Commission Executive Director R. Matthew Hough said. “But even after the season begins, observations made while hunting on a given day often increase chances of future success. Hunt as often as you can, and have a great time doing it.”

Those participating in the archery seasons are urged to take only responsible shots at deer to ensure a quick, clean kill. For most, that’s a shot of 20 yards or less at a deer that is broadside or quartering away. Archery and crossbow hunters should shoot only at deer that are within their maximum effective shooting range – the farthest distance from which a hunter can consistently place arrows or bolts into a pie pan-sized target.

Hunters may use illuminated nocks for arrows and bolts; they aid in tracking or locating the arrow or bolt after being launched. However, transmitter-tracking arrows still are illegal.

Tree stands and climbing devices that cause damage to trees are unlawful to use or occupy unless the user has written permission from the landowner. Tree stands – or tree steps – penetrating a tree’s cambium layer cause damage, and it is unlawful to build or occupy tree stands screwed or nailed to trees on state game lands, state forests or state parks.

Hunters are reminded that Game Commission regulations limit the placement of portable hunting tree stands and blinds on state game lands from two weeks before the opening of the first big game season – which is the archery deer season – to two weeks after the close of the last big game season – which is the late archery deer season – within each respective Wildlife Management Unit, excluding the spring gobbler season. Stands must be removed from state game lands two weeks after the late archery deer season.

Safety tips for bowhunters include:

·                          Make sure someone knows where you’re hunting and when you expect to return home. Leave a note or topographic map with your family or a friend. Pack a cellular telephone for emergencies.

·                          Always use a fall-restraint device – preferably a full-body harness – when hunting from a tree stand. Wear the device from the moment you leave the ground until you return. Don’t climb dead, wet or icy trees. Stay on the ground on blustery days. Keep yourself in good physical condition. Fatigue can impact judgment, coordination and reaction time, as well as accuracy.

·                          Always carry a whistle to signal passersby in the event you become immobile. A compass and matches or lighter and tinder also are essential survival gear items to have along. An extra flashlight bulb also can be helpful.

·                          Use a hoist rope to lift your bow and backpack to your tree stand. Trying to climb with either will place you at unnecessary risk.

·                          Don’t sleep in a tree stand! If you can’t stay awake, return to the ground.

·                          Always carry broadhead-tipped arrows in a protective quiver.

·                           If you use a mechanical release, always keep your index finger away from the trigger when drawing.

·                          Follow the manufacturer’s recommendations for all equipment and check your equipment before each use.

·                          Practice climbing with your tree stand before dawn on the opening day of the season. Consider placing non-slip material on the deck of your tree stand if it’s not already there.

·                          Never walk with a nocked, broadhead-tipped arrow or bolt.

·                          Cocked crossbows should always be pointed in a safe direction.

Hunting in Disease Management Areas

Archers hunting and harvesting deer within any of the state’s three Disease Management Areas (DMAs) must comply with special rules aimed at slowing the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Pennsylvania.

High-risk deer parts – essentially the head and backbone/spinal cord – may not be transported outside the DMA.

Harvested deer can be taken to a cooperating taxidermist or deer processor associated within a DMA, and the processed meat and/or finished taxidermy mounts may be removed from the DMA when ready.

Successful hunters who intend to do their own processing and who need to transport deer meat or other low-risk parts outside a DMA may stop by one of the many high-risk parts disposal sites established within the DMAs.

A list of those sites and their exact addresses or GPS coordinates are available on the CWD information page at the Game Commission’s website, www.pgc.state.pa.us. Lists of cooperating processors and taxidermists also are available on that page.

Successful hunters who live in a DMA also may use the high-risk parts disposal sites, but those hunters can also dispose of high-risk parts by bagging them with household trash and sending them for disposal.

Regardless the method of disposal, hunters are asked to do their part to make sure high-risk parts end up in a landfill and away from free-ranging deer. Because CWD can be passed from deer to deer through direct as well as indirect contact, and because the prion that causes CWD can live in the soil – perhaps forever – hunters should understand that dumping deer carcasses on the landscape only increases the risk of spreading CWD.

The state’s three DMAs are the result of deer in those areas testing positive for CWD, which is fatal to deer and elk, but is not known to be transmitted to humans.

DMA 2, which encompasses about 1,600 square miles in Bedford, Blair, Huntingdon Cambria and Fulton counties, is the only DMA in which CWD has been detected in free-ranging deer in Pennsylvania.

DMA 1, which encompasses 600 square miles in York and Adams counties; and DMA 3, which totals about 350 square miles in Jefferson and Clearfield counties, each were established after CWD was detected in captive deer. Maps detailing the perimeters of the DMAs also are available at the Game Commission’s website.

Hunters within DMA 2 are reminded the DMA has been expanded this year. Also, DMA 2 Antlerless Deer Permits remain available and can be purchased through The Outdoor Shop on the Game Commission’s website. The permits can be used only within DMA 2 and cost $6.70 each.

More information on CWD is available at the Game Commission’s website.

PA Game Commission Urges State Senate To Increase Officer Safety

Legislation to allow Wildlife Conservation Officers to use body cameras already has cleared the House.

          Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director R. Matthew Hough today urged the state Senate to act quickly to pass legislation that would allow Wildlife Conservation Officers working for the Game Commission and Waterways Conservation Officers working for the state Fish and Boat Commission to wear body cameras in performance of their official duties.

          The state House of Representatives overwhelmingly has supported House Bill 2178, which was sponsored by state Rep. Dan Moul, R-Adams County. The bill passed the House in June by a vote of 191-5. 

          Hough urged the Senate to follow suit.

          “As most Pennsylvanians know, the fall hunting seasons are almost here, and our officers already have begun ramping up patrols to stop poaching activity and other illegal practices,” Hough said. “Mobile video-recording devices have been shown to make the jobs of law-enforcement officers safer, and a timely vote by Senators to allow our Wildlife Conservation Officers to wear the cameras now, as they enter their busiest time of year, would have an immediate impact with measurable results.

          “I thank Senators in advance for making officer safety a high priority,” Hough said.

          The use of body cameras already has been expressly approved by the state Legislature for other police agencies statewide. The devices, which can be clipped onto an officer’s uniform, are similar to the dashboard cameras installed in most law-enforcement vehicles. The mobile cameras are considered especially suitable for Wildlife Conservation Officers, who often patrol while on foot.  

          The mere presence of cameras can quickly defuse what might otherwise become hostile situations, and cameras often capture valuable evidence that increases the chances of successful prosecutions. 

          The Game Commission in 2012 purchased body cameras for its officers, and officers used them briefly in the field before the law was changed to provide that only state and municipal police officers could use body cameras.

          Moul, whose legislative district includes the area of Adams County where Wildlife Conservation Officer David L. Grove was shot and killed by a poacher in 2010, sponsored the legislation as a way to increase officer safety. 

          The Senate could vote on the bill as early as next week.

Studies detail buck behavior

By Bob Frye 

Andy Olson sits with one of the mature bucks he captured
and radio collared in Elk County for a study looking at how
deer relate to Pennsylvania habitat.

Every deer hunter has had the same dream at some point.

They want to go into the woods and come out with a deer. But not just any deer. They want a big one with the kind of rack that makes the people who put together outdoor magazine covers drool.

What are the chances of pulling it off? Well, on the eve of Pennsylvania's archery season — it opens statewide Saturday — there's good news and bad news, based on two recent studies.

One was done of mature bucks within Pennsylvania. It gave some strong clues as to where you might find big bucks at certain times of year and how vulnerable they are when focused on breeding.

On the other hand, another study, done in South Carolina, suggests bucks — big and small — become increasingly hard to hunt with even the slightest hunting pressure.

The Pennsylvania study was done by Andy Olson of St. Marys as a University of Georgia graduate student.

He put GPS collars on 19 mature bucks — those at least 3¹⁄₂ years old — on a 7,000-acre tract of private property bordered by state game lands in northcentral Pennsylvania. He then tracked their movements. The collars provided locations for each deer on the hour in spring and summer and every 15 minutes during the hunting season, from October through December.

Olson's goal was to see how and where the deer moved in relation to habitat. That has been studied in a few other states before but never in the continuous hardwoods of Pennsylvania, he said.

It turns out big Keystone State bucks cover a lot of ground.

“What I found is that the average home range throughout the year is about 1,000 acres. I think it's larger than people really realize. It's larger than I thought,” Olson said.

They don't use that almost 2-square-mile area equally at all times of year, however. Their core areas were much smaller.

But bucks actually move more and cover more ground in fall than at any other time of year, he said. Food and females accounted for where they were likely to be.

The same bucks that frequented food plots and forest openings in spring and summer shifted to areas of mature hardwoods to feed on acorns starting in September, Olson said.

Later, during the rut — which Olson defined as the month of November — bucks are likely to wind up anywhere, he said. One walked 4 miles outside his home range, going up and down hills, then turned around and came back all in one day.

That was extreme, Olson said. Most bucks stayed within their home range even when seeking does to breed. But they move around a lot within that territory, he said.

“One thing I did notice, which was really cool, came from looking at movement in the rut versus pre-rut. Bucks moved up to eight times as much in daylight during the rut as before,” Olson said.

“So as a hunter, come November, if you can stay out there, you're going to increase your chances of seeing a mature buck by eight times.”

After the rut, bucks went back to food sources, he said.

The South Carolina study, meanwhile, showed that adding hunters to the landscape impacts deer movements greatly. It was done by Clint McCoy, then a graduate student at Auburn and now a deer biologist with the Ohio Division of Wildlife.

McCoy also put GPS collars on bucks from 1¹⁄₂ to 4¹⁄₂ years old. The collars recorded locations every 30 minutes.

The study area was privately owned, intensively managed for wildlife — with food plots and feeders — and limited to hunting by invited guests. Those hunters typically were driven close enough to their designated stands that they never had to walk more than 20 yards through the woods.

“So there wasn't much pressure, at least in the way you or I would think of hunting pressure elsewhere,” McCoy said.

Yet bucks proved very sensitive.

McCoy drew what he called a “harvest zone” around each of the established hunting stands.

He then examined how the number of hours a hunter spent on stand impacted the likelihood a deer would enter that zone during daylight hours and how that changed over time.

McCoy found that bucks learned to avoid those areas more and more as the season progressed. They were four times less likely to wander into a harvest zone by the end of the season than they were at the beginning.

Young bucks proved just as wary as did older — supposedly “wiser” — ones.

“Age was not a factor. It had no bearing on their likelihood to enter those zones, which was a surprise to us and probably will be to a lot of hunters,” McCoy said.

His study also showed bucks are slow to come back to a spot that has had a hunter. They exhibited “avoidance behavior” for up to three days after a stand was hunted, he said. It's wasn't until six days after a stand was hunted that deer again were attracted to that location.

Hunters would be wise to keep that in mind and perhaps rest a hunting stand periodically, he suggested.

“Trail cameras can be your worst enemy in that regard. You see a picture of that big buck, and you know he's there. You think, if I just sit in my stand long enough, maybe I'll see him,” McCoy said.

“Our research suggests that's maybe not the case.”

Ticks reduce moose population in northern states

By The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Maine — Sportsmen hoping to bag a big moose are seeing increased competition from a tiny parasite that's cutting down moose populations in New England and across parts of the northern United States, prompting some states to offer hunters fewer permits or halt hunting altogether.

Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont are all issuing fewer moose hunting permits this year, citing the impact of winter ticks on their moose populations. In Minnesota, where ticks are among several factors that have cut the population by more than half in less than a decade, there will be no moose hunting season at all.

Thousands of ticks are sometimes found on a moose, and the parasites can bleed the animals and cause anemia and death.

“It's really that they bleed them dry,” said Lee Kantar, Maine's moose biologist.

Maine's moose season kicks off Monday, but the state is coming off a peak year for winter ticks, which have helped reduce the moose herd from 76,000 in 2012 to between 65,000 and 70,000, state officials said.

Maine reduced its number of moose permits from 4,110 in 2013 to 3,095 this year for a season in which more than 50,000 people, a typical number, applied for a permit. New Hampshire officials issued 124 permits — fewer than half of the 275 awarded in recent years — for the state's October season in the face of a decline in moose population from 7,600 in 1996 to about 4,400 now.

In Vermont, the moose population is estimated around 2,500, below the state's ideal range of 3,000 to 5,000. The state's moose herd topped out in 2008, when the state issued 1,255 hunting permits. This year it has issued 285, 70 fewer than a year ago, for its October hunt.

Minnesota's moose population, which suffers from predators and disease, has plummeted from 8,840 in 2006 to 2,760, according to state data. The state suspended hunting last year and is in the midst of a multi-year research initiative into possible methods to slow the decline.

The ticks occur in all North American moose populations except Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Alaska and far northern Canada, said Alberta-based biologist Bill Samuel, who added that the ticks are the “most important external pest of moose in North America.”

Many biologists tie the surge in tick-related moose deaths at least in part to warmer temperatures. Warm fall temperatures and early spring snowmelt improves conditions for winter ticks to thrive, biologists say. Samuel said more ticks survive to lay eggs when the early spring temperature is warm and the ground snow-free.

Bull Creek's Fall Gun Bash A Big Success!

A special thanks to all who turned out for Bull Creek's annual Fall gun bash.  Over 500 in attendance enjoying the food and fun!!

PA Game Commission To Host Tours

Game farm tours set for Sept. 28, game lands driving tours to follow.

         

Those looking to gain perspective into Pennsylvania’s wildlife, habitat and hunting heritage will have several opportunities in the coming weeks to take one or more tours being offered by the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

          The Game Commission on Sunday, Sept. 28 is scheduled to host guided tours of its four game farms – two in Lycoming County and one each in Armstrong and Crawford counties.

          And Sunday driving tours on several tracts of state game lands across the Commonwealth are planned for Oct. 5 and Oct. 19. 

          The Sept. 28 game farm tours all will begin at noon and conclude by 3 p.m., and will be held rain or shine. 

          Those taking a tour will get a comprehensive look at the Game Commission’s pheasant propagation program, which again this year aims to raise about 200,000 birds to provide hunting opportunities statewide. Tour stops include hatcheries, brooder houses and the rearing, “grow out” and over-wintering pens. The tours also will inform on the objectives in propagation management, including the importance of sportsmen’s clubs and members of the public raising day-old hen chicks hatched at the farms, ultimately to provide hunting opportunities.

          The tours of state game lands provide an opportunity to talk to the personnel directly responsible for managing and protecting game lands, and four-wheel-drive vehicles are recommended for those taking driving tours on some tracts.

          Game Commission Executive Director R. Matthew Hough said the tours provide an opportunity to show the public the many things being accomplished for wildlife and for Pennsylvania’s hunters.

          The state game lands system provides hunting and trapping opportunities on more than 1.4 million acres statewide, and many game lands tracts are stocked annually with pheasants raised through the propagation program.

          “We are exceptionally proud of our state game lands and our pheasant propagation program, and these tours provide an ideal setting for our staff to interact with the public and show them the many reasons why we’re so proud of these initiatives,” Hough said.

          With autumn nearly here, Hough said, the tours should provide a splash of color and some of the best scenery the Commonwealth has to offer.

          The state game lands system has a long history in Pennsylvania. The Game Commission in 1919 was granted authority to purchase lands for the protection, propagation and management of wildlife, and provide areas for public hunting and trapping. Today, tracts of state game lands exist in all but Philadelphia and Delaware counties. Collectively, game lands make up a land base greater in size than the state of Delaware.

          With few exceptions, state game lands were purchased using revenues from hunting and furtaker license sales; state game lands timber, coal, oil, gas and mineral operation revenues; the state’s share of the federal excise tax on sporting arms and ammunition, known as the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Program; from Working Together for Wildlife artwork and patch sales; and from the Pennsylvania Waterfowl Management stamp and print sales.

          Information on the tours is as follows:

GAME FARM TOURS

All to be held on Sunday, Sept. 28, from noon to 3 p.m. Directions to the game farms are as follows:

·        Loyalsock Game Farm: Lycoming County, 136 Game Farm Rd., Montoursville, PA 17754. The game farm is five miles north of Montoursville on Route 87.  The game farm is 1.5 miles east of Warrensville on Route 973. Tour starts at the hatchery.

·        Northcentral Game Farm: Lycoming County, 1609 Proctor Rd., Williamsport, PA  17701. The game farm is 18 miles north of Montoursville off of Route 87. Tour starts at the hatchery of the Proctor (northern) farm.

·        Western Game Farm: Crawford County, 25761 Highway 408, Cambridge Springs, PA 16403. The game farm is 3.5 miles east of Cambridge Springs on Route 408. Tour starts at the office/hatchery.

·        Southwest Game Farm: Armstrong County, 217 Pheasant Farm Rd., New Bethlehem, PA 16242.  The game farm is two miles south of New Bethlehem off Routes 66/28. Tour starts at the office/hatchery.

GAME LANDS TOURS

·        Berks and Schuykill counties: Sunday, Oct. 19, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. A vehicle tour of State Game Lands 110, which encompasses nearly 10,150 acres of historical, scenic and recreational property. The nine-mile trip will begin at the agency’s parking lot on Mountain Road, midway between the Shartlesville exit of Interstate 78 and Route 61. The tour will exit onto Route 183, north of Strausstown. Game Commission officers will be on hand to answer questions relating to Game Commission programs and activities. Also please note that due to the previously announced construction project on Ellendale Forge Road, the State Game Lands 211 tour will not be held this year. State Game Lands 211 is in Dauphin and Lebanon counties.

·        Bradford County:  Sunday, Oct. 5, State Game Lands 12, from 10:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. (rain or shine). This is a 28-mile, self-guided, circular driving tour through State Game Lands 12, and will take about two hours to complete. State Game Lands 12 consists of nearly 24,480 acres in Bradford County. The route will start at the game lands parking lot on top of Wheelerville Mountain on state Route 154, just south of Canton, Bradford County. Roads are passable for most vehicles, four-wheel drive is not needed but a good ground clearance is advised. The route travels east to the Barclay Cemetery, then down the hill to Laquin before turning west onto the railroad grade to Wheelerville. The tour ends at the intersection with state Route 154 in Wheelerville. From there, those on the tour can travel north on state Route 154 to Canton, or south to Shunk in Sullivan County. The tour goes by Sunfish Pond County Park so a picnic lunch may be the order of the day! Those taking the tour are sure to find the local history of the mountain and the Game Commission’s refuge system is intriguing. A pocket guide full of historical information and photographs will be provided to each vehicle at the start of the tour. 

·        Cambria County: Sunday, Oct. 19, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., State Game Lands 108, consisting of 23,086 acres. This 7.5-mile, self-guided, one-way, driving tour will highlight mountainous terrain and fall foliage on the Allegheny front. Items of interest along the tour route include a rehabilitated strip-mined area, which has been converted to small-game habitat. The area also serves as a study area for grassland nesting birds, including the Henslow’s sparrow, a grassland species of special concern. Northern harriers and endangered short-eared owls also inhabit the study area. Also highlighted are tree and shrub identification, wildlife habitat food plots and a deer exclosure fence. Each tour participant will be provided a brochure with directions and information about features along the tour route. The tour begins at the game lands access road three-tenths of a mile north of Frugality, along state Route 53, in White Township. Watch for the sign. The tour will conclude on state Route 865, near Blandburg in Reade Township. Game Commission land management, forestry, wildlife management, and law enforcement personnel will be on hand to explain the various habitat improvement projects on this state game lands, and to answer questions.

·        Carbon County: Sunday, Oct. 5, State Game Lands 141, which consists of nearly 17,048 acres.  Registration will be held from 8 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. at the large parking lot along state Route 93 on State Game Lands 141, Nesquehoning Township. Game Commission personnel will be on hand to explain various points of interest, including wildlife habitat-improvement projects. Four-wheel-drive vehicles with high clearance are recommended for this 9-mile, self-guided driving tour.  The tour will begin at the large parking area on the east side state Route 93 and travels east on a game lands road toward the Lehigh Gorge State Park, and back to state Route 93, exiting at the parking lot across from the game lands shooting range. The tour will pass habitat-improvement projects completed by the game lands Food and Cover Corps crew located in Carbon County, along with the National Wild Turkey Federation, The Nature Conservancy, and the Ruffed Grouse Society. Representatives from the Game Commission and conservation organizations will be on hand to explain the projects and answer questions.  Directions: Take state Route 93 north from state Route 209 and proceed 3.5 miles and turn right into the parking lot. Proceed through the gate on a dirt road. Each vehicle will be provided a map and brief explanation of wildlife and habitat management programs being carried out on this magnificent tract of public hunting land.

·        Elk County: Sunday, Oct. 12, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., State Game Lands 311. Start at the state game lands gate at the end of Dewey Road on Winslow Hill. For more information, contact the Game Commission Northcentral Region Office at 570-398-4744.

·        Luzerne and Wyoming counties: Sunday, Oct. 5, State Game Lands 57, which consists of nearly 44,600 acres. Registration to be held from 7:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. at the headquarters building complex on State Game Lands 57, Ricketts Station, Forkston Township, Wyoming County. Game Commission personnel will be on hand to explain various points of interest, including wildlife habitat-improvement projects. Four-wheel-drive vehicles with high clearance are required for this 30-mile, self-guided driving tour.  The tour will pass habitat-improvement projects completed by the State Game Lands 57 Food and Cover Corps crew, along with the National Wild Turkey Federation, the Quality Deer Management Association and Ducks Unlimited. Representatives from the Game Commission and conservation organizations will be on hand to explain the projects and answer questions. Directions: Take state Route 487 north from state Route 118 and proceed 7.5 miles. Turn right onto the dirt road near the game lands sign on the right. Travel 0.1 miles to “Y” intersection and proceed 0.3 miles to the headquarters complex. Each vehicle will be provided a map and brief explanation of wildlife and habitat-management programs being carried out on this magnificent tract of public hunting land.