Where The Wild Gifts Are

HARRISBURG –Dozens of “wild” holiday gifts for that hunter, trapper or wildlife fan on your list are just a click away at “The Outdoor Shop” on the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s website (www.pgc.state.pa.us).

All revenues generated from these items support the Game Commission’s wildlife management programs.  Created in 1895 to restore Pennsylvania’s wildlife, the Game Commission is responsible for managing all wild birds and mammals, as well as the 1.4 million acres of State Game Lands it has purchased over the years with hunting and fur-taking license dollars to safeguard wildlife habitat.  The Game Commission does not receive any general state tax dollars.

One gift that’s always in demand is the agency’s full-color calendar, which sells for $8.95.  The 2010 calendar provides a listing of approved season dates from Jan. 1-June 30, and tentative season dates for July1-Dec. 31, as well as a reminder about National Hunting & Fishing Day in September.

Each month features a full-color photo of a different wildlife species.  This calendar’s subjects are: short-eared owl; cotton-tailed rabbit; Eastern bluebird; common loon; house wren; male hooded warbler; green heron; a trio of white-tailed bucks; elk; black bear; wild turkey; and running white-tailed buck.

The third year of the Game Commission’s two collectible series – the Wild Turkey Heritage Series and the Upland Game Bird Series – remain available for ordering.  Orders can be placed by mail or by calling 1-888-888-3459 (toll-free).  A downloadable application is available on the agency’s website (www.pgc.state.pa.us) by clicking on “Limited Collector’s Series” icon in the left-hand column of the homepage.  Delivery can be expected by Dec. 31.

The two series, which were launched in 2007 and will run for a total of five years, incorporate products grown and made in Pennsylvania, as well as the designs of an award-winning Pennsylvania wildlife artist.

The new collectible, numbered wild turkey calls and knives are handsome additions to these continuing series.  Also, both series offer corresponding fine-art prints and patches.

The “Wild Turkey Heritage Series” features five collectible box-style turkey calls, made in Pennsylvania by Top Calls in Renovo, Clinton County, and will sell for $49.95 (plus tax and shipping).  Each year, the individually-numbered call will be made from a different Pennsylvania-grown wood and come in a green velvet bag and feature a different wild turkey scene.

The “Upland Game Bird Series” features five collectible mini-trapper knives made by W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co., of Bradford, McKean County, and will sell for $74.95 (plus tax and shipping).  This year, the series showcases the ring-necked pheasant.  The first year featured the ruffed grouse and the second year was the American woodcock. Subsequent years will focus on the bobwhite quail and mourning dove.  Each knife will be made with a different bone handle – bone stag, chestnut bone, old red bone, amber bone and antique bone – and comes in an attractive tin featuring the artwork of that year’s upland game bird.  Like the turkey calls, each knife will be individually numbered.

Complementing the turkey calls and knives will be a special fine-art print and collector’s patch designed by Gerald W. Putt, of Boiling Springs, Cumberland County.  Each art print –available either framed or unframed – and patch will represent the original wildlife artwork used for each product line.

The patches, for both series, will sell for $5.66 ($6 with tax).  Also, both framed prints, which are 13×18 inches, will sell for $179.95, and unframed prints are available for $79.95.

A new call and knife, and accompanying prints and patches, will be introduced for the next two years in January, and the prices will not increase.

Other patches include the 2009 “Working Together for Wildlife,” which features a mink this year, and the “We Need Wildlife” series, which currently features one patch with a male cardinal and another with a female cardinal.  The “We Need Wildlife” series is scheduled to change to a pileated woodpecker in the near future, so this may be your last chance to purchase the cardinal series.   Patches to commemorate the state’s 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 elk hunts are available.  Patches for the 2004 elk hunt sold out, and there is a limited number of 2005 elk hunt patches and may sell out by the end of this year.  All of these patches sell for $5.66 ($6 with tax).

To assist first-time birders, as well as seasoned bird watchers, the Game Commission is selling a book titled, “The Birds of Pennsylvania” written by Franklin Haas and Roger Burrows.  The cost is $17.92, plus state sales tax and shipping and handling.  This book is a complete guide to identifying Pennsylvania wild birds, and features 295 of the bird species most likely to be found in the Commonwealth.  Each species’ account includes at least one detailed color illustration and covers natural history, the species range here, nesting details, preferred habitat, songs, best sites for viewing, similar species and much more.  It has a color-coded tab index that makes it easy to thumb directly to any desired section.  To order, visit “The Outdoor Shop” on the Game Commission’s website (www.pgc.state.pa.us) and click on “Books,” or call the agency at 1-888-888-3459 (toll-free).

Know someone who wants to see and learn more about Pennsylvania’s white-tailed deer, black bear and elk? For the price of $5 – which includes tax – you can receive any one of the agency’s three award-winning videos: On the Trail of Pennsylvania’s Black Bears; Pennsylvania Whitetails, Living with Change; and Pennsylvania Elk: Reclaiming the Alleghenies.

Other gift ideas range from as little as $5.50 for a “Waterfowl Stamp,” which can be used as stocking stuffers, to the “Working Together for Wildlife” or “Waterfowl Stamp” fine-art prints, which cost up to $135.  Revenues generated from the sale of waterfowl stamps and fine-art prints are used by the Game Commission to acquire and improve State Game Lands and preserve critical habitats, such as wetlands; and for other wildlife research and management programs.

Another popular holiday gift is a subscription to Pennsylvania Game News, the Game Commission’s official monthly magazine. Anyone who enjoys the outdoors and wildlife will appreciate 12 months of reading pleasure for just $18. It will be as close as their mailbox.  For a subscription, call 1-888-888-1019; or write: Pennsylvania Game News, 2001 Elmerton Ave., Harrisburg, PA 17110-9797.  VISA, MasterCard, American Express and Discover are accepted.

Still haven’t found the right gift? Choose from an assortment of wildlife books; bird and mammal charts by the late, famed Ned Smith; Smith’s popular field journal, Gone for the Day; fluorescent orange hats; cookbooks; waterfowl stamps; and a wildlife viewing guide.

The agency also offers a stuffed bear for the plush toy collector.  The 15-inch bear sells for $29.95.

Also, for those interested in making a last minute tax-deductible contribution, “The Outdoor Shop” on Game Commission’s website (www.pgc.state.pa.us) offers that opportunity.

In addition to being available on the agency’s website, all items are available by contacting the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Department MS, 2001 Elmerton Ave., Harrisburg, Pa. 17110-9797; or by calling toll free 1-888-888-3459. Many of the items are available for sale over-the-counter at the Harrisburg office and six region offices.  State sales tax is applied to many of the items.

Game Commission Offers Bear Hunting Tips

Pennsylvania Game Commission officials point out that one of the biggest mistakes bear hunters make is failing to locate areas with good fall food supplies – acorns, beechnuts, apples, corn – before the hunting season and overlooking areas of dense cover where bears like to hide.

“Signs to look for while scouting include droppings; bedding areas, which are scratched out depressions, usually at the base of a tree or log; and active trails with tracks,” said Mark Ternent, Game Commission black bear biologist. “In beech stands, look for fresh claw marks on tree trunks indicating that bears are feeding in the area, and in oak stands look for fresh droppings that are almost completely composed of acorns bits. Either of these signs suggests bears are feeding nearby and, if food conditions are right, they will likely still be there come hunting season. A good time to scout is early November, so you can assess local mast conditions.”

Other bear hunting tips include:

- Look for bears in the thickest cover you can find, such as: swamps and bogs, mountain laurel/rhododendron thickets, north-facing slopes, regenerating timber-harvest areas, wind-blown areas with lots of downed trees, and remote sections of river bottoms. Bigger bears are notorious for holding in thick cover, even when hunters pass nearby.

- Organized drives are effective. Hunters working together often increase their odds of taking bears, especially those bears holding out in thick cover. Develop plans to safely drive likely bear hideouts and follow them to the letter. A minor slip-up by a driver, flanker or stander is all a bear needs to elude even the best-planned drive. Regulations limit the size of organized drives to 25 people or less.

- Hunting on-stand early and late in the day gives hunters a great chance to catch bears traveling to and from feeding and bedding areas. Hunt areas that provide cover to traveling bears and ensure there is either a good supply of mast or cornfields or cover near where you plan to hunt.

- Use the wind to your advantage. If a bear gets a whiff of you, you’re busted as a hunter. Bears have an outstanding sense of smell. They often let their noses guide the way as they travel. Always place yourself downwind of expected travel lanes when hunting on-stand or driving. Bears are cagey enough without giving them more advantages.

- Stay focused and assume nothing. Black bears blend in well in forest settings at dawn and as dusk approaches. Spend too much time looking one way and you can miss a bear. Even though bears are quite heavy, they often are surprisingly quiet moving through the forest. You may see a bear before you hear it coming. Staying alert and remaining vigilant are critical.

Game Commission Posts Field Forecasts Online

Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Conservation Officers (WCOs), Land Management Group Supervisors (LMGSs) and foresters regularly observe wildlife in their districts.  With the hunting and trapping seasons just around the corner, the Game Commission now is sharing those observations – through its Web site – with those who enjoy Penn’s Woods.

To view these field forecasts offered by Game Commission officers, go to the agency’s Web site (www.pgc.state.pa.us), and click on the “Field Officer Forecasts,” select the region of interest in the map, and then choose the WCO district of interest from the map.  For LMGS or forester reports, select the link to the LMGS Group or forester link of interest within that region.

“Our field officers and foresters provide wildlife forecasts for small game, furbearers, wild turkey, bear and deer within their respective districts,” said Carl G. Roe, Game Commission executive director.  “These forecasts are based on sightings field officers have had in the months leading up to the 2009-10 seasons, and some offer comparisons to previous wildlife forecasts. Some WCOs and LMGSs include anecdotal information, as well as hunting and trapping leads in their districts.

Roe noted the Game Commission divides the state’s 67 counties into six regions, and then each region is divided into WCO districts comprised of about 300 square miles each.  There are 136 WCO districts statewide.  Each of the 29 LMGS groups is comprised of a number of counties or portions of counties within each region, and seeks to equally distribute the amount of State Game Lands and public access lands within the region.  The number of foresters ranges per region from four to nine.

BOARD OF GAME COMMISSIONERS TO HOLD SPECIAL MEETING

Board set to make final decision on crossbow use for 2009-10

HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe today announced that the Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners will hold a special meeting at noon on Sept. 3, in the auditorium of the agency’s Harrisburg headquarters at 2001 Elmerton Ave., just off the Progress Avenue exit of Interstate 81 in Harrisburg.  The sole agenda item for the meeting will be to give final consideration to a proposal given preliminary approval at its July 9 meeting to place restrictions on crossbow use for the 2009-10 seasons.

Roe also announced the minutes from the Board’s July 9 meeting were posted on the agency’s website (www.pgc.state.pa.us) in the “Reports/Minutes” section in the left-hand column of the homepage.

Spiny the Porcupine

This little critter was spotted along Silver Lake Road in Porter Township, Pike County, on a recent afternoon. Porcupines, which like to eat tree bark and salt, are North America’s second largest rodent (beavers are bigger), according to the PA Game Commission. Adults are about 30 inches long, including their 6- 10-inch tail, and weigh nine to 15 pounds. A porky may have up to 30,000 quills, each of them one to four inches long. Even though porcupines cannot shoot their quills, as popularly believed, the name “porcupine” means “one who rises up in anger!” So beware of trying to pet one.

Eagle/People Etiquette

LACKAWAXEN – While viewing nesting bald eagles is a thrilling experience, Pennsylvania Game Commission officials encourage caution because human disturbances can cause adult eagles to abandon their nests and young.  Also, anyone found disturbing a bald eagle nest can be charged by federal and state wildlife officials.

“Even though some eagles have built nests near urban and suburban settings, it remains critically important for people to stay a considerable distance away, preferably at least 1,000 feet,” said Brenda Peebles, Game Commission biologist aide, who recently was called to testify as an expert witness in a case involving the disturbance of a bald eagle nest in Springboro, Crawford County.

“A landowner gave permission to another individual to cut down trees near a newly constructed bald eagle nest,” Peebles said. “This person then agreed to allow a second individual to cut the tops up for firewood. As this second person was cutting the tree tops, a volunteer helper, who watches this nest out her kitchen window, saw that the eagles were in a panic.  She called me, I then called Crawford County Wildlife Conservation Officer Mario Piccirilli, who investigated the situation and filed a citation. Fortunately, the birds are fine and the young are about ready to fledge.”

As a result of the disturbance, on May 22, in the hearing held before District Judge Rita Marwood, Leroy W. Chupp, of Springboro, was ordered to pay fines and court costs of $558.50.

“While it may seem bald eagles have become more tolerant of people when selecting nest locations, it doesn’t mean they’re comfortable with people approaching their nests,” Peebles said.  “It’s also against the law to disturb nesting eagles,” Peebles said. “Get a good pair of binoculars or a spotting scope to watch the nest or observe them in flight. Just please stay back and give them some room.  Avoid making loud noises or approaching the nest directly or from above.”

Eagle watchers along the Lackawaxen River are reminded that there is no stopping or standing allowed on the Towpath Road to view eagles or for any other reason. Please be mindful that people live around there too – not just eagles – so keep the roadway clear.

July 13th Begins New Doe License Process

HARRISBURG – With full implementation of the Pennsylvania Automated License System (PALS), Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe today reminded hunters that county treasurers will begin accepting antlerless deer license applications three weeks earlier than in past years. Applications from resident hunters will be accepted by county treasurers starting Monday, July 13; non-residents on Monday, July 27.

For the 2009-10 license year, antlerless deer license fees are the same as they have been since 1999. However, there is a 70-cent transaction fee attached to the purchase of each license and permit, which is paid directly to Automated License Systems, the Nashville-based company that runs PALS. This transaction fee, which already applies to each Pennsylvania fishing license and permit sold by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission through PALS, means that residents will need to write checks made payable to “County Treasurer” for $6.70, and non-residents for $26.70.

By state law, antlerless deer licenses will continue to be sold only by county treasurers, so hunters will need to prepare and mail separate applications for antlerless deer licenses. A listing of all county treasurer addresses can be found on page 48 of the 2009-10 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest, which is provided free to each license buyer.

Roe noted that hunters must use the new pink envelopes, which are provided to each license buyer by the issuing agents, and that the previously used yellow envelopes should be thrown away. For those who order licenses via the Game Commission’s website (www.pgc.state.pa.us), a new Digest and two pink envelopes will be included in the package, along with the licenses, which will arrive in seven to 10 business days from the date of order.

“As county treasurers will be set up with PALS, hunters will be able to submit an application to any county treasurer, and the application will list the hunter’s first three choices, in order of preference, for a specific Wildlife Management Unit antlerless deer license,” Roe said. “If an applicant’s first choice of WMU has exhausted its allocation of antlerless deer licenses, the county treasurer will move to the second preference – and third, if necessary.

“This new process will nearly eliminate the chance that a hunter will not be able to receive at least one antlerless deer license during the processing of regular antlerless deer licenses.”

Also, Roe said that the early start to the antlerless deer license application process will help ensure that county treasurers will be able to mail antlerless deer licenses back to hunters prior to the opening of the archery season. The first such season opens with the antlerless archery season in WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D on Sept. 19. The opening date of the general statewide archery deer season is Oct. 3.

Under the new timeline, residents will apply for regular antlerless deer licenses on July 13; non-residents will apply for regular antlerless deer licenses on July 27. After this, residents and non-residents will apply for the first round of unsold antlerless deer licenses on Aug. 3, and residents and non-residents will apply for the second round of unsold antlerless deer licenses on Aug. 17.

County treasurers will have to mail regular and first round of unsold antlerless deer licenses no later than Sept. 14, and second round of unsold antlerless deer licenses no later than the Sept. 28.

Beginning August 3, for WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D only, there is no limit to the number of unsold antlerless deer license applications an individual can submit until the allocations are exhausted. This must be done by mail only, and there is a limit of three applications per pink envelope.

Beginning Aug. 24, county treasurers will begin accepting applications over-the-counter for WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D, and may immediately issue antlerless deer licenses. Hunters may apply over-the-counter to county treasurers for any other WMU with antlerless license allocations on Nov. 2.

Roe noted that, this year, in conjunction with the move to PALS, the Game Commission will roll out a new online reporting system for antlered and antlerless deer, as well as fall turkey and spring gobbler. Postage-paid report cards still will be available in the Digest, but the agency is encouraging hunters to report online to save on the cost of postage and data entry.

“Reporting online also will ensure your harvest data will not be lost in the mail,” Roe said. “So report online and the agency will be able to direct its limited resources to other important wildlife conservation work. Thanks in advance for helping to improve harvest data collection!”

Roe noted that antlerless deer licenses, as well as general hunting licenses, still will need to be displayed by hunters.