Outdoors: Archery bear season to be topic at meeting

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

By Ben Moyer

In a break from tradition, the Pennsylvania Game Commission will seek public input on hunting seasons and bag limits for the 2006-2007 seasons at its October meeting set for Saturday through next Tuesday. The meeting will be held at the Commission's headquarters at 2001 Elmerton Ave. Harrisburg.

In the past, the Commission scheduled public participation in the seasons and bag limits process for the annual January meeting, after the hunting seasons had closed.

The public participation session is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday. Anyone interested in speaking will be asked to place their name on a sign-in sheet prior to the meeting. Commissioners will hear reports Monday from staff on various wildlife, land management and law enforcement matters.Tuesday they will vote on preliminary approval of proposed hunting seasons. Final adoption of proposals will be considered in January.

In recent years, public testimony has focused on deer. Typically, numerous hunters ask the Commission to reduce deer harvests while farm representatives, forestry spokesmen and environmental organizations recommend more aggressive deer management to protect forests and agriculture from overbrowsing and crop damage.


But bear hunting likely will attract attention at the meeting. After years of requests by bowhunting organizations, the Commission is proposing an archery season for black bear. The season is proposed for Nov. 15-16, 2006, but would be open only in Wildlife Management Units 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G, 3A, 4A, 4B, and 4D.

Commentary in the meeting agenda cautions that an archery bear season may increase the annual take of bears and may force the Commission to restrict the number of bear licenses available in subsequent years. Bowhunters pursuing bears in the special archery season would not be required to possess an archery license because the license is defined by law as an "archery deer license." Archers hunting bears would, however, need to buy a bear license.


As in recent years, the Commission is proposing a concurrent two-week season for antlered bucks and antlerless deer.

In addition to seasons and bag limits, commissioners will consider providing a list of hunter names and addresses to Penn State University for a survey on hunter attitudes toward chronic wasting disease in deer.
Commissioners will also consider final approval of a proposal advanced in July that would grant the executive director expanded powers to restrict the transport and disposal of deer and deer parts in the event chronic wasting disease is discovered in the state.

The full agenda for the October Commission meeting is available on the Game Commission's web site at www.pgc.state.pa.us.

In other game and fish related news, the Fish and Boat Commission is seeking qualified candidates for the vacant Commissioner position in District 2, comprising Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Washington and Westmoreland counties.

District 2 became vacant with the passing of Commissioner Ross J. Huhn of Saltsburg, Westmoreland County. In July 2003, Gov. Rendell reappointed Commissioner Huhn, who was the longest-serving member in the history of the agency, to a full eight-year term. The selected candidate would serve the balance of Huhn's term, which expires July 2011. The person would not be eligible for reappointment.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05270/578330.stm