DEER MANAGEMENT OPEN HOUSES
Wildlife Management Workshop
Where: Southwest Region: March 14, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at South Strabane Township Fire Station #2, located at 172 Oak Springs Road, Washington, Washington County. Directions: From I-70, take the Murtland Avenue Exit and go south on Route 19 to the first light. Turn right onto Oak Springs Road, and look for the fire station on the left.
Release #022-09
GAME COMMISSION TO LAUNCH THIRD ROUND OF DEER MANAGEMENT OPEN HOUSES
HARRISBURG – For the third consecutive year, the Pennsylvania Game Commission is hitting the road to bring deer management open houses to communities throughout the Commonwealth.
Open houses are used by the agency as an interactive public outreach tool that employs multimedia presentations, exhibits and wildlife managers to bring both the nuts-and-bolts and finer details of deer management to hunters, farmers and others whose lives are influenced by deer. The effort emphasizes bringing this powerful communications and educational tool to residents as a means to further the general public’s understanding of deer and deer management. The approach is bolstered by having agency employees on hand to engage participants who attend the open houses.
Open houses provide a means to cover wide-ranging topics through specialized stations set-up in a large hall. Stations are spaced out so participants who have questions and/or comments for station attendants can communicate in a one-on-one exchange without interruptions and with the expectation of getting answers immediately.
“Here’s your chance to interact with a deer biologist, or State Game Land manager, or forester,” explained Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe. “And hopefully, one of the open houses will be close to your home. The goal here is to reach out to Pennsylvanians, both figuratively and literally. We hope that every person who attends an open house can better identify with our deer management program upon leaving.”
Six open houses are currently scheduled to be held in Pennsylvania. They will all have the same presentation: displays manned by agency staff. The displays are:
- Goals that Direct the Deer Program – Outlining the five goals of the deer management program;
- Management Goals are a Product of Public Input – Focuses on the participating stakeholders who were involved in developing the current deer plan goals;
- Where do you hunt? – Helps hunters take a critical look at the characteristics of habitat through visual representation;
- Deer Necessities - Identifies the preferences that guide deer in selecting habitat;
- Habitat Variability – Focuses on how habitat health is rated differently from one Wildlife Management Unit to another;
- Telemetry Study – Sheds light on the dispersal of young male deer;
- Deer Aging – Allows participants to learn how deer are aged through tooth wear; and
- Deer Management DVD - Nonstop presentation of the agency’s recently-produced deer management DVD, free copies of which will be available to open house visitors.
Open houses will be held in six different locations from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on a Saturday to maximize the opportunity for those interested in attending, and are being held in different locations than the two previous rounds to afford residents in other areas of the state to attend.