Gee, kind of makes DCNR look pretty good compared to the PGC. They have more biologists and field personal to manage a smaller area (State Forests).

As far as a license increase, I'm all for it. I wish Mr. Smith would get his butt in gear on it.

They won't need additional staff to guage indictor growth.The flower sniffers and birders will take care of that.Besides,in their little world of old growth forests they don't have to worry about habitat improvement because it won't happen with a closed canopy.

Used a helicopter during daylight hours for the survey, both of which will scare deer out of the surveyed area.

It's not happening in an open canopy either unless an exclosure is put up.

This is getting interesting.
OK - We heard in previous post they Baited over the Survey Fly Over Zone(s). They are doing Fly Overs using helicopters(same method in Delaware) during day light hours. Does anybody know for sure why they chose to;

1). Bait the Fly Over Zone(s)

2). Do Fly Over during Daylight hours

AJ,
I know they used helicopters during daylight hours for the Blue Knob area. This is the area the two private clubs hired Helicoptor Applicators of Gettysburg for. There primary business is spraying orchards in and around Adams County. As far as why? I'm guessing Helicoptor Applicators isn't comfortable flying low in the dark but I really don't know. Have not asked that question yet.

DCNR used a fixed wing airplane and flew at night.

As fas as baiting, it is hearsay just as are insurance companies stocking coyotes and mountain lions in PA. If you look at the maps produced on DCNR's webpage you can see the deer are well distributed across the surveyed areas.

I'm just making an educated guess here.

Baiting(short term just prior to survey) Survey Area would concentrate deer in a smaller area. Might also allow for more survey/flight time over selected areas. Does this bait simulate seasonal food crops??

Conducting Fly Over during dayligt hours while most deer are bedded down might make perfect sense if you wanted to be more precise in your data over a specified area. Adding the bait to the daylight survey would make even more sense.

Being much larger than little ole Delaware,I'm sure its more difficult to get one on one,face to face info from an informed source(DNR/F&W). I would certainly try to find that source if I hunted up there.

I have already met Merlin Benner face to face and have cooresponded with him via email and phone. I will be meeting with Helicoptor Applicators in the near future.

BTW - Dover AFB is home to the big ole C-5 among other military aircraft fly overs. Never seen a Deer so much as twitch an ear at a C-5,Helicoptor or even an A-10 flying in at tree top. I'm speaking of hunting areas that frequently see - or - rarely see military aircraft fly overs.

Seems odd that a copter would spook Deer out and away from a selected survey area?

T
When you s/w with Mr Benner, ask him some of the "Why and Where Fors" with resepct to this arial survey. Bring em back here and post. I think some of us would be very interested as to what he has to say.

I'm not exactly sure what your are asking for. I might already have the answer or better yet head over to HuntingPA. I see that Merlin posts over there and does answer questions.