Notebook: Game Commission continues deer management experiment
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At the recent spring meeting of the board of the Pennsylvania Game Commission, members voted to continue an experiment in impacting the male-to-female ratio of white-tailed deer. In an attempt to reach desired proportions of bucks and does, the management experiment alters the timing and duration of antlered and antlerless deer seasons.
In WMUs 2G, 3C, 4B and 2D, which includes parts of Butler, Armstrong, Jefferson, Westmoreland, Indiana, Clairon and Venango counties, the board set a five-day antlered-deer only season starting the Monday after Thanksgiving, followed immediately by seven days of concurrent, antlered and antlerless deer hunting. Across the rest of the state, the antlered and antlerless seasons run for two weeks (12 days) concurrently.
Among other actions, the Game Commission:
• Extended the late flintlock season for WMU 2B, 5C and 5D to run from Dec. 26 to Jan. 23.
• Agreed to give landowners the names, addresses and phone numbers of hunters using Deer Management Assistance Program antlerless deer permits to hunt on their properties. Landowners will not be provided with hunters' Social Security numbers, dates of birth or financial information.
• Responding to hunter pressure, the commission launched a new program to reestablish wild pheasant populations in parts of Pennsylvania including a portion of Somerset County.
• Approved the traditional three-day statewide black bear season before Thanksgiving, and extended bear seasons in parts of the state concurrent with the first week of the firearms deer season and a two-day archery season.
The state House of Representatives has voted to repeal a portion of Pennsylvania law that gives law enforcement powers to board members of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. Under current law, commissioners get badges and law enforcement powers when they are sworn in. Unlike waterways conservation officers, however, the commissioners receive no law enforcement training or testing.
"While Pennsylvania's Fish and Boat commissioners are certainly well informed on the subjects of conservation, restoration, fishing and boating, they are not trained law enforcement officers or knowledgeable in criminal law procedures," said sponsor of the bill Rep. Gary Haluska, D-Cambria. "Giving them law enforcement powers not only is unnecessary, but frankly, puts the public at risk and presents a potential liability problem for the Fish and Boat Commission and the state's taxpayers."
The bill goes to the Senate for consideration.
The Fish and Boat Commission spends about $2.17 to produce one average adult trout. That's the conclusion of an agency study unveiled during the commission's recent quarterly meeting. The average price of adult trout of the same size raised at three Pennsylvania commercial trout farms was $2.57. Including expenses incurred in producing, stocking and managing an average adult trout, the overall cost to the agency is $2.73 per trout.
The commission spends about $12.4 million per year to raise more than 6 million trout per year, including 3.5 million 11-inch adult trout, 2-4 million fingerlings, and 1.2 million fingerlings for cooperative nurseries. It raises another 20,000 trophy trout consisting of brood stock 2-3 years old, and 9,000 trophy golden rainbow trout. According to the report, about $9.3 million (77 percent) of the total cost is spent on adult trout. The stocking program is financed by trout anglers through the purchase of trout stamps.
Deer hair is hollow, a fact that isn't lost on fly tiers in search of floating materials. Expert tier Chris Helm will present a seminar on tying deer-hair flies at the May 11 meeting of Penn's Woods West Trout Unlimited. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the Brentwood VFW Post 810 on Rt. 51, Brentwood, and is free and open to the public. 412-963-2824.
Venture Outdoors' Downtown TriAnglers will meet 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesdays through summer at North Shore Riverfront Park, where fishing instructor Karen Gainey offers tips to beginners and veterans. No registration required, $5 covers bait and loaner rods for the entire season. Fishing licenses required, Fish and Boat Commission regulations apply.
Follow the prompts at post-gazette.com's Hunting & Fishing page to upload your digital trout photos. The best images submitted by May 17 in Biggest Trout, Kid Pix and Artsy Shots categories will be published on the Sunday outdoors page. Check out all the photos on the Hunting & Fishing Web page.
First Published May 3, 2009 12:00 am
