Game Commission board voting set for next week

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The Pennsylvania Game Commission's board of commissioners meets next Tuesday and Wednesday and there are a lot of issues on the table that will pique hunters' interests.

For starters, the board will vote to set the antlerless deer license allocations for the 2007-08 hunting season.

This is always a hot-button issue, especially in recent years.

For last season, the agency issued 859,000 licenses, which was a decrease of 20,000 from the year before.

There are hunters who believe the Game Commission is doing the right thing with its slate of deer hunting seasons and license allocations, and there are those who say the agency is bent on destroying Pennsylvania's deer herd.

The latter crowd wants to see a drastic reduction in the number of antlerless deer licenses this year.

Don't bet on it. Expect a modest reduction in a few of the Big Woods areas.

The disgruntled crowd also wants a reduction for the coming fall in the vast schedule of deer hunting seasons available.

Don't bet on that, either.

As proposed, the slate of seasons for 2007-08 mirrors last year's, with one exception.

The agency is proposing an extension to the archery doe season in wildlife management units (WMU) 5C, 5D and 2B. WMUs 5C and 5D cover much of our neighboring Chester County.

The season would begin Sept. 15 and run to the general opening of archery season on Sept. 29; then it would pick up Nov. 12, following the closing of the general archery season on Nov. 10, and run through Nov. 24.

Previously, no deer hunting was allowed during these periods.

In WMU 2B, the archery season would resume again from Dec. 10-22. That's already an open firearms season in WMUs 5C and 5D.

With these extensions, antlerless deer may be hunted in WMUs 5C and 5D from Sept. 15 straight through to Jan. 26, except for Dec. 24 and 25.

The proposed hunting seasons for all other species essentially mirror last year's offerings.

A major change in hunting rules that's up for a vote next week is an extension of the daily hunting hours.

This move would be a huge boon for deer hunters — especially bowhunters.

In previous years, the hunting day lasted from a half hour before sunrise until sunset.

Those of you who have been out at the exact time that's designated as sunset know there's a good bit of huntable light still available at that hour.

It's also prime time for deer movement, especially during the archery deer season.

For next season, the Game Commission wants to extend the hunting day to a half hour after sunset. This extension will encompass one of the most productive times of day for hunting deer, and I'm all for it.

Most other states in the country, including our southern neighbor, Maryland, allow hunting until a half hour after sunset.

From my experience hunting some of these states, adding this half hour in Pennsylvania will be a big deal.

Another rule change up for a vote next week is adoption of a law making it illegal to release pigs into the wild.

Pennsylvania now has a reproducing population of free-roaming hogs.

That population most likely was started by pigs that escaped or were intentionally released from farms and fenced hunting operations, according to a feral hog task force created by the Game Commission.

Feral hogs are well-known to be hearty creatures and prolific breeders. Give them a little start and they will take off.

Hunters have been enjoying hog hunting as a new-found sport here in Pennsylvania.

"I've seen pictures of hogs that were brought into our bear check stations last fall," said Jerry Feaser, spokesman for the Game Commission. "They're out there, and hunters are killing some."

The Game Commission has no regulatory control over hog hunting, since hogs are not considered game animals in Pennsylvania.

The agency can make it illegal to release them into the wild, since they undoubtedly will have an impact on native species.

Also up for vote next week is a proposal to hike the cost of a deer management assistance program (DMAP) permit from $6 to $10 for state residents and from $26 to $35 for nonresidents.

The Game Commission has been seeking a hike in its general hunting and trapping license fees for the past several years.

The state Legislature sets those fees and lawmakers appear to be in no hurry to make those increases, given the unrest over the agency's deer management program.

The cost of DMAP permits does not fall under the Legislature's control, so the Game Commission is free to hike the rates to generate a little more income.

Last year, a total of 36,626 DMAP coupons were made available to hunters by large landowners.

There's no way of telling how many of those permits were sold to nonresidents, but if you hiked them all by the extra $4 residents are facing next season, the Game Commission is looking to take in at least an additional $146,504.

Stay tuned for the outcomes of all these initiatives.

The board of commissioners will meet at the agency's headquarters on Elmerton Avenue in Harrisburg next week.

Public comments on any issue will be taken Tuesday, beginning at 8:30 a.m.

The board will begin voting on issues at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

E-mail: preilly@lnpnews.com