Happy Thanksgiving and Good Luck PA Deer Hunters
Eagle Released. in Bradford County.
Boaters Must Wear Life Vest
CWD Facebook Live Q&A - Oct. 2020
Good Luck PA Archery Hunters!
Celebrating National Hunting and Fishing Day
Hunters and anglers are the original conservationists and National Hunting and Fishing Day is dedicated to recognizing them for their many contributions to wildlife conservation.
THANK YOU, Pennsylvania hunters and anglers, for buying your hunting and fishing licenses and doing YOUR part to support conservation efforts in the Keystone State. These license revenues, along with gear, ammunitions and many other related items, directly helps to fund these important efforts.
We have a lot to be proud of here in Pennsylvania and our passion for the great outdoors is simply unmatched. Happy National Hunting and Fishing Day from the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission!
We wish you the best of luck in the woods and on the water this fall!
Fall 2020: State of the Deer Herd
As we head into the fall 2020 deer hunting seasons, check out “State of the Deer Herd” with Game Management Division Chief Chris Rosenberry.
Pennsylvania continues to be one of the top deer hunting states in the country. Last year, our hunters harvested more than 100,000 adult bucks, which is about three times more than the mid-90s.
Looking to the future, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) continues to be a concern for our deer in the Commonwealth. Hunters will play an important role in CWD management efforts for decades to come.
Good luck this fall and please report your deer harvests! Have fun out there and hunt safely!
Good Luck Pennsylvania Hunters.
The 2020-21 Hunting Season is almost here! Pennsylvania’s dove and Canada goose seasons open tomorrow, September 1st. Here are a few words from Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans. Good luck and stay safe!
125 Years of Wildlife Conservation Leadership
Join us in celebrating National Wildlife Day, a day to raise awareness of all wildlife species! For 125 years, the Pennsylvania Game Commission has been the state's wildlife agency, working to manage all wild birds, wild mammals and their habitats in the Commonwealth! This video provides an inside look into the work the agency has done, for the betterment of wildlife, making it a leader in wildlife conservation!
Pennsylvania is home to 480 species of wildlife. This includes wild mammals and wild birds of the game, non-game and endangered varieties. Click here to learn more about them: https://bit.ly/31wdoTC.
Thank you to the passionate men and women who work here in Pennsylvania, (and beyond), to protect our wildlife every day! Pennsylvania’s wildlife benefits tremendously from our game protectors, hunters, biologists, land managers, foresters, instructors, rehabilitators, volunteers and everyone who has a hand in wildlife conservation.
2020 Elk Drawing Update
Live from Elk Country!
Managed Dove Fields in Pennsylvania
Interested in hunting doves this year in Pennsylvania? The season opens on Sept. 1, 2020! Pennsylvania Game Commission Mourning Dove Biologist Tom Keller shares some insight on Managed Dove Fields in PA. We have more than 550 acres and you can find details about each of the fields on an interactive map: https://bit.ly/33urJRZ. Tom tells us how to tell when a dove field is ready, how the Game Commission manages these lands and more. Visit www.pgc.pa.gov for more!
Pennsylvania's 2020-21 Hunting Licenses are Now On Sale
Wishing everyone a safe and happy Fourth of July weekend! Here's a special message from Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans with a few other timely reminders!
Pennsylvania's new 2020-21 hunting licenses are now on sale. The first round of Antlerless Deer License Applications for residents begins Monday, July 13. And Pennsylvania's Elk Tag Applications are available for purchase through July 31.
Enjoy some time in the great outdoors this weekend!
Pennsylvania's 2020-21 Hunting Licenses Now Available
Pennsylvania's NEW 2020-21 Hunting Licenses are now on sale! Click here for details and information about how to buy your new license today: https://bit.ly/2MEIMqz. Thank YOU for being a Pennsylvania hunter! We wish you a safe and a successul year.
Marsh Bird Surveys
Game Commission Northeast Region Bio Aide, Robyn Crouthamel, plays the gunk-a-gunk call of the Pennsylvania endangered American bittern while conducting a marsh bird survey in Luzerne County. Throughout May, Game Commission biologists and volunteers—citizen scientists—have been taking to the swamps, playing recordings of bird calls in hopes of eliciting responses.
These statewide surveys help biologist locate these secretive birds and provide a better understanding of the statewide distribution and relative abundance of these rare species. The information collected from these surveys promote conservation efforts for declining wetland habitat and the birds that depend on it.
“We currently have 14 of 15 targeted species documented across the state,” said Game Commission Endangered Bird Biologist Patti Barber. “This survey will give us a “snapshot” of marsh bird prevalence and abundance that can be used to guide sound habitat management decisions.”
Celebrating 100 Years of Pennsylvania's State Game Lands System
Join us today in celebrating 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ YEARS of Pennsylvania's State Game Lands System! 🎉 State Game Lands 25, which originally consisted of 6,288 acres in Elk County, was the first game lands, established in 1920.
Today, more than 1.5 MILLION acres of game lands are managed by the Game Commission for the primary purpose of conserving and preserving Pennsylvania wildlife, both game and non-game species! [1.5 million total acres is larger than the entire state of Delaware].
We remain grateful to the Pennsylvania Game Commission's forefathers for their great vision to dedicate public land for wildlife, hunting, trapping, wildlife watching and recreation.
Thank you to Pennsylvania hunting license buyers for supporting wildlife conservation in our state, which includes wildlife management on our more than 300 state game lands. And thank you to the men and women who have worked to manage these special lands for the last 100 years!
Luzerne County Fawn Rescue
Deputy State Game Warden Mike Pevear, who serves in Luzerne County, recently found himself ankle-deep in mud with a bawling fawn after it fell to the bottom of a 8-foot deep cement water reservoir in Exeter Township.
He patiently waited for the fawn to calm down before rescuing it by wrapping it in a blanket and hoisting it to safety. The fawn bounded away, seemingly no worse for wear. DSGW Pevear extends a special thanks for the Kirby family for their help with the rescue.
Buy Your 2020-21 Pennsylvania Hunting License on June 22
Pennsylvania hunters, mark your calendars for Monday, June 22, the day you can get your new 2020-21 hunting license! More details here: https://bit.ly/2MEIMqz. Pennsylvania’s hunting license fees haven’t increased since 1999 and we’re excited for the expanded opportunities the upcoming license year will provide. Thank you for being a Pennsylvania hunter. Have fun. Be safe. And good luck in the woods!
Barn Owl Recovers
We’re sharing some great and heartwarming news this morning. Pennsylvania Game Commission Diversity Biologist Rich Fritsky recently released this mature barn owl after it spent weeks of rehabilitation at the Centre Wildlife Care facility in Lemont.
You might remember a few weeks ago, we shared an Operation Game Thief case out of Montour County, where this mature barn owl was found injured and unable to fly. An X-Ray revealed that the bird suffered from multiple pellets discharged from a firearm. State Game Warden Jared Turner transported the bird to the rehabilitator. (You can find the original post here: https://bit.ly/2xMHztz).
The owl was released last week on the property of a Northumberland County landowner who participates in the Game Commission’s Barn Owl Conservation Initiative Program by offering his barn as a place for barn owls to bear and rear their young. The Game Commission thanks Centre County Wildlife Care and everyone who had a hand in giving this bird a second chance at survival.
The case involving the shooting of this owl remains open. Anyone with information is asked to call the Operation Game Thief hotline at 1-888-PGC-8001 or the Game Commission NE Region Office at 570-675-1143. Wildlife crimes can also be reported anonymously by filling out a form at https://bit.ly/2SYh63K. All information is kept confidential.
PGC Turkey Calling Challenge - Let's Hear You, Pennsylvania!
Calling all Pennsylvania Turkey Hunters... We want to hear you! Many of us are stuck at home right now, but turkey season is right around the corner. Use this time to safely enjoy the outdoors - get some fresh air and practice your turkey calls! Post videos of you calling in the comment section below.
Pennsylvania is home to more than 200,000 turkey hunters and the turkey hunting tradition runs deep here in Penn's Woods. Let's have fun with this and keep it positive and show the rest of the country what Pennsylvania turkey hunting is all about!
A Message from PGC Executive Director Burhans
Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans provides an update on the current status of the agency's operations and staff while also providing some insight on some exciting opportunities ahead. Stay safe and healthy out there! Brighter days are ahead.
Celebrating 125 Years of Conservation Leadership
The Pennsylvania Game Commission’s start-up was anything but easy. Established by law in 1895, the agency’s existence hinged on an appropriation that could be used only for postage. The six commissioners and chief game protector financed operations from their own pockets, with a handful of wardens working for half the fine money they collected.
With the timely establishment of a resident hunting license to provide indispensable capital, and through partnering with legislators to strengthen wildlife laws, the Game Commission quickly became a leader in wildlife conservation that attracted attention and requests for guidance from across the country.
Depleted game populations were brought back, songbirds were protected, a state game lands system was assembled to provide habitat and hunting opportunities, and laws to ensure fair-chase and fair-share standards were enforced to enhance the experiences of all Pennsylvanians who cared about The Great Outdoors.
These 125 years, the agency has held true to the same principles on which it was founded. The Pennsylvania Game Commission remains a national leader in conservation.
While it’s true the agency in the past century and a quarter has assumed greater responsibilities and today carries out its mission amid shrinking habitat statewide and mounting concerns for wildlife’s wellbeing, the Game Commission’s resolve to protect and manage wildlife and habitat is as resolute now as ever.
Learn more at www.pgc.pa.gov
Tracy A. Graziano: script, cinematography, editing, graphics
Hal Korber: cinematography
Joe Kosack: script
Jack Hicks: narrator
Music licensed through stockmusic.net
"Legends" by Kirkhaug, 407 Productions
"Guardians of Hope" by Kirkhaug, 407 Productions
"Reconstruction" by Marshall Smith, APRA
Allegheny Woodrat Release - Northumberland County
In Pennsylvania, the Allegheny Woodrat is listed as threatened and protected under the Game and Wildlife Code. This is a recent video of an Allegheny Woodrat being released, (after being tagged), in Northumberland County. This marked the first documentation of woodrats in the state's northeast region in more than a decade!
A woodrat was initially discovered after a furtaker pursuing bobcats inadvertently caught it in a trap near State Game Lands 84 in early 2019. He notified the agency and Pennsylvania Game Commission wildlife biologists were soon scouring the area looking for woodrat food caches and communal latrines among a rocky terrain.
Once they found sign of the woodrat, they placed cameras to look for denning locations. Within a week, the team had images of several woodrats, as well as a black bear!
This past fall, wildlife biologists and technicians returned to the site to hopefully live trap the woodrats in box traps. Three woodrats were captured and tagged on private property near Trevorton and DNA samples were obtained as part of a statewide population monitoring program.
Click here to read more about the Allegheny Woodrat and the work the Pennsylvania Game Commission is doing on behalf of the threatened species: https://bit.ly/2vrxlNz.
Erie County Cooper's Hawk Release
Erie County State Game Wardens Hueser and Jones recently responded to a report of a hawk trapped inside an attic in the city of Erie. When the Wardens arrived, the hawk was clearly visible from the street in an attic window and had been reported by a neighbor.
After reassuring the homeowner that she did not have a human intruder in her attic, the Wardens successfully netted and removed the Cooper’s Hawk. It was then evaluated for injuries and successfully released the following day!
Become a Pennsylvania State Game Warden
The Pennsylvania Game Commission is now accepting applications through Feb. 25 for its 33rd class of state game wardens. Interested in learning more? Click here: https://bit.ly/2t8rWKM.
2019 Pennsylvania Eagle Cam NOW LIVE
The new Eagle Cam, streaming live from Pennsylvania’s Farm Country, is NOW online!
Join us in celebrating Pennsylvania’s growing bald eagle population by enjoying a view of their nest from the top of a big sycamore tree nestled in the farmlands.
Click here http://bit.ly/PGCEagleCam to view the live stream and to learn more about bald eagles in our state, as well as their history at this site.
Thank you to HDOnTAP and Comcast Business for helping to power this initiative!
Pennsylvania NASP State Tournament
Watch our latest video [or click here: https://bit.ly/2Ppet9A] to learn more about Pennsylvania's 2020 National Archery in the Schools (NASP) state tournament, which will take place in March on the campus of Penn State University in State College.
NASP is a joint venture that partners with state education and wildlife management agencies to promote student education and participation in the lifelong sport of archery. More about the program here: https://bit.ly/2RZFUbK or on the Pennsylvania NASP page.
