Harrisburg – When the Pennsylvania Game Commission board gave preliminary approval to a measure that would eliminate the use of centerfire and rimfire rifles for fall turkey hunting, commissioner Scott Foradora wanted to make it clear the move was strictly biological and nothing else.
“I’m a proud member of the NRA and a Second Amendment supporter,” Foradora said. “If this helps us keep some semblance of the season in the fall, I’m all for it rather than closing the season completely.”
The move to eliminate rifles was one of several measures made during the agency’s Jan. 23 board meeting to address a turkey population the Game Commission believes is in decline. According to agency data, only 14% of fall turkey hunters use rifles, but they account for 33% of the harvest. By eliminating rifle use in fall turkey season, it’s estimated the statewide harvest could be reduced by 20 percent, while most turkey hunters – the 70% using shotguns – would be unaffected by the change in requirements.
At present, turkey populations are declining in 15 of 23 Wildlife Management Units, and shorter season lengths have been proposed in response. Depending on the actual impact of removing rifles from fall turkey seasons, recent fall turkey season length reductions could eventually be reversed and more hunting opportunities added.
Regarding season length, the commissioners preliminarily approved closing the fall-turkey season in WMU 5A and reducing season length in 14 WMUs, all due to declining turkey populations. With final approval at the board’s next quarterly meeting in April, the fall season in WMUs 1A, 1B, 4A, 4B, 4D and 4E would be one week (Oct. 30-Nov. 6).
“With declining population trends in most Wildlife Management Units the proposal to remove rifles for fall turkey season may help turn the tide more quickly and eliminate the need for additional fall season reductions in the following years,” said Mary Jo Casalena, Game Commission wild turkey biologist.
In other business, the board made a significant change to the firearms deer season by implementing a concurrent antlered and antlerless format in every Wildlife Management Unit. The board had authorized concurrent seasons in 10 WMUs in the 2020-21 seasons, mainly in WMUs in which Chronic Wasting Disease had been detected in free-ranging deer.
By expanding the number of WMUs with a concurrent season, the board responded to hunters who requested this change in order to be provided with more opportunities to harvest antlerless deer, and to reduce confusion regarding which WMUs are open for concurrent seasons. If the proposal for concurrent seasons is approved by the board at the April meeting, the antlerless license allocation will be reduced accordingly to reflect the additional seven days of hunting opportunities.
Another change regarding deer hunting was a motion to remove the three-license limit for antlerless deer hunters statewide, affording them the chance to hold up to four antlerless licenses at one time.
If the measure is formally adopted in April, hunters will continue to mail antlerless license applications to county treasurers, as required by law. Application would follow the same schedule where residents, and later nonresidents, are permitted to apply for a license in the opening round, and in each of two successive rounds for any Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) where licenses remain. Then in early September, over-the-counter sales would begin, and hunters could pick up a fourth antlerless license in any WMU where licenses remain, either by going to a county treasurer’s office to purchase the license or sending an application by mail.
Once a hunter obtains four licenses, the hunter could not purchase additional licenses without first harvesting deer and reporting them. At no time would a hunter be able to possess more than four unfilled antlerless licenses.
But there would be no limit on the total number of licenses a hunter could obtain in a license year. As long as licenses remain available, and a hunter holds fewer than four unfilled antlerless licenses, the hunter can purchase another.
When news of the measure surfaced prior to the meeting, some commissioners expressed concern with how it was portrayed in the media.
“I saw some headlines that raised eyebrows and were, in my opinion, intentionally misleading for the overall objective of what we’re trying to accomplish,” said commissioner Kristen Schnepp-Giger, referring to the use of the term “unlimited” to describe the proposal.
Commissioner Mike Mitrick said he was also bothered by media outlets using “unlimited” in stories and headlines.
“I saw our Sunday paper use the term unlimited, and it made it sound as if we’re out to slaughter the deer herd,” Mitrick said. “I would prefer that we use the term ‘unsold.’”
The board also granted preliminary approval to allow hunters and trappers to display their licenses digitally while afield. Under the agency’s new HuntFishPA platform, electronic versions of hunting and trapping licenses will be available.
Harvest tags would continue to be issued in physical form on durable stock. No electronic versions of these documents would be issued or authorized for use, and durable-stock harvest tags would need to be carried in the field when hunting in big-game seasons or trapping in seasons where harvest tags are used.
But for other hunting and trapping opportunities, eLicenses would be a permitted substitute for hunters and trappers to carry in the field, based on the measure preliminarily approved by the board. The proposal will be brought back to the April meeting for a final vote.
Commissioner Tim Layton commended Foradora for his work on bringing eLicenses to the table.
“Since (Foradora) became a commissioner, he’s been pushing for the eLicense and he’s kind of bulldogged this until we got it to a point where the new system is up and running and we can get it done,” Layton said.
The Jan. 23 meeting was the last for commissioner Charlie Fox, who served the board since 2012, most recently as president, and whose term expires April 15. The board also reorganized and commissioner Stanley Knick will serve as president, along with Mitrick as vice president and Schnepp-Giger as secretary.
- This story originally appeared in PA Outdoor News.
