Pa. Game Commission announces hunting licenses to go on sale June 13

Jun. 11—WILKES-BARRE — The countdown to adventure is on — Pennsylvania's 2022-23 hunting and trapping seasons are fast approaching, with licenses set to go on sale Monday, June 13.

Buying one is key to getting in on some exciting action.

The new license year begins July 1. It is once again big on opportunities, featuring a record number of bull elk tags, as well as seven weeks of archery deer hunting, a firearms deer season that includes the weekend after Thanksgiving, the chance to hunt trophy black bears, more stocked pheasants than anywhere in the Northeast and more.

License prices, meanwhile, remain unchanged, with one notable exception.

This year, for the first time, a discounted hunting license is available to Hunter-Trapper Education instructors. Instructors who are Pennsylvania residents now can purchase a general hunting license for just $1, plus $1.97 in administrative fees.

This discount was made possible by House Bill 1122, sponsored by state Rep. Keith Gillespie and signed into law earlier this year.

Through their volunteer work, Hunter-Trapper Education instructors provide a valuable service, ensuring new hunters have opportunities to join the hunting ranks, and giving them everything they need to make safe, ethical decisions afield, and ultimately achieve success. The Game Commission can't thank these instructors enough, and the discounted license serves to demonstrate that appreciation.

Otherwise, general hunting licenses and furtaker licenses each cost $20.97 for Pennsylvania residents and $101.97 for nonresidents.

Resident senior hunters and furtakers ages 65 and older can purchase one-year licenses for $13.97, or lifetime licenses for $51.97. For $101.97, resident seniors can purchase lifetime combination licenses that afford them hunting and furtaking privileges.

Like other hunters and trappers, seniors still need to purchase bear licenses to pursue bruins and obtain permits to harvest bobcats, fishers or river otters. Hunters who acquired their senior lifetime licenses after May 13, 2017, are required to obtain an annual pheasant permit to hunt or harvest pheasants.

Hunters once again this coming season may carry digital versions of their licenses in place of paper licenses. License buyers will be emailed a PDF version of their licenses, so long as they provide an email address in their online profile at HuntFishPA. This applies whether they buy licenses online or at an issuing agent. All documents will be emailed, except for harvest tags.

Deer, bear and turkey hunters, and those hunting or trapping in any other season where harvests must be tagged, must continue to carry paper harvest tags afield. No electronic harvest tags are being issued or authorized for use. And all paper licenses and permits that are carried afield must be signed.

Those who plan on hunting big game or bobcats, or trapping bobcats, fishers or otters must plan ahead of time to be sure that they are in possession of their harvest tags prior to hunting or trapping those species. All harvest tags will be mailed to those who purchase their licenses online.

A complete list of licensing requirements can be found at www.pgc.pa.gov.

As for the upcoming seasons, once again this year, additional hunting will be offered on three Sundays: Nov. 13, Nov. 20 and Nov. 27. They're open for all species that are in season, except turkeys and migratory game birds.

Pennsylvania elk hunters in 2022-23 also have some exciting hunting in front of them. A total of 178 licenses are available. That's down a bit from the previous year's 187, but includes a record 60 bull tags, spread out across three seasons.

The archery-only elk season which runs from Sept. 10-24, offers 14 antlered and 15 antlerless licenses; the one-week general season set for Oct. 31-Nov. 5 offers 31 antlered and 70 antlerless licenses; and the late season that runs from Dec. 31-Jan. 7 offers 15 antlered and 33 antlerless licenses.

Licenses are awarded by lottery. License applications can be submitted online or at any license issuing agent. A separate application, costing $11.97, is needed for each season. Hunters wishing to apply for all three pay $35.91. In each drawing, season-specific bonus points are awarded to those who aren't drawn.

The deadline to apply for an elk license is July 31.

Many hunters who regularly buy their licenses as soon as sales begin are motivated by securing a Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) permit, which are available in limited numbers and enable holders to harvest antlerless deer in any established deer season.

Buying early also helps ensure hunters won't miss their opportunity to apply for an antlerless deer license.

A resident Pennsylvanian who buys their 2022-23 hunting license is eligible to apply for an antlerless deer license July 11. Nonresidents can apply July 18. And a second round in which a hunter can receive a second antlerless deer license begins Aug. 1 for Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) where licenses remain. And if licenses still remain, a third round begins Aug. 15. Over-the-counter sales begin Sept. 12, in all WMUs where licenses remain.

Hunters statewide now can hold up to six unfilled antlerless deer licenses.

A total of 948,000 antlerless deer licenses are available, up from 925,000 last year. And the continuation of concurrent hunting for antlered and antlerless deer during the duration of the firearms deer season gives hunters in much of the state additional time to fill their tags.

New this year, starting in November hunters can also get Agricultural Deer Permits, previously known as "red tag" permits, through the online licensing system. Cost of the permits is $1.97, which covers administrative fees associated with the license system.

Hunting licenses can be purchased online at — https://huntfish.pa.gov. Just create an account or log into one you previously created to purchase all the licenses you need.

How controlled burns

could help save a species

Karley Stasko, Director of Marketing & Development at North Branch Land Trust, submitted the following:

On a late spring morning in a small field of stunning wildflowers, Isabella Petitta and her lab partner are keener on the insects zipping around from bud to bud. Bees of all shapes and sizes are sneaking into the blue shell-like blooms of the Lupinus perennis.

The researchers had already measured the lupines, counted the blooms, and recorded the other flora thriving in the area. Now, they are watching the insects pollinating them. By November, they will be setting this same field on fire using a highly controlled protocol for safety.

The researchers are from Penn State's Ecology Department who traveled to Luzerne County to collect data from one of their six historical lupine population research sites.

Their goal is to examine the effects of controlled burns and fencing on the restoration of lupine populations in Pennsylvania.

Lupines are a diverse genus of plants in the legume family with leaves divided into 7-11 leaflets arranged in a circle, tall inflorescences, and deep roots that prevent soil erosion, with most diversity occurring in North and South America. Unfortunately, the United States has seen a precipitous decline in wild lupine (Lupinus perennis) with estimates of 90% population loss in the last century.

This plant is an important host to native butterflies, including Frosted Elfins, Dusky Wings, and the endangered Karner blue. While habitat destruction and fragmentation are the biggest threats to these plants, the problem that this research team is examining happens to be a lack of wildfires.

Lupine beans are incredibly tough, and those seeds often need to be roughed up for germination success.

It was through the DCNR that the Penn State team became connected to North Branch Land Trust and the Luzerne County site became one of six to be studied over the course of the next few seasons. In addition to North Branch Land Trust and the DCNR, the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry, and the Nature Conservancy will also be assisting with controlled burns that will be occurring in the autumn.

How could forest fires help the environment?

The ash not only contains the nutrients that were in the trees that burned, but it also can help balance out the pH of the soil. Then, since the ground is no longer shady, herbaceous plants like lupines flourish. Lupines specifically fix nitrogen in the soil, a nutrient necessary for optimal plant growth. Eventually, the ground starts to support large trees again, and the forest comes back.

Many native bees, including various ground and sweat bees, are generalists, which means they gather from any flower source available to them. Isabella noticed larger, more dense populations of bees from the Osmia genus. Bees have special hairs for collecting pollen called scopa, and while most bees have hair on their legs, Osmia have fuzzy abdomens.

As with many North Branch Land Trust Conservation Easements, the area currently being studied is privately owned and, as such, not publicly accessible.

Regardless, protecting even the most inaccessible habitats with meaningful research-based management can inform best practices that improve the overall health of Pennsylvania's natural resources.

North Branch Land Trust will continue to check in on the Penn State Lupine Research team in the coming months to uncover more about what they have learned and what we can do in our own backyards to conserve the lands we hold dear.

DCNR highlights opportunity

to protect our waterways

More than $2.2 billion in federal American Rescue Plan funding remains unallocated in Pennsylvania, and the Commonwealth currently has a multi-billion dollar surplus in its coffers as lawmakers work to pass a new budget by June 30.

In a Commonwealth so flush with cash, clean water advocates from two dozen organizations joined with elected officials in Harrisburg this week to ask lawmakers a simple question: if not now, when?

At least one-third of Pennsylvania's waterways are deemed impaired and polluted. Unfortunately, our dirty water problem in Pennsylvania is getting worse, not better, and elected officials in Harrisburg need to take action now to properly fund the programs and initiatives that are needed to clean our waterways.

It's clear that our abundant waterways and parks are valued by Pennsylvanians. In 2020, a poll commissioned by Conservation Voters of PA and the Growing Greener Coalition showed that nearly 90 percent of voters support funding for Pennsylvania's land, water, and wildlife, even during the economic downturn of the COVID-19 pandemic.

They are also an important economic driver to local and state economies. In 2020, according to a recent report by the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, the economic contributions generated by outdoor recreation in Pennsylvania accounted for more than $58 billion in economic output, supported more than 430,000 jobs and provided over $6.5 billion in tax revenue at the federal, state, and local levels.

"We are at a historic juncture in Pennsylvania, where we can choose to support vibrant parks, trails, clean waterways, healthy outdoor recreation opportunities and so much more on our public lands," said Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn. "These are places where citizens can come together and relax, recreate and recover. Where the community and state economies benefit from the local jobs supported and the quality of life improvements. What better way to come together in bipartisan fashion to help restore our society and economy than by investing in a clean, healthy environment, green spaces, parks and trails. It is critical we invest in our natural spaces and set Penn's Woods up for its brightest future."

Clean water and conservation practices aren't just essential for healthy communities and a robust recreation and tourism sector, but it's also vital for one of the most important segments of Pennsylvania's economy — our farmers.

Free tours of rare regal

fritillary butterfly habitat

During the month of July, Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) wildlife staff will provide free guided tours of the only population of the rare regal fritillary butterfly in the eastern United States at Fort Indiantown Gap (FTIG), near Annville, Lebanon County.

Reservations are required and attendance is limited. All attendees, including children, must register online at — www.ftig.isportsman.net/ButterflyTours.aspx — to obtain a free permit.

To attend a tour, you must present a permit for the specific date and time slot of that tour.

Guided tours will be offered on July 1, 2, 8, and 9. Departure times will be 10 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and noon each day. Tours will be conducted rain or shine and no rain dates will be provided.

"These tours allow the public to see this rare butterfly and its associated grassland habitat on military training ranges, as well as the many other natural wonders on the 17,000-acre military installation," said John Fronko, director DMVA Bureau of Environmental Management. "Staff will also highlight a variety of animals and plants found at Fort Indiantown Gap and how the military presence on the installation is vital to the persistence of these species and their ecosystems."

Attendees will be required to caravan from the meeting location to the tour location in their personal vehicles. Tours will last approximately one hour plus driving time. Meeting location and parking information will be provided after obtaining a permit.

Visitors of all ages and abilities are welcome to attend. Tours will be on foot on gravel roads and mowed paths; wandering off the path, into the fields, or away from your tour guide is prohibited. Please bring drinking water and wear appropriate clothing and footwear for uneven terrain. There will be little or no shade on the tour route.

Like many military installations, FTIG has a diverse population of plants and animals. It is home to 49 species of mammals, 143 species of breeding birds, 37 species of reptiles and amphibians, 35 species of fish, more than 800 species of plants, and many notable species of invertebrates including 86 species of butterflies and more than 500 species of moths.

Many of these plants and animals are rare and considered species of conservation concern. These species persist at FTIG because it provides an assortment of high-quality habitats. This includes rare early successional ecosystems such as grasslands, thickets, shrub lands, and young forests which were created and maintained from disturbances caused by military training, fires, and conservation efforts.

The installation is home to 1,000 acres of scrub oak and pitch pine barrens and over 4,500 acres of native grassland habitat — the largest in the state.

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