Statewide bear seasons about to kick off

Oct. 16—WILKES-BARRE — Pennsylvania isn't offering a bear hunting season in 2022 — as was the case last year, it's essentially offering three.

Properly licensed hunters can take black bears in multiple ways — with bows, muzzleloaders and, in cases, even rifles — in what can be considered the early bear season.

That includes the archery bear season, which runs from Sept. 17 to Nov. 25, in Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) 2B, 5C and 5D, from Oct. 1 to Nov. 18, in WMU 5B, and statewide from Oct. 15 to Nov. 5.

It also includes the muzzleloader and special firearms seasons. Muzzleloader hunters can take a bear from Oct. 15 to 22, while juniors, seniors and some other special categories of hunters — including mentored hunters ages 16 and under, active-duty military and certain disabled persons' permit holders — can harvest a bear with a firearm from Oct. 20 to 22.

The second component of Pennsylvania bear hunting is the regular statewide bear season. It runs from Nov. 19 to 22, including the Sunday before Thanksgiving.

Finally, there's the extended bear season, which allows hunters with a license for bears to take one during all of part or the firearms deer season. The extended season runs from Nov. 26 to Dec. 3 in WMUs 1B, 2C, 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E and 5A, including the Saturday and Sunday that mark the first two days of deer season, and from Nov. 26 to Dec. 10 in WMUs 2B, 5B, 5C and 5D, which includes the entirety of deer season.

Hunters can take only one bear during the license year. But added together, those seasons provide a lot of opportunity.

It's no wonder then that bear hunting license sales are so strong. A total of 215,219 people bought a bear license in 2021; that was not far off 2020's record sales of 220,471. In both years, only white-tailed deer put more hunters in the woods.

"Pennsylvania continues to offer tremendous bear hunting," said Emily Carrollo, the Game Commission's black bear biologist. "We've got lots of bears, and lots of big ones, and hunters can pick and choose when and how they want to pursue them. If there's ever been a great time to be a Pennsylvania bear hunter, this is it, right now."

The numbers prove that. Hunters harvested 3,659 bears in 2021. That's the state's fifth-best harvest ever.

Those bears came from across the seasons.

The archery bear season produced 672 bears, while the muzzleloader and special firearms seasons chipped in 536. Combined, those 1,208 bears amounted to about one-third of the total 2021 harvest.

The regular bear season, meanwhile — true to form — contributed the biggest portion of the harvest. Hunters then got 1,314 bears across four days. That was the second third of the total harvest.

The extended season accounted for the final third of the harvest, producing 1,127 bears.

"The extended bear season adds excitement for hunters, allowing them to seek deer and bears at the same time, doubling their chances of placing their tag on an incredible trophy," said Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans. "As the numbers show, hunters are finding much success, too, in this and other bear seasons, and statewide bear hunting is about to kick off once again.

In 2021, hunters harvested at least one bear in 59 of the state's 67 counties and in 22 of its 23 WMUs.

None of that is to say every bear hunter who hits the woods will fill their tag. Success rates for bear hunters still hover around 3% or less.

But, Carrollo said, hunters who find the food sources bears are keying on at various times throughout the fall, and hunt those spots hard, always have a chance. And not just in one season, but several.

License and orange requirements

Hunters who want to pursue bears in Pennsylvania need a general hunting license or mentored hunting permit, as well as a bear license.

Hunting licenses can be purchased online at https://huntfish.pa.gov or from issuing agents located in every county. A list of them is available at www.pgc.pa.gov under the "Hunt/Trap" tab. Licenses purchased online cannot be used until they are received through the mail because bear licenses contain harvest ear tags.

Bear hunters must wear a minimum of 250 square inches of fluorescent orange material on the head, chest and back combined at all times during the four-day general firearms season, or when participating in the muzzleloader or special firearms bear seasons. The orange must be visible from 360 degrees.

Hunters are also required to carry photo identification while hunting.

Hunters should also go into the woods with a plan for how to get a bear out if they harvest one. Even smaller bears can be difficult for one person to handle.

Junior and Senior license holders, those with disabled person permits, and Pennsylvania residents serving on active duty in the armed forces, may hunt bears or antlerless deer with a rifle during the special firearms season from Oct. 20-22. These individuals may not hunt antlered deer during the special firearms season while in possession of a rifle.

Trail planning extends

into the Wyoming Valley

The Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor and partners are conducting a planning study called the Laurel Run North to Ashley Main Street Corridor Analysis to explore what future trail might look like from Ashley Borough to the future Laurel Run North trailhead, also known as the Giant's Despair Park in Laurel Run Borough.

The study will explore where a trail could physically fit, what amenities it might include, and identify links to neighborhoods and community resources. This trail section is approximately 2 miles long and will connect to a soon to be constructed section of D&L Trail on Wilkes-Barre Mountain that will lead to the Seven Tubs Recreation Area and Pinchot State Forest.

This trail section is part of the larger Luzerne Gap, a major trail gap along the D&L Trail that focuses on a connection through Luzerne County to downtown Wilkes-Barre. This gap includes over 20 miles of future trail and 7 trail projects that navigate historic railbed, scenic vistas, and community connections. When complete, this gap will connect the Black Diamond Trailhead to the D&L Trail's northern terminus along the Susquehanna River in the City of Wilkes-Barre.

Partnerships with PennDOT

This study is being developed alongside the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's Partnership 81 Project which is redesigning the I-81 and SR-309 interchange near the City of Wilkes-Barre for improved safety and mobility. Our trail study aims to provide PennDOT with a preferred trail alignment so they may accommodate space for the trail within their project scope.

Feedback welcome

For more information, contact the Trail Stewardship Manager at — trail@delawareandlehigh.org — or call 610-923-3548/x227.

The Laurel Run North to Ashley Borough Corridor Analysis was made possible with funding support from a mini-grant from the Pocono Forests & Waters Conservation Landscape, managed by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council and funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

$280M investment to improve

state's dirt and gravel roads

Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding this week toured several dirt, gravel, and low volume (DGLVR) road projects that are part of the Wolf Administration's $280 million investment in improving Pennsylvania's rural roads while simultaneously reducing their environmental impacts.

"We're celebrating a partnership of the Departments of Agriculture and Conservation and Natural Resources and Penn State, Conservation Districts, and townships that has made our rural roads better and our streams cleaner," said Redding. "Gov. Wolf increased funding from $5 million annually to $35 million annually in 2015, which was a critical turning point for this program and meeting both Pennsylvania's infrastructure and climate goals."

Pennsylvania has approximately 23,000 miles of dirt and gravel public roads, many of which are close to streams and are potential sources of sediment runoff pollution. The DGLVR Program provides local road-owning entities with grant funding for road and environmental improvements on unpaved and low-volume (500 or fewer cars per day) paved roads.

"Reducing pollution in our water is a top goal of the Wolf Administration and I am proud to celebrate 25 years of making positive strides in addressing sediment runoff," Pennsylvania Department of Conversation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn said. "The collaborative conservation work that this anniversary honors is yet another example of how important it is that we work together to protect our planet in every way we can to ensure positive stewardship of our natural resources."

Since 2015, the program has seen a funding increase from $5 million annually from 1997-2014 to $35 million annually beginning in 2015, leading to a $280 million investment in rural road conservation projects.

—$20 million annually has been dedicated to unpaved public roads.

—$8 million annually has been dedicated to paved public roads with 500 cars per day or less.

—$7 million annually has been dedicated to DCNR for state park and forest roads.

—3,287 projects have been completed across the commonwealth since 2015 and 427 are currently contracted to be completed.

The DGLVR Program is celebrating its 25th anniversary. In that time, nearly 65% of Pennsylvania townships have completed a project, for a total of 1,546 completed projects in 1,007 townships over the 25 years. In the 17 years prior to the Wolf Administration, the program invested $85 million in improvements to Pennsylvania dirt and gravel rural roads.

NRCS awards nearly $300,000 to 4

Conservation Innovation Grants in PA

USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) this week announced that nearly $300,000 has been awarded to four Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) projects in Pennsylvania.

"Conservation Innovation Grants are critical for developing science, technology and innovative tools to address natural resource concerns on Pennsylvania's private working lands," said State Conservationist Denise Coleman. "These grants help bridge the gap between initial product development and taking that product or approach to market. The overall goal is to incorporate new innovations into NRCS technical manuals and make them available to the agricultural community."

Administered through NRCS, CIG is part of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. Projects may include on-farm pilot projects and field demonstrations, and are funded to accelerate the transfer and adoption of promising technologies to landowners in order to address critical natural resource concerns.

The selected CIG projects in Pennsylvania for fiscal year 2022 include:

—Water Science Institute $75,000, Legacy Sediment 3.0: Stream, Wetland, and Abandoned Mine Land Soil Partnership — This project will examine the opportunities and challenges that re-purposing Legacy Sediment may present with Environmental Justice Communities as designated by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

—The Nature Conservancy $72,828.00, Certified Prescribed Burn Manager Program Development — This project will develop a 3-day Certified Prescribed Burn Manager (CPBM) Training Workshop to be used to promote safe and effective private lands burning.

—Capital Resource Conservation and Development Area Council, Inc. $73,943.93, Monitoring of Carbon Sequestration for Carbon Credit development — This project will demonstrate the use of a soil probe to continuously monitor soil organic Carbon, NPK, soil moisture, and soil temperature on a real time basis.

—Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University $75,000, Assessing opportunities for On-Farms Bioenergy systems to enhance nutrient, carbon, and energy management options for poultry farmers in Pennsylvania — While on-farm bioenergy systems represent an opportunity to enhance nutrient, carbon, and energy management options for farmers, the system economics are not well understood creating a knowledge gap which challenges broader adoption. This proposal seeks to help address this knowledge gap.

For more information on CIG or other NRCS conservation programs that are available, please visit www.pa.nrcs.usda.gov.

Public boat docks to be removed for

winter at Wallenpaupack, Harveys Lake

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) this week announced that the public boat docks at two popular northeastern region lakes will be removed in preparation for winter.

Boaters and anglers should note the following locations and dates for dock removal:

—Lake Wallenpaupack Access at Mangan Cove; Pike and Wayne counties; docks will be removed Oct. 24-28.

—Harveys Lake Access, Luzerne County; docks will be removed Oct. 31-Nov. 4.

Weather permitting, the public boat docks at these locations are expected to be re-installed in late March 2023.

PFBC seeks applicants for

boating facility grant program

As a growing number of communities realize the positive social and economic impacts of providing convenient boating access along their local waterways, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) is offering the next round of Boating Facility Grants to help communities capitalize on the surge in new boating activity.

The Boating Facility Grant Program provides grants for planning, acquisition, development, expansion, and rehabilitation of public boating facilities located on the waters of the Commonwealth.

The PFBC encourages townships, boroughs, and municipal and county governments to apply. Nonprofit groups (501c3) including land trusts, conservancies, and watershed associations are also eligible to apply. Private businesses and service clubs are not eligible for direct funding but are encouraged to partner with their local county or municipality.

"Interest in boating continues to remain high among families and individuals looking to get outdoors," said Tim Schaeffer, PFBC Executive Director. "Many existing boating access points quickly reach their capacity with boaters eager to be on the water. Funds awarded through this grant program can help communities improve existing access areas or develop something new to serve local residents and attract recreational boaters to their region."

Applicants can seek grants for site acquisition, development, expansion, prevention of the spread of aquatic invasive species, and rehabilitation of recreational boat access facilities. Eligible construction projects may include boat ramps, courtesy floats, restrooms, access roads, parking areas and signs. Funds may also be used to make facilities ADA compliant.

Funding requests require a 50% match. For the 2022 round of grants, the PFBC will accept applications from anywhere in the Commonwealth.

The deadline for applications is Dec. 30, 2022.