Gary Alt will take to the road again to explain the deer-management plan. One visit will occur 6:30 p.m. Thursday when Alt appears at the Community Room of The Factory Shops at Georgian Place in Somerset. Two lectures are planned in Cambria County: 6:30 p.m. Friday, Carrolltown Fire Hall; and 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Boscov’s Auditorium, The Galleria Mall, Richland. – Tribune-Review ¯ By The Tribune-Review The Pennsylvania Game Commission has given preliminary approval to antler restrictions for the upcoming hunting seasons. The action, taken at the board’s recent meeting, calls for four-or-more points to one antler in the counties of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Crawford, Erie, Indiana, Lawrence, Mercer, Washington and Westmoreland. In all other counties, hunters will have a three-or-more points to one-antler restriction. “What we did,” said Jerry Feaser, press secretary, “was go over every county to see what type of antler restriction would be needed to save 50 to 75 percent of the yearling bucks.” The public may comment on the proposal until the next meeting of the commissioners on April 8-9, at which time the board will set final seasons and bag limits. Another new proposal allows junior hunters to use their general license tag to take an antlerless deer in any county. “If a junior hunter takes advantage of the new opportunity to use the general license tag for an antlerless deer, they no longer are eligible to take an antlered deer,” Feaser said. Junior hunters may still apply for an antlerless tag. “Of all the things that could improve our deer breeding ecology and increase the number and size of bucks in the herd, nothing would do it as quickly and dramatically – and be accepted by hunters – as changing our antler restrictions,” said Gary Alt, Deer Management Section supervisor. “To suggest that antler restrictions are just about trophy hunting is unfair and less than accurate,” Alt said. “The issue is much more important than that. The board gave preliminary approval to define a point as an antler projection at least 1 inch in length from base to tip, with the brow tine and main beam tip counted as points. Alt said that over the past 70 years hunters have overharvested bucks and underharvested does, which has led to an imbalance in the ratio of bucks in prime-breeding age (between 4 and 8 years of age) to does. “In fact, in some areas, the ratio between bucks age 3½ years or older to does age 1½ years or older is 1-to-22. The remaining deer seasons and bag limits for 2002-2003 are the same as last year. The firearms buck-doe season will be Dec. 2-14. Archery season begins Oct. 5. In other proposed changes: A second bear hunting season that would run from Dec. 2-7 in Pike, Monroe and Carbon counties to help reduce human-bear conflicts was proposed. A youth pheasant hunting season on Oct. 12 and 14 passed. The commission will release 3,500 pheasants on 75,000 acres of land open to public hunting prior to the start of the two-day season. The fall turkey season in Area 1-A will be held Nov. 2-23. The elk season will be held Nov. 18-23, with the number of licenses to be determined at a later date. Permits for the bobcat hunting and trapping seasons also will he announced in the future. The commissioners gave preliminary approval to state game lands-use regulations. “Anyone who rides a non-motorized vehicle, conveyance or animal must do so only on roads open to public travel or designated routes,” Feaser said. “Such riding activities will not be permitted, except on Sundays, from the second Saturday in September to the third Saturday in January, and from the second Saturday in April to the last Saturday in May.” The commission will designate routes according to the management plan for the game lands. Another provision would require hikers to wear fluorescent orange when on state game lands during spring and winter hunting seasons. Samuel J. Dunkle, Duncansville, Blair County, was elected commission president, with Robert J. Gilford, Tionesta, Forest County, vice president. Russell E. Schleiden, Centre Hall, Centre County, was appointed secretary. If you wish to comment on Pennsylvania’s proposed hunting seasons, write Outdoors, Tribune-Review, 622 Cabin Hill Drive, Greensburg, PA 15601 or fax us at 724-830-6285. Please include telephone number for verification.

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