The Pennsylvania Game Commission once again appears to be scuttling Mt. Lebanon's application to hunt deer on public land, offering what one official said is a verbal denial of the municipality's request for an extended hunting season and additional hunting permits.

Mt. Lebanon hadn't received a formal letter of denial as of Wednesday, but Public Works Director Tom Kelley said staff at the regional game commission office told him they had never extended the hunting season for a single municipality, and weren't going to start with Mt. Lebanon.

“They can't just arbitrarily extend the season,” Kelley said. “They'd have to do it for the entire unit (covering most of Allegheny County), not just one municipality.” A game commission representative could not be reached for comment.

Mt. Lebanon last week sought permission for a two-week-long archery hunt for as many as 50 deer between Jan. 15 and Feb. 15, to take place in several parks, the golf course and a conservation area. Deer season normally runs from Dec. 26 to Jan. 24, and will pick up again in the fall.

“We'll see if the (Mt. Lebanon) commission still wants to go in this direction in the fall,” said police Chief Coleman McDonough. “We'll have a little bit more time to get things together.”

Hunting on public property is one of the state's prerequisites for other deer-control methods such as trapping and surgical sterilization, both of which the municipality has applied to do.

Mt. Lebanon sought to have employees with hunting experience do the bowhunting if they could pass a safety and accuracy test administered by police, but the state sold out of the permits hunters need for every deer they kill.

Local officials are still working on resubmitting the applications for trapping and sterilization. The municipality sought contractors' proposals for the job, which were due Wednesday, because the game commission's initial rejection of the deer control application included questions about who would perform the work.

Matthew Santoni is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-380-5625 or msantoni@tribweb.com.

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