Changes are coming for landowners who want to remove problem deer and the hunters who remove them.
At next week’s meeting of the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the board is expected to approve new rules for the “red tag” program, which provides special harvest permits on lands enrolled in the Agriculture Deer Control Program. The changes are the result of a meeting of stakeholder groups organized by the commission’s deer and elk section.
“Participants were asked to provide input on three questions: what works, what does not work and how do we fix the items that don't work,” according to the July meeting agenda.
The game commission sought feedback from other organizations to the Red Tag and Deer Management Assistance Program, generally known as DMAP. The recommended changes include:
— Replace the red snap tags with the standard harvest permit.
— Remove the one-deer requirement and allow hunters to keep all deer harvested.
— Eliminate the Pennsylvania residency eligibility requirement.
— Remove public access and signage requirements.
— Eliminate the farmer-landowner reporting requirement. Hunters would report harvests in the same manner as during hunting seasons, and report failed hunts with negative harvests by April 30.
— Permits would be valid Aug. 1-Sept.15 and Feb. 1-April 15. Summer dates would be removed.
The changes are expected to take effect July 1, 2022.
Doe tag slowdown
In January, the state Game Commission and Fish and Boat Commission began issuing hunting, furtaker and fishing licenses through the HuntFishPA platform. Previously, those licenses were issued by another vendor.
The system has experienced slowdowns during peak periods. One occurred Monday, the first day state residents could apply for antlerless deer licenses. Hunters wishing to check whether their licenses have been awarded can check their purchase history at HuntFishPA.
Check doe tag availability at the Game Commission website, www.pgc.pa.gov.
Stream reclamation
Beginning Saturday, all fishing seasons, sizes and creel limits will be lifted on the Upper Pond upstream of and to the west of Raccoon Lake in Beaver County. This fall, the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources intends to drain and permanently remove the 7.9-acre marsh at Raccoon Creek State Park. Traverse Creek, the waterway that was dammed on two sections to create the lake, will undergo a habitat restoration project in which the upper dam will be removed and the original Traverse Creek channel feeding Raccoon Lake restored.
Fishing regulations will remain unchanged at the 101-acre Raccoon Lake, and its dam will not be impacted during the restoration.
