KERSEY – On Saturday, Pennsylvania Outdoor Elk Expo visitors helped the Pennsylvania Game Commission award elk licenses to 50 hunters in a public drawing. There were 18,829 individuals eligible for the drawing. For the November elk hunt, the agency awarded 40 licenses (15 antlered and 25 antlerless) and, for the September 2007 elk hunt, 10 licenses (two for either sex and eight antlerless) were awarded.
Those selected to receive licenses will be mailed a confirmation letter within a week.
“While there is great interest in the names of the hunters who will receive these 50 elk hunting licenses, by law, the Game Commission is not permitted to release information about our license buyers to the public,” said Carl G. Roe, Game Commission executive director. “Beyond announcing the names and hometowns of those selected at the public drawing, we are not permitted to provide a complete list for public dissemination.”
For the November hunt, which will be held Nov. 6-11, all 15 antlered elk licenses were awarded to Pennsylvanians. Pennsylvania hunters selected represent the following counties: Armstrong, Clinton, Cumberland, Dauphin, Elk, Erie, Indiana, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lycoming, Northumberland, Snyder, Union, Venango and Washington.
Of the 25 antlerless elk licenses awarded, 24 were awarded to Pennsylvanians and one was awarded to a hunter from New York. Pennsylvania hunters selected represented the following counties: Berks, Bucks, Butler, Cameron, Cumberland, Elk, Lackawanna, Lancaster (3), Lawrence, Luzerne, McKean, Mercer, Mifflin, Monroe, Northumberland, Perry (2), Warren, Westmoreland (2) and York (2).
For the September 2007 hunt, which will be held Sept. 17-22, 2007, nine licenses were awarded to Pennsylvania hunters and one to a hunter from South Carolina, who received an antlerless elk license. The two either-sex license recipients were from Allegheny County and Northumberland County. Seven antlerless elk licenses were awarded to Pennsylvania hunters living in the following counties: Allegheny, Berks, Butler, Elk, Northumberland, Tioga and Warren.
Roe noted that preference points played a significant role in determining those drawn. According to results, 28 of the individuals selected for an elk license had four preference points; 16 had three preference points; two had two preference points; and four had one preference point.
All 50 elk license recipients will receive in the mail two copies of the Game Commission’s elk hunter orientation DVD or video, which they must view prior to the elk hunt. The second copy is to be previewed by their guide, if they choose to use a guide. Elk license recipients are not required to use a guide.
All elk license recipients must obtain a general hunting license prior to purchasing their elk license. Elk licenses cost $25 for residents and $250 for nonresidents.