HARRISBURG – More accessible areas and expanded hunting opportunities await hunters when they head into state forestlands for Monday’s start of the traditional two-week, white-tailed deer season, Conservation and Natural Resources said acting Secretary John Quigley.
“Our Bureau of Forestry will open 422 miles of normally closed roads to hunters and steer them to areas where deer numbers are too high and threaten state forest regeneration,” Quigley said. “Many of these roads are in Deer Management Assistance Program areas where properly licensed hunters may take additional deer, and our foresters want to see higher deer kills.
“The state’s deer hunters are an invaluable tool in wildlife management and forest stewardship,” said Quigley. “Hunters seeking whitetails in our state forest will find more than 90 percent of all state forestland is now within one-half mile of an open road during deer season.”
Quigley added that throughout the state’s big game seasons, which run into January 2010, hunters will find 3,040 miles of roadway open in state forestlands.
Access to some state forest roads will be determined by local weather and road conditions. Hunters should contact district offices in advance for up-to-date information. Some roads only will be opened for the second week of the traditional rifle season because they cannot withstand the expected heavy traffic of the first week. Two- or three-month-long openings will be in effect only where there is minimal threat of damage or deterioration to road surfaces or forest surroundings.
Quigley reminded hunters that many state parks, especially those in the 10-county Pennsylvania Wilds region, offer inexpensive camping and access to top-quality hunting in nearby state parks and forestland. Wilderness camping, offering hunters a chance to sample hunting far off the beaten path, also is offered in state forests across the state.
“For those hunters who enjoy hunting remote areas and ‘roughing it,’ our state forest campsites hold a unique allure,” said Quigley. “Meanwhile, some of our state parks in the north central area of the state have seen the same parties of hunters camping there for years.”
Because DCNR does not distribute Deer Management Assistance Program, or DMAP, permits, its foresters and park managers do not know how many permits remain in their respective areas. The only way to determine the availability of DMAP permits for a particular area is to try to purchase them from the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
DMAP details can be found online. Listings of open roads, effective dates and district office telephone numbers can be found here, or by calling district offices.
For the sixth consecutive year, DCNR also is supporting efforts of hunters seeking deer in state park and forestland DMAP areas, as well as the goals of Hunters Sharing the Harvest—a statewide effort encouraging hunters to donate deer for processing into ground venison for the state’s nutritionally at-risk citizens.
Hunters donating deer killed in these areas will not incur meat-processing fees.
“These hunters are benefiting needy individuals and state lands where deer must be controlled to allow trees and plants to regenerate,” said Quigley. “We invite hunters concentrating on our many designated DMAP areas to support this worthy endeavor.”
Successful hunters presenting DMAP tags from DCNR areas to meat processors in the Hunters Sharing the Harvest program will not be charged a fee. Other hunters, when donating the entire deer, are asked to make at least a $15, tax-deductible contribution to help cover processing costs. Hunters Sharing the Harvest pays the remaining fees.
Established in 1991, Hunters Sharing the Harvest provides more than 200,000 meals annually to food banks, churches and social services feeding programs. Last year, hunters donated more than 100,000 pounds of venison.
To learn more about Hunters Sharing the Harvest and obtain a list of participating meat processors and county coordinators, visit here and click on “Hunting” and then “Hunters Sharing the Harvest.” Information also can be found at ShareDeer.org, or by calling (toll-free) 866-474-2141.
For more information about state forests, visit the DCNR Web site or call 717-772-9101.