HARRISBURG – If you’ve logged onto the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Web site, you probably noticed a significantly new look to the homepage, as well as a new manner in navigating through the various sections. However, as with any transition, the agency’s technical staff continues to rebuild information that its website visitors have come to rely on finding online, and some outdated information will not make the cut.
“We focused on transitioning necessary information, such as the annual digest and migratory game bird brochure, which outlines the ongoing seasons and regulations, over to the new Web site format first,” said Robert Strailey, Game Commission Bureau of Automated Technology Services director. “Also, we made sure that hunters will be able to report their harvests, as well as those who have a Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) permits.
“Other popular sections, such as the Hunter/Trapper Scrapbook, which features hunters and trappers with their quarry, are on hold, and we have made the decision to drop previous years’ postings and build the new site with photos submitted from the current seasons. Another resource area, our news release archives, eventually will provide access to news releases from 2007 through the present. News releases issued prior to Jan. 1, 2007, will no longer be available online. However, at present, we only have available news releases back to Oct. 27.”
Strailey noted that the transition of the Game Commission’s website from its old Dynamic Site Framework-format to the new Aqualogic format was made necessary because the Office of Administration’s Information Technology Services changed the website development package it provides state agencies to build their websites. This is the second such format change in less than 10 years.
“We encourage the public to be patient as we continue to rebuild and refine our website, which will be more user-friendly and easier to navigate,” Strailey said. “We will be offering new sections to better inform the public about the Game Commission’s wildlife management efforts, as well as its mission to promote hunting, trapping and wildlife viewing.”