HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Game Commission has finalized its plan for managing the state’s whitetail population for the next 10 years. Want to see what’s coming and where we’re going? Then check out the plan.
The deer plan is now on the agency’s Web site, all 148 pages of it. To access it, click on “White-Tailed Deer” in the row of photo-buttons on the homepage, then choose “Deer Mgmt Plans,” and select “2009-2018 White-Tailed Deer Management Plan.”
The agency’s deer management goals are to: manage deer for a healthy and sustainable deer herd; manage deer-human conflicts at levels considered safe and acceptable to Pennsylvania citizens; manage deer impacts for healthy and sustainable forest habitat; manage deer to provide recreational opportunities; and to improve the public’s knowledge and understanding of deer and the deer management program. Game Commission staff uses these guidelines when making deer management recommendations to the Board of Game Commissioners.
The agency’s deer management goals were identified by public stakeholders and supported by citizens who attended public open houses.
In addition, more than 200 public comments were received during the draft deer management plan’s comment period earlier this year.
For more information about the agency’s deer management program, visit the Game Commission’s Web site and click on “White-Tailed Deer” in the row of photo buttons in the center of the homepage. This section of the website features the latest brochures on deer and deer management developed by the agency; all issues of the biologist-written “Deer Chronicle,” top-notch references that cover agency research, solutions to deer-human conflicts, hunting tips and general information, deer photos and even an “Ask The Deer Biologist” section.
