Game Commission Awards 50 Elk Licences

HARRISBURG – With the assistance of those in the audience, Pennsylvania Game Commission officials held a public drawing to award 50 elk licenses for the 2010 season.  The event also was webcast via the agency’s website, and drew 385 viewers, and served as a means to enable more people to view the public drawing. All 50 hunters selected to receive a license will be mailed a confirmation letter within about a week.
“Each year, tens of thousands of individuals apply for an elk license, and unfortunately, very few are able to attend public drawings,” Roe said. “Due to financial limitations, we can’t afford to send everyone who applied for an elk license a letter to let them know whether they were drawn, and we only notify those who were selected.
“By webcasting the public drawing, we are able to reach far more than the 20 people who were able to travel to the agency’s Harrisburg headquarters.  In fact, according to the webcasting service we used for today’s broadcast, we saw that there were more than 380 people tuned in at one time.”
Roe noted that there were 18,253 individuals who applied for the drawing. An additional 487 applicants only purchased a preference point for this year, and will not be included in the drawing.
“While state law prevents the agency from publishing a list of today’s winners, thanks to another of the agency’s technological leaps forward, those who were in today’s drawings can check on the status of their applications, by Sept. 17, thanks to the new Pennsylvania Automated License System (PALS),” Roe said. 
Presently, the status for all individual’s applications for elk licenses is listed as “Pending.”  Once the database is updated, which is expected by Sept. 17, those who were selected for an elk license will see the status changed to “Awarded,” as well as the designation of the Elk Hunt Zone and whether they were awarded an antlered or antlerless elk license.  Those not selected will see the status changed to “Unsuccessful.”
To access the information, go to the Game Commission Web site and click on the blue box in the upper right-hand corner of the homepage.  Click on the “Purchase License Permit and or Application/Replace License and or Permit” option, which includes the ability to “Check on the status of any Lottery Application,” scroll down and click on the “Start Here” button at the bottom of the page.  At this page, choose one of the identification options below to check your records, fill in the necessary information and click on the “Continue” button. Click on the appropriate residency status, which will display your current personal information.  At the bottom of the page, choose the “Check on the status of any Lottery Application” button, and then hit “Continue.”
“While this may seem like a lot of clicking and box checking to get to the information, the system is designed to protect an individual’s personal information, while at the same time enabling that person to check on the status of his or her applications, as well as their antlerless deer license applications,” Roe said. “In the past, the only way to know for sure that you were awarded an elk license was to attend the public drawings, wait for a letter in the mail or to call the Game Commission.”
Of the 17 antlered elk licenses, 14 were awarded to Pennsylvania residents, and one each was awarded to a hunter from New Jersey, New York and Ohio.  Of the 33 antlerless elk licenses awarded, 32 were awarded to Pennsylvanians and one was awarded to a hunter from New York. 
Roe noted that preference points played a significant role in determining those drawn.  According to results, 14 of the individuals selected for an elk license had eight; 10 had seven preference points; six had six preference points; five had five preference points; one had four preference points; five had three preference points; five 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, which they must view prior to the elk hunt, and update materials.  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.
In addition to the 50 licenses drawn today, one special Pennsylvania bull elk conservation license was auctioned off by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation earlier this year at their national convention.  The Special Conservation Tag was created by an act of the legislature in 2008. The successful bidder paid $35,000 for this license. Of that, 80 percent will go to the agency to fund habitat development and maintenance work within the elk range. By law, RMEF is permitted to retain the remaining 20 percent to defray costs associated with promoting the auction.