Pennsylvania

Have you scheduled an appointment to have your trophy whitetail buck, black bear or bull elk scored in the Pennsylvania Game Commission's upcoming measuring sessions for the agency's Big Game Records Program? Time is running out and it may be several years before this specialized service is offered again.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission has found itself on a new frontier: it is working with several states and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to sort out what is killing bats in New York and New England.

With summer recess for schools just around the corner, the Pennsylvania Game Commission is announcing a series of exciting wildlife education workshops for educators and scout and youth group leaders in June. The three programs, which are Act 48-approved for educators and include standards-based activities to help address the Environment and Ecology Standards, are Wild about Owls, WILD about Watersheds and WILD about Schoolyard Habitat.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission is seeking public input on a draft fisher management plan, which can be reviewed on the agency's website (www.pgc.state.pa.us) by clicking on "Draft Fisher Management Plan" in the center of the homepage.

Pennsylvania Game Commission Deputy Executive Director Michael W. Schmit today offered testimony on behalf of the agency before the House Finance Committee in support House Bill 1676 to provide for an alternative funding stream for agency operations. Rep. David Levdansky (D-Allegheny) sponsored HB 1676, and serves as House Finance Committee chairman.

With spring blossoming around the state, many Pennsylvanians are seeing signs of new life in the outdoors as migratory birds continue their northward migration and other wildlife shake off their winter slumber. Among the wildlife becoming more visible are Pennsylvania's roughly 14,000 black bears, all of which will be looking for food.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission and National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF), along with wildlife officials in Ohio and New York, are continuing a joint four-year study to estimate the spring gobbler harvest rates in each of the three states.

Based on a motion by Game Commission David W. Schreffler, of Bedford County, the Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners today unanimously voted to direct the Executive Director to use his regulatory

This fall, for the first time since 1989, ruffed grouse hunting will be opened in all areas of State Game Land 176 in Centre County, based on a unanimous vote today by the Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners.

Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners today approved a land exchange/purchase that will preserve more than 90 acres of land adjoining State Game Land (SGL) 314 that provides an important stopover for migratory birds passing over Lake Erie.