WMU 2G SELLS OUT OF ANTLERLESS DEER LICENSES

HARRISBURG -Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) 2G, covering a large portion of northcentral Pennsylvania, has exhausted its entire antlerless deer license allocation as of today, Aug. 8, announced Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe.

Roe noted that this does not mean that hunters, both residents and nonresidents, are out of options when looking to hunt on public lands in this WMU thanks to Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) coupons that remain available for antlerless deer hunting opportunities on several of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources' (DCNR) state forests in WMU 2G.

"While DMAP permits may be used only on the specific property for which they are issued, they do offer hunters additional antlerless deer hunting opportunities on large tracts of public lands in WMU 2G, which has exhausted its antlerless deer license allocation," Roe said. "DMAP was developed to provide a way for hunters to help landowners achieve the type of deer harvest they require to better manage their lands. We encourage hunters to contact these landowners and take advantage of this unprecedented opportunity."

Landowners can't charge or accept any contribution from a hunter for a DMAP coupon. While hunters may obtain up to two DMAP permits per property, DMAP permits do not impact a hunter's eligibility to apply for and receive antlerless deer licenses issued for WMUs.

DMAP permit allotments are not part of the annual general antlerless deer license allocations for WMUs.

Resident hunters must mail DMAP coupons in a regular envelope, along with a check for $6 made payable to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, to the address listed on the coupon to receive their DMAP antlerless deer permit. Nonresidents must include a check for $26. The permit can be used to harvest one antlerless deer on the specific DMAP property. Maps for the properties are to be provided to hunters by the landowners.

Hunters may not use DMAP permits to harvest an antlered deer.

Of the 859,000 antlerless licenses originally allocated, agency employees have distributed to county treasurers 154,900 applications, which is ahead of the processing pace last year for the first two days.

Following is a listing of the antlerless deer licenses remaining by Wildlife Management Unit as of today, Aug. 8 (along with the initial allocation for each WMU): WMU 1A, 34,600 (42,000); WMU 1B, 20,400 (30,000); WMU 2A, 51,200 (55,000); WMU 2B, 67,300 (68,000); WMU 2C, 40,900 (49,000); WMU 2D, 49,500 (56,000); WMU 2E, 15,000 (21,000); WMU 2F, 20,200 (28,000); WMU 2G, CLOSED (19,000); WMU 3A, 24,300 (29,000); WMU 3B, 37,200 (43,000); WMU 3C, 17,800 (27,000); WMU 3D, 28,900 (38,000); WMU 4A, 22,300 (29,000); WMU 4B, 24,100 (31,000); WMU 4C, 26,900 (39,000); WMU 4D, 30,500 (40,000); WMU 4E, 31,400 (38,000); WMU 5A, 21,100 (25,000); WMU 5B, 45,900 (53,000); WMU 5C, 74,800 (79,000); and WMU 5D, 19,800 (20,000).

For updated information, please visit the Game Commission's "Doe License Update" in the "Quick Clicks" box in the upper right-hand corner of the agency's homepage (www.pgc.state.pa.us).

On Aug. 7, the Game Commission began accepting regular antlerless deer licenses from resident hunters. The timetable for remaining antlerless deer license applications is:

Monday, Aug. 21, the Game Commission will accept regular antlerless deer license applications through first class mail from nonresidents.

Monday, Aug. 28, the Game Commission will accept, only through first-class mail, applications for the first round of unsold antlerless licenses. Hunters may apply for and receive only one antlerless deer license during this first round in all WMUs, except for WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D, where hunters may apply for multiple antlerless licenses.

Applying for and receiving more than one "unsold" antlerless license prior to Sept. 11 -except in WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D - is against the law and carries a fine. In addition, receiving a second "unsold" license during the first round automatically voids the first "unsold" license a hunter receives.

Beginning Monday, Sept. 11, the Game Commission will accept, only through first-class mail, applications for the second round of unsold antlerless licenses. Hunters who applied for an unsold antlerless license during the first round may apply for and receive only one antlerless deer license during the second round. Those hunters who did not apply for an unsold license during the first round may make separate applications for and receive up to two unsold antlerless licenses during the second round. The separate applications may be submitted to one or two WMUs.

Regular antlerless licenses and first-round unsold licenses will be mailed by county treasurers to successful applicants no later than Monday, Sept. 18. Second-round unsold licenses will be mailed no later than Sunday, Oct. 1.

Also, beginning Monday, Sept. 18, applicants may apply over-the-counter at county treasurers' offices in WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D.

Beginning Monday, Nov. 6, hunters may apply over-the-counter for unsold antlerless licenses in all WMUs.

Created in 1895 as an independent state agency, the Game Commission is responsible for conserving and managing all wild birds and mammals in the Commonwealth, establishing hunting seasons and bag limits, enforcing hunting and trapping laws, and managing habitat on the 1.4 million acres of State Game Lands it has purchased over the years with hunting and furtaking license dollars to safeguard wildlife habitat. The agency also conducts numerous wildlife conservation programs for schools, civic organizations and sportsmen's clubs.

The Game Commission does not receive any general state taxpayer dollars for its annual operating budget. The agency is funded by license sales revenues; the state's share of the federal Pittman-Robertson program, which is an excise tax collected through the sale of sporting arms and ammunition; and monies from the sale of oil, gas, coal, timber and minerals derived from State Game Lands.

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