Three-license limit for antlerless deer could be lifted
Hunters in Pennsylvania could get the opportunity to apply for and receive additional antlerless deer licenses, as long as licenses remain available, and provided that a hunter holds no more than four unfilled antlerless deer licenses at a time.
The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners recently gave preliminary approval to a measure that would remove the three-license limit for antlerless deer hunters statewide.
If the measure is adopted, hunters will continue to mail antlerless license applications to county treasurers, as required by law. Application would follow the same schedule where residents, and later nonresidents, are permitted to apply for a license in the opening round, and in each of two successive rounds for any Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) where licenses remain. Then in early September, over-the-counter sales would begin, and hunters could pick up a fourth antlerless license in any WMU where licenses remain, either by going to a county treasurer’s office to purchase the license or sending an application by mail.
Once a hunter obtains four licenses, the hunter could not purchase additional licenses without first harvesting deer and reporting them. At no time would a hunter be able to possess more than four unfilled antlerless licenses.
But there would be no limit on the total number of licenses a hunter could obtain in a license year. As long as licenses remain available, and a hunter holds fewer than four unfilled antlerless licenses, the hunter can purchase another. A hunter without an antlerless deer license could purchase four licenses at a time over the counter; a hunter with two unfilled licenses could purchase two at a time.
During the discussion on this proposal, commissioner Kristen Schnepp-Giger commented that, for the vast majority of hunters, this change will not have direct impact, as they already are able to purchase antlerless licenses within the initial rounds of the antlerless application process, prior to the WMU of their choice selling out. But under the proposed change, those who hunt in WMUs that have leftover licenses available will have the opportunity to buy up to four licenses, instead of the previous limit of three.
The proposal to remove the three-license limit for antlerless deer hunters statewide is intended to ensure the licenses allocated within a WMU are issued to the fullest extent possible. For instance, in WMUs 2A and 4A in the 2020-21 license year, more than 16,000 antlerless licenses remained available in mid-November, and hunters in these and other areas have questioned whether the three-license limit continues to make sense.
The new process would be simpler, since the same distribution rules would apply to all WMUs, while maintaining fair and equitable distribution. There’s potential the proposed changes would make more antlerless licenses available deeper into hunting season, perhaps giving hunters who purchase their licenses later a chance to get one. And if implemented, the proposal likely would result in the collateral benefit of increased harvest reporting.
The proposal will be brought back to the April meeting for a final vote.
Concurrent seasons
The Board of Game Commissioners gave preliminary approval to a slate of deer seasons for the 2021-22 license year that will allow for concurrent hunting for antlered and antlerless deer through the duration of the firearms deer season in all Wildlife Management Units (WMUs). The board had authorized concurrent seasons in 10 WMUs in the 2020-21 seasons, mainly in WMUs in which Chronic Wasting Disease had been detected in free-ranging deer.
By expanding the number of WMUs with a concurrent season, the board responded to hunters who requested this change in order to be provided with more opportunities to harvest antlerless deer, and to reduce confusion regarding which WMUs are open for concurrent seasons.
A change to a concurrent season is not intended to increase the antlerless harvest, as the antlerless allocation is the primary tool for managing deer populations. If the proposal for concurrent seasons is approved by the board at the April meeting, the antlerless license allocation will be reduced accordingly to reflect the additional seven days of hunting opportunities. The antlerless allocation is based on the estimated number of tags required for hunters to harvest the number of deer necessary to meet the population objectives within a WMU. If the season is extended an additional five days, fewer tags will be required to meet the population objectives than would have been required in a shorter season.
Providing for the concurrent antlerless and antlered season would provide hunters with additional time to meet the deer-management objectives in each WMU and take into account the potential for inclement weather to negatively affect hunting opportunities during the firearm deer season.