Spring Fishing & Hunting 2023

PGC wants public to report grouse sightings

HARRISBURG, PA - Not every ruffed grouse across Pennsylvania is quite the same as the next. Some –though wild, undomesticated birds – might even be called “tame,” meaning they show little fear of or even act aggressively toward people, especially in spring and fall.

But does that behavior matter, to grouse and grouse management?

The Pennsylvania Game Commission is seeking the public’s help in answering that question. The agency –charged with perpetuating wildlife species including grouse over the long term – is conducting a ruffed grouse genetics study in cooperation with Pennsylvania State University. The research aims to determine whether the Commonwealth’s grouse population shows signs of splitting up into distinct subpopulations and if “tame” behavior is linked to genetics. The results of this study will ensure habitat management efforts are targeted to improve and maintain grouse population connectivity.

Accordingly, the Game

Commission is encouraging Pennsylvanians to report the location of any “tame” grouse they see this spring by sending an email to grousecomments@pa.gov. That email should include the person’s name and phone number, date of the sighting, location of the encounter and a description of the grouse’s behavior.

Ideally, those sending in a report should also include GPS coordinates for the encounter site. If that information isn’t available, reporters should provide as much other detail about the location of the encounter as possible, listing things like the county and/or township, the name of the property (like a particular state game lands, for instance), the property address, the closest intersection and the like.

Game Commission staff may reach out to those who report encounters for additional information, if necessary.

Field staff will then visit those locations where “tame” grouse sightings occurred to capture birds and collect a genetic sample

from each.

“You may be familiar with mail-order kits where a simple saliva sample or mouth swab can unlock all kinds of information about your own ancestry or information about the breed background of your dog,” said Game Commission grouse biologist Reina Tyl.

“We will be sampling these ‘tame’ grouse in essentially the same way, swabbing their mouth and sending the swab off for genetic analysis.”

All grouse from which samples are taken will be released immediately afterward at the same sites they were captured.

The more birds the Game Commission can sample, the better. That’s why public participation is so important to this project, Tyl said. It’s really the key to success with this effort.

“Gaining a more complete understanding of the genetic diversity of Pennsylvania’s grouse population is critical to ensure proper management of our beloved state bird,” she added.

PFBC approves fee for quality fishing, boating

HARRISBURG, Pa.

During a special meeting held today, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) Board of Commissioners gave preliminary approval to a list of proposed fee adjustments for various fishing licenses and permits for the 2024 license year.

“Through these modest fee adjustments, we are keeping pace with the rising costs associated with maintaining vital infrastructure, services, and programs that anglers and boaters deserve and have come to expect,” said Robert BJ Small, PFBC President and District 6 Commissioner. “Our goal is to keep the prices of fishing licenses and permits as low as possible, while still being able to upgrade and invest in the equipment, staff, pro-

grams, and facilities, such as our fish hatcheries and hundreds of public access areas, that deliver quality recreation throughout the Commonwealth. Adjusting fees to match our business needs, when necessary, will ensure that Pennsylvania remains a destination for fishing and boating for a very long time.”

Under the proposal, the price of the most common fishing license and permits, a Resident Annual Fishing License, Trout Permit, and Combination Trout/ Lake Erie Permit, would increase by $2.50 each in 2024. Separate increases would be applied to other license and permit categories for non-residents, seniors, and tourists. If approved, revenues from these fee increases are expected to generate

an estimated $2.9 million annually for the PFBC’s Fish Fund to support fishing related programs.

In accordance with Act 56 of 2020, which provided the PFBC with the authorization to set fees, the proposed fee adjustments must be given preliminary approval by the Board, be presented during a public hearing, and given final approval by the Board. Also, in accordance with Act 56, after final Board approval, the fee adjustments will be shared with the Pennsylvania House and Senate Game and Fisheries Committees for their review.

The date for the public hearing has yet to be established and is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Fishermen cluster along the shore at the fishing lake at Brush Creek County park on the first day of Pennsylvania’s regular trout fishing season, Saturday, April 2, 2022,103 in Beaver Falls, Pa. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

John Greco of Ellwood City, Pa. pulls in a rainbow trout on the first day of Pennsylvania’s regular trout fishing season, Saturday, April 2, 2022, at Brush Creek County park in Beaver Falls, Pa. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Hunters tally over 3,000 bears in 2022 seasons

HARRISBURG, PA - Pennsylvania hunters harvested some tremendous black bears in the 2022 seasons, including three of more than 700 pounds and 11 more that topped 600 pounds.

Those were among 3,170 taken overall. That was down from 3,621 in 2021, but still enough to rank the harvest as the 14th largest all time.

Pennsylvania’s all-time best bear season came in 2019, when hunters harvested 4,653.

Hunters in 2022 took bears in 58 of the state’s 67 counties and 22 of its 23 Wildlife Management Units (WMUs).

Notably, the harvest was spread out – more evenly than ever before – over four seasons. Hunters took 737 bears in the archery season, 712 in the muzzleloader/special firearms season, 1,051 in the general season and 663 in the extended season. Another seven were taken in the early season.

That’s how things most likely will continue to look moving forward, said Emily Carrollo, the Game Commission’s black bear biologist.

“Our season structure allows hunters to pursue black bears across multiple months, using multiple tools, when opportunity best matches up with their availability,” Carrollo said. “They can hunt when they have the time off work or school or other responsibili-

ties, which is good for them and helps us reach our management objectives.”

That’s attractive to lots of hunters, based on license sales.

In 2022, 213,639 individuals – 203,922 Pennsylvania residents, 9,717 nonresidents – bought a bear license. That was the thirdmost ever.

And hunters found some impressive bears.

The largest taken in 2022 was the 755-pounder harvested by Cory Bennett, of Toms River, N.J. He got it with a muzzleloader on Oct. 15 in Middle Smithfield Township, Monroe County.

The heaviest bear ever taken in Pennsylvania was an 875-pounder harvested in 2010 in Pike County. Since 1992, seven black bears weighing at least 800 pounds have been lawfully harvested in Pennsylvania hunting seasons.

Other large bears taken

in the 2022 are: a 746-pounder taken with a rifle on Nov. 22 in Barrett Township, Monroe County, by James Laquino of Canadensis; a 705-pounder taken with a muzzleloader on Oct. 15 in Middle Smithfield Township, Monroe County, by Timothy Moffet, of East Greenville; a 693-pounder taken with a rifle on Oct. 20 in Abbott Township, Potter County, by Elijah Smucker, of Paradise; a 681-pounder taken with a muzzleloader on Oct. 22 in Bradford Township, Clearfield County, by William Swoope, of Woodland; a 681-pounder taken bow on Oct. 21 in Cumberland Valley Township, Bedford County, by Cole Schnably, of Bedford; a 657-pounder taken with a rifle on Oct. 22 in Gallagher Township, Clinton County, by Lane Charles, of Millersville; a 650-pounder taken with a rifle on Nov. 21 in Hazle Township, Luzerne

County, by Joshua Monahan, of Ashland; a 634-pounder taken with a rifle on Nov. 27 in Asylum Township, Bradford County, by Nicholas Menzen, of Cogan Station; and a 633-pounder taken with a muzzleloader on Oct. 22 in Cummings Township, Lycoming County, by Holden Long, of Lock Haven.

Among counties, Tioga County produced the most, giving up 187 bears last season. Lycoming County ranked second with 152, followed by Bradford and Luzerne counties with 126 each, Centre County with 122, Potter County with 119, Clearfield and Monroe counties with 114 each and Clinton County with 113.

Final county harvests by region (with 2021 figures in parentheses) are:

Northwest – 502 (451): Warren, 88 (87); Jefferson, 81 (72); Clarion, 80 (60); Venango, 79 (81); Crawford, 52 (38); Forest, 51 (44); Butler, 40 (43); Erie, 20 (13); and Mercer, 11 (8).

Southwest –253 (247): Somerset, 64 (58); Armstrong, 50 (58); Cambria, 44 (19); Fayette, 34 (49); Indiana, 31 (12); Westmoreland, 25 (41); Greene, 3 (3); and Allegheny, 2 (7).

Northcentral – 1,028 (1,220): Tioga, 187 (166); Lycoming, 152 (212); Centre, 122 (118); Potter, 119 (180); Clearfield, 114 (94); Clinton, 113 (156); Elk, 85 (80); McKean, 52 (107); Cameron, 52 (68); and Union, 32 (39).

Southcentral – 355 (464): Huntingdon, 81 (115); Bedford, 71 (82); Mifflin, 34 (55); Blair, 33 (39); Fulton, 31 (47); Perry, 29 (42); Juniata, 26 (36); Franklin, 18 (17); Snyder, 15 (12); Cumberland 8 (8); Adams, 7 (10); and York, 2 (1).

Northeast – 901 (1,121): Bradford, 126 (136); Luzerne, 126 (111); Monroe, 114 (95); Pike, 84 (167); Sullivan, 84 (127); Wayne, 81 (120); Carbon, 78 (103); Lackawanna, 51 (62); Wyoming, 50 (66); Susquehanna, 47 (77); Columbia, 46 (36); Northum-

berland, 10 (16); and Montour, 4 (5).

Southeast – 131 (156): Schuylkill, 65 (61); Dauphin, 27 (54); Lebanon, 14 (8); Northampton, 12 (13); Berks, 11 (12); and Lehigh, 2 (6).

The final bear harvests by Wildlife Management Unit (with final 2021 figures in parentheses) were: WMU 1A, 26 (26); WMU 1B, 115 (96); WMU 2A, 13 (5); WMU 2B, 4 (10); WMU 2C, 159 (192); WMU 2D, 202 (206); WMU 2E, 85 (45); WMU 2F, 258 (245); WMU 2G, 425 (519); WMU 2H, 101 (90); WMU 3A, 174 (238); WMU 3B, 292 (403); WMU 3C, 165 (218); WMU 3D, 344 (426); WMU 4A, 114 (173); WMU 4B, 76 (121); WMU 4C, 190 (224); WMU 4D, 291 (300); WMU 4E, 109 (97); WMU 5A, 17 (14); WMU 5B, 2 (1); and WMU 5C, 8 (10).

PGC and Ducks Unlimited unite to help habitat

HARRISBURG, PA - The Pennsylvania Game Commission and Ducks Unlimited (DU) have partnered to improve 1,600 acres of wetland habitats on 61 state game lands across Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Wetland Habitat Initiative (PWHI) is a $6 million investment that aims to replace water control structures and improve existing spillways and levees over the next three years at sites in 31 counties throughout each of the Game Commission’s six regions.

“This is the largest conservation initiative Ducks Unlimited has ever been involved with in Pennsylvania, and we are excited to work with the Game Commission to improve wetland habitat statewide,” said DU Regional Biologist Jim Feaga.

Due to dilapidated infrastructure, the management of wetlands on state game lands has been an ongoing challenge. For decades, outdated pipes, boards, and damaged dikes have limit-

ed site managers’ ability to maintain wetland impoundments properly. But the PWHI – courtesy of funding from USFWS Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program and the Pittman-Rob-

ertson Wildlife Restoration Act, which uses excise taxes from gun and ammunition sales – will inject new life into Pennsylvania’s wetlands, improving wildlife habitat, water quality, and

flood control.

“The effort seeks to restore habitats to benefit several species of waterfowl, shorebirds, secretive marsh birds, waterbirds and other wetland-dependent wildlife,” said Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans. “In an effort to ensure all managed wetlands are functioning as intended, the agency committed $6 million in federal Pittman-Robertson funds to begin updating infrastructure over the next three years. The enhancements will include repairing dikes and berms, replacing boards and more.”

The ability to manipulate water levels is paramount in creating healthy wetlands and duck habitat. Timely spring drawdowns allow natural vegetation to grow, so that when water is added in the fall, migrating waterfowl and other water-bird species can feast on the seeds and tubers of native plants, such as smartweed, sago pondweed, and coontail, plus the inverte-

brates that inhabit these food sources and associated mudflats. Plants like cattails also offer a place for birds to refuge, rest, and protect themselves from wind and rain during inclement weather.

To replenish the state’s wetlands, new water control structures will be put in place. Dikes and spillways will be repaired, as will the boards that regulate wetland water levels. This means water can be managed more efficiently on game lands.

This infrastructure work—and ability to draw water down so vegetation can grow—will also filter the water by removing sediments, excess nutrients, and pollutants, resulting in increased quality. When wetlands are devoid of aquatic plants, the water cannot be cleaned naturally. And when a wetland is barren, sediment at the bottom

will stir, keeping the water unfiltered and dirty.

Establishing healthy wetlands helps control flooding as well. Trees, roots, and vegetation slow the flow of water into the floodplain, acting as a sponge, and keeping water levels lower during flooding. Wetlands also combat erosion and sedimentation, critical to the overall health of the environment, particularly bird populations.

“The Game Commission has contracted with Ducks Unlimited to provide expert technical guidance and assist with various aspects of the project, including site evaluations, surveys, project designs, and implementation,” Burhans said. “We are looking forward to working with DU to complete these important updates for waterfowl and waterfowl hunters.”

New game wardens wrap up training in Harrisburg

HARRISBURG, PA - Following 44 weeks of intensive training, the 34th Class of the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Ross Leffler School of Conservation graduated Feb. 4, 2023 at the Susquehanna Township Middle School in Harrisburg.

Training School Director Kyle Jury praised graduates for their dedication and demonstrated commitment to our resources.

“The 34th Class, which began their training on March 27, 2022, met all the challenges of their in-class instruction and rigorous field training,” Jury said. “The graduation of our new game wardens marks

many individual accomplishments that contribute to the overall success of the agency. I’m proud to say that this new class brings the total number of Ross Leffler School of Conservation graduates to 770 individuals.”

During the graduation ceremony, graduates were recognized for achievements in the areas of academics, marksmanship, physical fitness, driving skills and leadership.

Graduate Michael Ondik received the class award for academics, with a score of 95.3%.

Graduate Sheldon Helm was honored with the marksmanship award,

achieving the highest overall proficiency in a series of courses firing the handgun, rifle, and shotgun.

Graduate Peyton Edwards was selected as the fitness award winner for maintaining the highest standard of physical fitness during the training program.

Graduate Theodore Frumkin captured the EVOC driving award for exhibiting safe and exceptional police driving skills during the training program.

Graduate Kyle Lubak received the academy torch award for maintaining the highest professional standard of conduct, values, ideals, and demonstrated abili-

ties as judged by his fellow classmates.

Graduates were commissioned as officers and have been assigned to their new districts.

Members of the 34th Class, their hometowns and their new assignments are:

Drew B. Barger, of Beaver Falls (Butler County); James F. Crown III, of Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); Peyton D. Edwards, of State College (Elk County); Gabriel W. Everett, of Effort (Bradford County); Garette T. Fallon, of Phoenixville (Clinton County); Philip C. Ferry, of Greensburg (Westmoreland County); Theodore M. Frumkin, of Indiana (Allegheny County);

Lake Wilma in Greene County to be closed by private owner

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) is alerting anglers that Lake Wilma, located in Wayne Township, Greene County, will be temporarily closed to the public, by the private owner, effective immediately.

Because the lake is being closed by the owner at this time for their current operations in the area, the PFBC will be unable to conduct trout stocking operations at the lake, which were scheduled to occur on March 22 and April 12, 2023. Additionally, anglers will be unable to access the lake on Mentored Youth Trout Day on March 25, Opening Day of Trout Season on April 1, and for an indefinite period to follow. The PFBC is currently looking for opportunities to reallocate the trout that were scheduled to be stocked in Lake Wilma to other waters for anglers to enjoy this season.

CNX Resources Corporation, which owns Lake Wilma and allows public access for fishing and boating, has indicated that, in lieu of the temporary closure, the company intends to stock the lake with trout at a later date and host a special community fishing event at a date to be determined. Additional details regarding the fishing event will be available in the coming weeks.

To find alternate waters stocked with trout in Greene County and across Pennsylvania, anglers can review the Trout Stocking Schedule on the PFBC website (Fishandboat.com).

Griffin R. Gdovin, of Wilkes-Barre (Cameron County); Taylor J. Gunderson, of Lewis Run (Butler County);

Brooke A. Hargenrader, of Marysville (Fayette County); Sheldon R. Helm, of Palmyra (Lycoming County); Brian M. Johnston, of Kirkwood (Chester County); Helen A. Karp, of Millheim (McKean County); Kyle B. Lubak, of Kempton (Bucks County); Luke E. Mentzer, of Lebanon (Potter County); Charles K. Onder Jr., of Portage (Bedford County); Michael J. Ondik, of Port Matilda (Venango County); and Ejai P. Rock, of Bedford (Bedford County).

In 1930, Ross Leffler, then president of the Pennsyl-

vania Board of Game Commissioners, proposed the establishment of a training school for game protectors. When the training school opened its doors in 1932, in Brockway, Jefferson County, it was the first such conservation officer training school in the world and served as a model for other states.

From 1932 until 1935, the Ross Leffler School of Conservation offered in-service training for game protectors. The school became a permanent facility until 1986, when it was moved to the agency’s Harrisburg headquarters.

HARRISBURG, PA - The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners today gave preliminary approval to the 2023-24 hunting and trapping seasons and bag limits.

Modifications proposed for the 2023-24 seasons include:

For black bear, WMUs 1B, 2C, 4A, 4B and 4D would be removed from the extended firearms black bear season because of declining nuisance complaints in these units.

For elk, the proposed archery season would be a week later than in 2022-23 to provide additional time between the license drawing and the beginning of the season.

For furbearers, WMUs 3B and 4E would be opened to river otter trapping because habitat and population data indicate that these units can support sustainable otter harvest.

For small game, a significant expansion of opportunity for put-and-take hunting of captive-reared bobwhite quail in most of Pennsylvania is proposed through an earlier season opening date, later season closing date, and removal of the daily bag limit. Also, adjustments to crow season dates and addition of Thursdays as hunting days are proposed to shift hunting opportunity from the peak breeding season to the fall and winter months.

For falconry, an expansion of falconry opportunities, to include the period of overlap with the regular firearms deer season and the authorization of falconers to take certain furbearers are proposed.

No substantive changes are proposed for white-tailed deer or wild turkey seasons,

although the 2024 youth and regular spring turkey seasons are proposed to open five days later than in 2023 due to normal calendar fluctuation and the wild turkey management plan guideline of opening the regular season the Saturday closest to May 1. The seasons and bag limits preliminarily approved by the board would continue with a Saturday opener to the firearms deer season. Prior to their vote, the board reviewed recent license data showing a positive change following the implementation of the Saturday opener.

In particular, the license data showed that the move to a Saturday opener was followed by increased license sales by hunters ages 18 to 34 and female hunters. The board will vote to finalize the 2023-24 season dates, including those for the firearms deer season, at its upcoming meeting on April 15, 2023. The board also preliminarily approved a measure that would make all mentored hunters, including mentored adults, eligible to participate in the October special firearms season for antlerless deer and bears.

The public may offer comments on all proposed 202324 seasons and bag limits, as well as other board actions, between now and the board’s April meeting, when 2023-24 seasons and bag limits will be finalized, and antlerless deer license allocations will be determined.

The board will meet April 14 and 15 at the Game Commission’s Harrisburg headquarters.

PROPOSED 2023-24

HUNTING SEASONS AND BAG LIMITS

SQUIRRELS, Red, Gray,

Black and Fox (Combined): Special season for eligible junior hunters, with or without required license – Sept. 9-23 (6 daily, 18 in possession limit after first day).

SQUIRRELS, Red, Gray, Black and Fox (Combined): Sept. 9-Nov. 11, Sunday Nov.

12, Nov. 13-18, Sunday Nov.

19, Nov. 20-24, Dec. 11-23 and Dec. 26-Feb. 29, 2024 (6 daily, 18 possession).

RUFFED GROUSE: Oct.

14-Nov. 11, Sunday Nov. 12, Nov. 13-18, Sunday Nov. 19, Nov. 20-24 and Dec. 11-23 (2 daily, 6 possession).

RABBIT (Cottontail): Special season for eligible junior hunters, with or without required license – Sept. 30-Oct. 14 (4 daily, 12 possession).

RABBIT (Cottontail): Oct.

14-Nov. 11, Sunday Nov. 12, Nov. 13-18, Sunday Nov. 19, Nov. 20-24, Dec. 11-23 and Dec. 26-Feb. 29, 2024 (4 daily, 12 possession).

PHEASANT: Special

season for eligible junior hunters, with or without required license – Oct. 7-14 (2 daily, 6 in possession). Male and female pheasants may be taken in all WMUs. There is no open season for taking pheasants in Wild Pheasant Recovery Areas, except within the Central Susquehanna Wild Pheasant Recovery Area, as authorized by executive order.

PHEASANT: Oct. 21-Nov.

11, Sunday Nov. 12, Nov.

13-18, Sunday Nov. 19, Nov.

20-24, Dec. 11-23 and Dec. 26Feb. 29, 2024 (2 daily, 6 in possession). Male and female pheasants may be taken in all WMUs. There is no open season for taking pheasants in Wild Pheasant Recovery Areas, except within the Central Susquehanna Wild Pheasant Recovery Area, as authorized by executive order.

BOBWHITE QUAIL: Sept. 1-Nov. 11, Sunday Nov. 12,

Nov. 13-18, Sunday Nov. 19, Nov. 20-24, Dec. 11-23 and Dec. 26-March 30, 2024. No limit. There is no open season for the taking of bobwhite quail in the Letterkenny Army Depot Bobwhite Quail Recovery Area.

HARES (SNOWSHOE RABBITS) OR VARYING

HARES: Dec. 26-Jan. 1, 2024, statewide (1 daily, 3 possession).

WOODCHUCK

(GROUNDHOG): July 1-Nov.

11, Sunday Nov. 12, Nov. 1318, Sunday Nov. 19, Nov. 2024 and Dec. 11-June 29, 2024. No limit.

CROW: Aug. 24-March 24, 2024, on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday only. No limit.

STARLING AND ENGLISH SPARROW: No closed season, except during the regular firearms deer season. No limit.

WILD TURKEY (Male or Female): WMU 2B – Oct. 28-Nov. 17 and Nov. 22-24;

WMUs 1A, 1B, 4A, 4B, 4D and 4E – Oct. 28-Nov. 4; WMUs 2A, 2F, 2G, 2H, 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D and 4C – Oct. 28-Nov. 11;

WMUs 2C, 2D and 2E – Oct. 28-Nov. 11 and Nov. 22-24.

Projects address Chronic Wasting Disease in Pa.

HARRISBURG, PAChronic Wasting Disease (CWD) – an always-fatal and untreatable neurological disease affecting whitetailed deer and elk – continues to expand across Pennsylvania.

But it’s not going unchallenged. Several research initiatives launching this year aim to increase understanding of CWD and develop tools to confront it.

The first project will look at the impact of CWD on deer in Bedford and Fulton counties, which have produced about 90% of known CWD-positive deer since the disease’s discovery in Pennsylvania in 2012.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission, in cooperation with the Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at Penn State University and the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine’s (Penn Vet) Wildlife Futures Program, will capture and outfit deer with GPS collars over three years starting this winter. Deer will be monitored to examine their fates.

“Although it is unfortunate that CWD is now found in about one of every five hunter-harvested adult deer in these counties, these circumstances do provide a higher probability of capturing, marking and monitoring individual CWD-infected deer,” said Andrea Korman, the Game Commission’s CWD Section Supervisor. “It will give us insight into the effects of CWD on Pennsylvania’s deer population.”

A second project with the Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at Penn State University will use modeling to investigate how CWD may affect future deer populations and what actions can be taken to reduce any negative effects.

Right now, the ultimate impact of CWD on Penn-

sylvania’s deer herd is unknown. Research from Wyoming has shown that CWD can negatively impact deer populations, but Pennsylvania’s deer abundance and landscape are much different.

“Pennsylvania’s landscape is ideal for whitetailed deer, so it is important for the Game Commission to have Pennsylvania-specific data when recommending CWD management actions,” said David Walter, Assistant Leader of the Pennsylvania Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. “This study will provide those needed data.”

Two other research initiatives underway focus on improving CWD detection. Detection of CWD is particularly challenging.

CWD has a long incubation period. Infected animals might not show clinical signs of the disease for up to 18 to 24 months post-infection. In the meantime, they appear normal but continue spreading the disease.

What’s more, there is no approved live-animal test for CWD. Current testing methods can detect it only by examining tissues – such as brainstem and lymph nodes – collected from dead animals.

But the Wildlife Futures Program, a wildlife health partnership between Penn Vet and the Pennsylvania Game Commission, is currently engaged in two projects aimed at improving the Game Commission’s ability to detect CWD.

The first involves using dogs trained to sniff out CWD. Phase one of this initiative, conducted through Penn Vet’s Working Dog Center, validated that dogs can distinguish feces from CWD-infected deer from those of deer that were not infected.

In phase two, the Wildlife Futures Program’s K9 Con-

servation Team will move dogs into the field to determine their CWD scent detection on the landscape.

The second project involves refining a highly sensitive detection method for prions known as real-time quaking-induced conversion test (RT-QuIC for short) to detect CWD in feces and other tissues. This would expand the Game Commission’s ability to track and monitor CWD.

“The evaluation of dogs’ CWD-detection abilities and new diagnostic tests represent potential additions to the toolbox for managing CWD,” said Lisa Murphy, Co-Director of Penn Vet’s Wildlife Futures Program. “We’re looking forward to assessing the results of these ongoing research programs.”

CWD, classified as a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE), is similar to scrapie in sheep, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or “mad cow disease”) in cattle, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans. It represents a significant threat to deer and elk in Pennsylvania. There is no natural immunity to the disease and there is no cure.

CWD spreads through direct animal-to-animal contact, as well as indirectly through prion-contaminated environments. Prions are misfolded proteins, and evidence supports prions as the infectious agent for CWD.

CWD-infected individuals shed prions in saliva, urine and feces, and infected carcasses contribute to environmental contamination.

Prions can pass through the digestive tract of scavengers and predators and remain infectious; plants can uptake CWD prions and remain infectious; and soils retain infectious CWD prions for years.

A pair of young antlered deer graze on the edge of the woods in a frost covered field, Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021, in Zelienople, Pa. The deer hunting season with regular firearms begins statewide on Nov. 27, 2021, while the archery deer hunting season has been open in areas on specific dates since October. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

A Few of the Reasons for the Timber Harvest

Legacy: Future income for generations to come

Income: Timber is paid before harvest

Wildlife: Create Cover and Browse through harvesting

Property Access: Improved Access and road