Pennsylvania Game Commission Removes Protection on Feral Swine
October 28, 2008
HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe recently rescinded protection on feral swine found in the wild in Butler, Bedford and Cambria counties.
“In May, when we removed protection on feral swine in Pennsylvania, we maintained the protection on them in Butler, Bedford and Cambria counties to facilitate trapping by the U.S. and Pennsylvania departments of Agriculture,” Roe said. “Trapping is viewed as the most effective way to remove feral swine from the wild, because it limits their dispersal into new areas.
“However, as we are now outside the time of year in which trapping is most effective, we want to afford hunters the maximum opportunity to remove feral swine that they encounter while participating in the upcoming big game seasons.”
The Game Commission has determined that the eradication of feral swine from Pennsylvania is necessary to prevent further harm to public and private property, threats to native wildlife and disease risks for wildlife and the state’s pork industry.Â
“We are not seeking to establish a hunting season for feral swine, but rather we are committed to rid Pennsylvania of this invasive species,” Roe said.
Licensed hunters, including those who qualify for license and fee exemptions, are eligible to participate in the unlimited taking of feral swine. They may use manually-operated rifles, revolvers or shotguns, as well as and muzzleloaders, bows and crossbows. All other methods and devices legal for taking feral swine must be conducted in compliance with the provisions of Section 2308 of Title 34 (Game and Wildlife Code), which can be viewed on the agency’s website (www.pgc.state.pa.us
) in the “Laws & Regulations” section in the left-hand column of the homepage.Â
Any person who kills a feral swine must report it to the Game Commission Region Office that serves the county in which the harvest took place within 24 hours. Residents who witness feral swine also are urged to contact the Region Office that serves their county. For contact information, as well as list of counties that each region office serves, visit the Game Commission’s website (www.pgc.state.pa.us), click on the “Contact Us” link in the left-hand column of the homepage and scroll down to “Region Offices.”
Nearly 25 states across the nation have persistent and possibly permanent populations of feral swine established in the wild, and Pennsylvania is one of 16 new states where introduction is more recent and may still be countered through decisive eradication efforts.
Feral swine have been declared to be an injurious, non-native, invasive species of concern in Pennsylvania that are suspected to have been introduced into the wilds of this Commonwealth through a variety of means, including both intentional and unintentional releases. Feral swine also have been determined to pose a significant, imminent and unacceptable threat to this Commonwealth’s natural resources, including wildlife and its habitats; the agricultural industry, including crop and livestock production; the forest products industry; and human health and safety.
The Game and Wildlife Code (Title 34) and agency regulations (Title 58) provide broad authority to the Game Commission to regulate activities relating to the protection, preservation and management of all game and wildlife. However, the agency was only recently declared to have jurisdiction over matters relating to feral swine by the state Supreme Court in Seeton v. PGC. In its decision, handed down on Dec. 27, the Supreme Court decision declared feral swine to be “protected mammals,” and, as a consequence, feral swine could only be taken as authorized by the agency. Without established harvest rules, the Supreme Court declared them protected until such time as the agency takes action.
For more information, visit the Game Commission “Feral Swine” section on its website (www.pgc.state.pa.us).
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Utah DWR Proposes Changes to Archery and Rifle Deer Hunts
October 21, 2008
One major elk hunting change also proposed
If you like to hunt deer with a bow and arrow, you may have to wait until Sept. 1 to hunt statewide in 2009.
That idea is among several the Division of Wildlife Resources is proposing for Utah’s 2009 big game hunts.
Most of the DWR’s deer-hunting ideas came from a committee the agency formed last spring to review Utah’s Mule Deer Management Plan. Increasing the number of deer in Utah, and providing more chances to hunt deer, are among the goals of the committee members.
Learn more, share your ideas
All of the DWR’s big game proposals are available at www.wildlife.utah.gov/public_meetings. Once you’ve read the proposals, you can share your thoughts and ideas one of two ways:
RAC meetings
Five Regional Advisory Council meetings will be held across Utah. Citizens representing the RACs will take the input received at the meetings to the Utah Wildlife Board. Board members will use the input to set rules for Utah’s 2009 big game hunts.
You can participate and provide your input at any of the following meetings (two notes: the Southern Region meeting begins at 5 p.m. The Central Region meeting is being held on a Thursday.):
Southern Region
Nov. 4
5 p.m.
Beaver High School
195 E. Center St.
Beaver
Southeastern Region
Nov. 5
6:30 p.m.
John Wesley Powell Museum
1765 E. Main St.
Green River
Northeastern Region
Nov. 6
6:30 p.m.
Uintah Interagency Fire Center
355 N. Vernal Ave.
Vernal
Northern Region
Nov. 12
6 p.m.
Weber Commission Chambers
1st floor
2383 Washington Blvd.
Ogden
Central Region
Nov. 13
6:30 p.m.
Springville Junior High School
165 S. 700 E.
Springville
You can also provide your comments to your RAC via e-mail. E-mail addresses for your RAC members are available at www.wildlife.utah.gov/public_meetings.
The group each RAC member represents (sportsman, non-consumptive, etc.) is listed under each person’s e-mail address. You should direct your e-mail to the people on the RAC who represent your interest.
Proposals
The following are among the DWR’s deer hunting proposals for 2009:
- Require general season archery buck deer hunters to hunt in a single region until Sept. 1. Starting Sept. 1, you could hunt in any region in the state.
“Hunters in southern Utah are concerned that too many archery hunters are hunting in the Southern Region at the start of the season,” says Anis Aoude, big game coordinator for the DWR.
“Depending on which region you choose to hunt in, this change could prevent you from hunting in the Southern Region at the start of the archery season. But you could still hunt in the region halfway through the season.”
The DWR is proposing that Utah’s general season archery buck deer hunt run from Aug. 15 to Sept. 11.
Under the proposal, you’d indicate which region you wanted to hunt in when you bought your archery permit. Your permit would then be valid for that region until Sept. 1. Starting Sept. 1, you could hunt in any region in the state.
- Make Utah’s general rifle buck deer hunt a nine-day hunt in each of the DWR’s five regions. The hunt would run Oct. 17 - 25.
The only exception would be five subunits where buck-to-doe ratios aren’t meeting goals in the state’s management plan. The hunt on the five subunits would run Oct. 21 - 25.
The five subunits that would have the shorter hunts are the Nebo and Oquirrh-Stansbury subunits in central Utah; the South Slope, Vernal subunit in northeastern Utah; the LaSal Mountains subunit in southeastern Utah; and the Monroe subunit in south-central Utah.
- Allow more hunters to hunt on the Paunsaugunt and Henry Mountains premium limited entry units during a hunt that ran Nov. 7 - 11.
Those who hunted during this hunt would be restricted to taking deer that did not have a single antler with more than three points on it. They would also be required to hunt with either a muzzleloader, or a bow and arrow.
“This change would give more hunters a chance to hunt on these premiere units while still protecting the larger bucks on the units,” Aoude says.
The committee that provided deer hunting ideas to the DWR consisted of 17 members. The Mule Deer Foundation, Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, the Utah Bowman’s Association, the Utah Wildlife Federation, the Utah Farm Bureau, the Bureau of Land Management, Utah’s Cooperative Wildlife Management Unit Association, all five of Utah’s Regional Advisory Councils and the Utah Wildlife Board were among the groups that had members on the committee.
Bull elk
The following is the major DWR elk hunting proposal for 2009:
- Increase the number of permits for spike-only units to 17,000, and allow spike bull elk hunting on all of Utah’s limited entry units.
The state currently offers 11,000 spike bull elk permits. Spike bull hunting is allowed on 10 of Utah’s 29 limited entry bull elk units.
“On many of these units, the number of bull elk and cow elk is the same,” Aoude says. “The only way to keep bull elk numbers that high is to continuing taking a lot of cow elk. And that isn’t good for the herds.
“Because the herds have fewer cow elk in them, fewer and fewer calves are being born. If the situation doesn’t change, the elk populations will eventually crash.”
Aoude says the DWR proposal would allow more hunters to take spike bulls while continuing to protect the larger bulls in the herds.
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Muzzleloader Newcomers Need to Learn the Basics
October 15, 2008
LITTLE ROCK – “How do you load this thing”? Silly question, but it will be asked here and there as Arkansas’s muzzle-loading season for deer gets underway.
It is also the black powder season for bear. Check your Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Hunting Guidebook for specifics.
Nearly everyone who has recently purchased or borrowed a muzzle-loading rifle for the first time has practiced with it. Many of these neophytes are now comfortable with the gun or at least not apprehensive about taking it to the woods.
Call it a front-end loader, smoke pole, charcoal burner, whatever, nearly any muzzle-loading rifle you buy these days will be effective on Arkansas deer. That is, depending on the person using it – but that’s also the case with modern guns, the cartridge rifles.
For starters, there is nothing to beat tutelage from someone who has used a muzzle-loader. That person can take you step by step through the process, and that person will emphasize that shooting a muzzle-loader does not end with pulling the trigger and hearing the boom. There is the essential cleaning process that you don’t find with modern guns.
First, acquire and look over the ingredients of muzzle-loader shooting. These are rifle, powder, bullet, patch, lubricant, percussion cap. Learn and become comfortable with the sequence of loading. It’s not difficult, but don’t try to skip or shortcut any of the steps.
Note the last item listed, the percussion cap. That goes on last. Never put a cap on the firing mechanism until the gun is loaded with power and bullet.
They call it a ramrod, the long wood or plastic stick that is housed under the rifle’s barrel. Forget the “ram” phrase. The instructions are to tamp the powder into place. This means a firm but gentle push with the ramrod, not a slamming of it.
Patch and lubricant will depend on the items you have purchased. Follow instructions that came with the rifle, if you bought it new.
If the recommended powder load is 60 grains, put 60 grains of powder into the barrel. More is not better, whatever you may have heard. A heavier than recommended load of powder is dangerous, of course, and it also affects accuracy in many cases. Stick with what the manufacturer says.
All right, you load the black powder rifle, you hunt all day, and you don’t shoot a deer. What next? Unload it before getting into a vehicle, and unloading doesn’t mean just removing the cap from the firing nipple.
You have two choices, and many hunters simply fire the rifle safely into the ground to unload it. An alternative is to use a bullet puller after the cap is removed then work out the patch and the powder. Some modern muzzle-loaders make these easier with removable breech plugs.
When the gun is unloaded, if it has been fired, and you are home or in camp, you clean out the barrel thoroughly with soap and water. A brush or swap on the end of the ramrod or on a cleaning rod is needed.
Work through the process form start to finish just a few times, and it becomes routine. Then muzzle-loader season becomes more enjoyable in addition to your hunting more days and perhaps bringing home good meat for the table.
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2008 Hunter Sight-in Day Open to the N.H. Public
October 6, 2008
Nashua Fish and Game Association (NFGA) will host a “Hunter Sight-In Day” event on our club grounds at Al Paul Lane, Merrimack, NH on Saturday, October 18, 2008, from 10 AM to 5 PM. It will be open to the public. The purpose of this sight-in day is to provide area hunters with a safe and organized place to verify and adjust the accuracy of their rifle/shotgun/handgun prior to taking to the field this hunting season.
Hunter turnout was great the last two years. We received a lot of positive feedback from participants about the available facilities and assistance provided by NFGA members.
We ask that each participant check the operation of their firearm and have any questionable equipment checked by a gunsmith prior to bringing it to the NFGA range. We will have Range Officers available to ensure safe operation of the range and to assist with sight-in as needed, however they are not authorized to perform maintenance or repair. In addition to a serviceable firearm, shooters must bring their own ammunition for that firearm. It is recommended that you bring the same ammunition for sight-in that you will use while hunting. If you have a bench rest or spotting scope that you wish to use, bring it with you.Â
Shooting positions are available at 25, 50, 100, 200 and 300 yards. Non-members will be charged a $5 fee for each firearm that is sighted-in. An additional $5 fee may be charged for bore sighting or assistance to install/align scopes.  To ensure all interested persons get their chance, each shooter will be allowed 25 rounds (your ammo) or setup time plus 40 minutes of firing time.
NFGA membership information will be available at the range or may be obtained on our web site www.nfga.org. Sight-in fees can be deducted from the membership initiation fee if a shooter joins NFGA within one month of the sight-in day.
Interested hunters can contact Nashua Fish and Game Association range governor at 603-424-2824 or E-mail us at fowlerrange [at] nfga [dot] org to sign-up for NFGA Sight-In Day and for directions. Directions to the club grounds are also available on our web site, www.nfga.org.
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Did You Draw a Big Game Hunting Permit?
April 22, 2008
Results available by April 30
If you applied for a 2008 Utah big game hunting permit, your wait is almost over. By April 30, you’ll know whether you drew a permit.
“If you draw a permit, congratulations!” says Judi Tutorow, wildlife licensing coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources. “If you don’t, mark June 12 on your calendar. That’s when general bull elk permits go on sale. It’s also the day that any general buck deer permits that aren’t taken in the draw go on sale.”
Draw results
Utah’s 2008 Big Game Draw will be conducted this month. If you applied for a 2008 permit, you should receive an e-mail and a letter by April 30. The e-mail or letter will let you know whether you drew a permit.
If you don’t receive an e-mail or a letter by April 30, you can learn whether you drew a permit by logging onto the DWR’s Web site or by calling 1-800-221-0659.
Draw results will be available by 8 a.m. on April 30.
If you don’t draw a permit, you can learn which permits are still available by seeing the 2008 big game remaining permits list at wildlife.utah.gov. The list will be posted by April 30.
“Some general season buck deer permits for the Northern Region and statewide general archery buck deer permits are usually still available after the draw,” Tutorow says. “Any permits that aren’t taken in the draw will be available beginning June 12.”
Tutorow says you probably don’t need to buy a permit the first day they go on sale. But she also encourages you not to wait too long. “Utah big game permits are selling out faster and faster every year,” she says. “If you wait too long, they might sell out before you get one.”
Last year, all of Utah’s general archery buck deer permits were gone by July 23. Northern Region general rifle and muzzleloader permits sold out on Aug. 21.
June 12 is the first day you can buy a general season bull elk permit. Starting at 8 a.m., you can buy one at wildlife.utah.gov, at any DWR office or from more than 325 license agents across Utah.
A total of 12,300 any bull elk unit permits, and 11,000 spike bull elk unit permits, will be available. The DWR does not have a limit on the number of general archery elk permits it can sell.
For more information, call the Utah Wildlife Services Administrative office at 1-800-221-0659, the nearest Division of Wildlife Resources office or the DWR’s Salt Lake City office at (801) 538-4700.
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