The Pennsylvania Game Commission just announced that they will be allocating 932,000 doe tags for this coming deer season. This amounts to an increase of 29,000 more doe tags than last year.

Chris Rosenberry, head of the commission's deer & elk section, said the goal was to reduce deer populations in 10 wildlife management units and the plan is to maintain deer herds at existing levels in the other 13 units.

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) was taken into consideration when determining the reduction of deer in seven of the units. Free ranging deer with CWD were found to be in these units.

Rosenberry went on to say, “This problem isn't going to go away. Each of the disease management areas is expected to grow before next hunting season. Although there is much that is uncertain about CWD and its potential impacts, lower deer populations do appear to be related to lower the impact of CWD in these deer populations.”

Rosenberry also said, “Accordingly, the commission wants to be more aggressive than in the past, and lower deer numbers by 1.5 deer per square mile, compared to the usual adjustment of one deer per square mile.

Some sportsmen have voiced their opinions, that they are disturbed with this year's allocation of doe tags, stating it is way too many for which the areas warrant. And so the controversy about CWD between sportsmen and the Game Commission continues to go on.

Venison Donations!

PA's Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding commended hunters who participated in Hunters Sharing the Harvest program, that helps fight hunger in the state.

The program supplies donated venison to hungry families through foodbanks and other charitable organizations with support from the state, small butcher shops and corporate donors.

Redding said, “Combining the passion of hunting enthusiasts with the skill of our butcher shops, seasoning their donations with corporate and state funding and serving them through a strong network of charitable food organizations is the recipe for putting nutritious meals on tables of families in need.”

The Ag department provided $175,759 to support the program in 2019, partially funding the costs of processing donated venison. To date hunters have donated more than 116,000 pounds of venison from nearly 3,000 deer during the 2019 deer hunting season.

jack danchak is the President of the Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs of Sullivan County.