HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania deer hunters who want to better their chances of obtaining an antlerless license will want to send in applications during the first round of sales set to kick off on Monday, July 14.
During the first two weeks applications are accepted, only Pennsylvania residents may apply. Nonresidents may apply beginning Monday, July 28. Then beginning on Monday, Aug. 4, residents and nonresidents alike may apply for any unsold licenses that remain. The second round of unsold license sales is set to begin on Monday, Aug. 18.
Applications received before the Monday start of any round will be returned to sender.
Compared to the previous license year, 59,500 fewer antlerless licenses have been allocated statewide this year, and most wildlife-management units (WMUs) have fewer licenses available. That means submitting a timely application is as important as ever for hunters, said Game Commission Executive Director R. Matthew Hough.
“In wildlife-management units where the allocation is relatively small, it never takes long for licenses to sell out,” Hough said. “And while we’ve held steady the number of licenses to be allocated in a few WMUs, and have increased it in one, the fact remains there are fewer licenses available this year and hunters who want to be sure they get one would be wise not to wait.”
Hunters applying for 2014-15 antlerless deer licenses will follow the same process that has been in place during recent years. License fees also remain unchanged.
Antlerless deer license applications must be mailed directly to a county treasurer’s office, with the exception of the Philadelphia and Lehigh county treasurer offices, which no longer issue antlerless deer licenses. Treasurers across the state will accept applications for antlerless licenses covering any wildlife-management unit (WMU), but hunters should note that only county treasurers issue tags. The Pennsylvania Game Commission does not accept applications.
A list of participating treasurers and their mailing addresses, as well as the number of licenses allocated for each WMU, appear on Page 47 of the 2014-15 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest, which hunters can pick up from a licensing agent.
The digest also is available to view online at the Game Commission’s website, www.pgc.state.pa.us.
Applications must be mailed in the official pink envelope issued to hunters at the time they purchase their general hunting licenses.
Hunters who are Pennsylvania residents need to submit with each application a check or money order to cover the $6.70 license fee. The license fee for nonresidents is $26.70. If an application is rejected due to licenses being sold out, the uncashed check or money order will be returned to the hunter by mail.
Hunters may apply for only one antlerless license in the initial round. If licenses remain for a hunter’s chosen WMU, he or she may apply for a second license on Aug. 4 and a third on Aug. 18. Except in WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D, hunters may purchase no more than three antlerless licenses. In WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D, there’s no cap on the number of antlerless licenses that can be purchased and hunters may submit three applications per mailing beginning Aug. 4. Antlerless licenses for WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D also are sold over the counter beginning Aug. 25, providing the allocation has not been exhausted.
Hunters are allowed during each round to select their top three WMU preferences. If antlerless licenses are sold out for the WMU that is the hunter’s top choice, for example, a license for the second choice will be issued if available.
Applications from up to three separate hunters may be submitted in the same envelope. If the WMU preferences for all applications mailed in the same envelope are exactly the same, payment may be made with a single check or money order. If the applicants have different WMU preferences, payment by separate checks or money orders is strongly recommended. That way, a check won’t end up written for the wrong amount if licenses in one WMU sell out before the application is processed.
Applying early during the first round of sales helps to ensure hunters will get their antlerless licenses by the start of archery season. Archery season begins Sept. 20 in WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D. Statewide, the season begins Oct. 4.
Over-the-counter sales for licenses covering other WMUs begin Oct. 6. Hunters may apply over the counter to county treasurers for any other WMU with antlerless licenses remaining.
A listing of antlerless licenses allocated by WMU, as well as the remaining allocation, can be viewed on the Game Commission’s website (www.pgc.state.pa.us), by clicking on “Doe License Update” in the “Quick Clicks” box in the right-hand column of the homepage.
HUNTERS CAN PURCHASE DMAP PERMITS
Permits do not impact hunters’ ability to obtain antlerless licenses.
The licenses county treasurers will place on sale Monday aren’t the only option hunters have for tags to harvest antlerless deer.
Antlerless permits through the Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) remain available for some properties, and can be purchased through the Pennsylvania Automated License System (PALS).
DMAP is a Game Commission program designed to help landowners manage deer numbers on their properties. Eligible landowners include those owning public lands, private lands where no fee is charged for hunting, and hunting clubs established prior to Jan. 1, 2000 that are owned in fee title and have provided a club charter and list of current members to the agency.
Hunters may obtain up to two DMAP antlerless deer permits per property, and DMAP permits do not impact a hunter’s eligibility to apply for and receive antlerless deer licenses issued for Wildlife Management Units (WMUs).
DMAP permits went on sale June 9, along with general hunting licenses, and are sold out for some properties. Hunters purchasing the remaining permits may do so at any time and do not have to follow the regular antlerless license schedule.
DMAP permit fees are $10.70 for resident hunters; and $35.70 for nonresident hunters. The permit can be used to harvest one antlerless deer on the specific DMAP area. Maps for the properties are to be provided to hunters by the landowners. Landowners may not charge or accept any contribution from a hunter for DMAP permits or coupons.
Hunters may not use DMAP permits to harvest antlered deer. Hunters may use DMAP permits to harvest antlerless deer anytime antlerless deer are legal, including during the entire statewide two-week firearms deer season (Dec. 1-13). However, WMU-specific antlerless deer licenses may be used only during the last seven days of the season (Dec. 7-14) in WMUs 2A, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G, 2H, 3B, 3C, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D and 4E.
All DMAP permits are available through PALS. For DMAP unit numbers, the Game Commission has posted a listing of all public landowners and those private landowners who did not request DMAP coupons.
Those private landowners who requested DMAP coupons to present to hunters to redeem for DMAP permits will not appear on the website. However, these landowners generally have a limited number of coupons available and already have identified a sufficient number of hunters to receive their allotted coupons.
The website provides an alphabetical listing of DMAP properties for each county in which DMAP properties are located. Each listing will provide the following information: DMAP property number; contact information, including name, address, telephone number and email address (when available); total number of acres for the property; and total number of coupons issued for the property.
DMA 2 PERMITS TO GO ON SALE
Permits can be used for antlerless deer only, and follow a different application process.
Monday, July 14 also marks the first day for hunters to submit applications for antlerless deer permits that can be used in what is known as Disease Management Area 2.
Disease Management Area 2 (DMA 2) represents the lone area of Pennsylvania where chronic wasting disease has been detected in free-ranging deer. A total of six free-ranging deer within DMA 2 have tested positive for the disease over the last two years.
The latest of these positives was detected just recently, but will not change the size of the DMA.
The DMA 2 permits were created earlier this year as a way to direct more hunting pressure to DMA 2. The permits seek to increase the antlerless deer harvest within DMA 2 by one deer per square mile.
A total of 13,000 permits will be made available. The permits can be used only within DMA 2, which includes parts of Bedford, Blair, Huntingdon, Cambria and Fulton counties.
Hunters may apply for DMA 2 permits in addition regular antlerless deer licenses. Obtaining one or more DMA 2 permits does not reduce the number of antlerless deer licenses for which a hunter may apply.
There are some differences between the application process for a DMA 2 permit and that for an antlerless license.
Only residents and nonresidents ages 12 and older with valid general hunting licenses may apply for permits. Participants in Mentored Youth and Mentored Adult hunting programs are ineligible to make application, and the permits can not be transferred to participants in those programs.
Each permit costs $6.70, and payments must be made by credit card, or check or money order made payable to the “Pennsylvania Game Commission.”
Applications for DMA 2 permits will be accepted in two ways – electronically through the Game Commission’s Outdoor Shop, https://www.theoutdoorshop.state.pa.us, or by mail. Those wishing to send applications by mail can obtain an application form at the Game Commission’s website, the agency’s Harrisburg headquarters or any region office.
The application schedule is similar to that for antlerless deer licenses, however, residents and nonresidents can apply on the same dates in all rounds.
Applications will be accepted beginning Monday, July 14. Each eligible applicant may submit one application during this first round, which lasts three weeks.
Beginning Aug. 4, a second round of application begins. Again in the second round, each eligible applicant may submit one application. However, an applicant who did not submit an application during the first round may submit two during the second round.
A third round of applications will begin Aug. 18. Eligible applicants may submit an unlimited number of applications during this round, and the round will continue until all permits have been issued.
DMA 2 permits can be used to harvest an antlerless deer during any deer season, including the antlered deer season.
Those who are issued DMA 2 permits are required to submit reports, regardless of whether they harvest a deer. Hunters who take a deer with a DMA 2 permit must report within 10 days; those who don’t must report by Feb. 5. Those who fail to report as required are subject to criminal prosecution and may be ineligible to apply for permits if the program is continued the following year.
Through their reports, hunters provide valuable data that plays a crucial role in the Game Commission’s management of CWD.
DMA 2 was established in 2013 after three hunter-harvested deer in Blair and Bedford counties tested positive for CWD. The DMA was expanded earlier this year in response to two additional deer killed on highways in Bedford County, and a hunter-harvested deer nearby in Maryland, testing positive.
Since that time, yet another road-killed deer – a 2 ½-year-old doe struck on Route 22 in Blair County – tested positive for CWD. The deer died within DMA 2, and the positive test will not further change the boundaries of the DMA.
DMA 2 extends south to the Maryland border. South of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the western boundary of DMA 2 is state Route 96. The new boundary extends east to state routes 829 and 915, and Interstate 70. The DMA extends as far north as the intersection of state Route 453 and Interstate 99.
A map of DMA 2 is available on the CWD Information page at the Game Commission’s website, www.pgc.state.pa.us. A detailed description of the exact boundary, which includes roads other than those listed, is provided on Page 51 of the 2014-15 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest issued to hunters at the time they purchase their 2014-15 licenses.
Hunters harvesting deer within any DMA are not permitted to remove from the DMA any deer parts with a high risk of transmitting the disease. There are a few exceptions to this rule, including taking a deer to an approved deer processor or taxidermist outside the DMA, or traveling to an approved laboratory for disease testing.
The use of urine-based deer attractants also is prohibited within any DMA, as is the direct or indirect feeding of deer. A complete list of rules applying to DMAs can be found in a Game Commission executive order, which also is available at the agency’s website.
