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(WHTM) – The 2024-25 hunting and trapping seasons were given preliminary approval by the Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners on Saturday.
The commissioners met in Harrisburg and heard from the public before deciding on any changes that needed to be voted on.
According to the PA Game Commission, the following occurred at the meeting:
Reintroduction of the American martens tabled
The reintroduction of the American martens in Pennsylvania has been tabled after the commissioners’ 6-3 vote.
The reintroduction plan was made by commission staff and included a long-term strategy that would take ten years to translate the American martens back into Pennsylvania.
The Game Commission states that the plan was sent out to the public and they received mostly positive feedback. A survey was also conducted and received similar feedback and the Pennsylvania Trappers Association also backed the idea on Saturday.
Other than the public, the idea was sent out to hunters via a survey and around 9,000 hunters responded.
Of the 9,000 hunters who did respond, 37% supported the idea, 32% opposed it, and 31% were neutral.
Wild Pheasant Hunting Season
According to the Game Commission’s release, “The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners today gave preliminary approval to a measure that would allow the Game Commission’s Executive Director annually to decide whether a WPRA would be open to rooster-only pheasant hunting, and if so, the season length and bag limit that would apply.”
WPRA stands for Wild Pheasant Recovery Area and Pennsylvania has two of them where wild ringnecks came from other states and established populations after being released.
This decision by the commissioners means that things pheasants in those WPRAs could open up to more hunters.
The Game Commission’s release states that young hunters have been selected for a limited opportunity to hunt wild pheasants in the past.
The only way this opens to all hunters is if the change wins final approval by the commissioners.
Hunting furbearers with dogs in firearms deer and bears seasons is prohibited
The commissioners gave final approval on Saturday that dogs can no longer be used to hunt furbearers during the state’s regular firearms deer and bear seasons.
The release states, “This change will not impact the in-season, nighttime hunting of furbearers with dogs in weeks when the regular deer and bear firearms seasons are open.”
According to the PA Game Commission, other changes that occurred at the meeting were:
- ‘Ice-eaters’ to be legalized for hunting
- “The Ice Eater is designed to prevent ice from forming around boats, marinas, docks, and piers as well as effectively melting existing ice by breaking the surface with a continuous current of warmer bottom water.”
- Deputy wardens empowered to address more drug violations
- Black rail to be listed as a threatened species
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