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Preliminary seasons approved

HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners at its January meeting gave preliminary approval to hunting and trapping seasons and bag limits for the 2017-18 license year.

Final approval of seasons and antlerless license allocations are set to occur in March.

Modifications proposed for the 2017-18 seasons include moving the statewide archery bear season to the next-to-the-last week of the archery deer season; changing the firearms deer season in Wildlife Management Units 5A and 5B to bucks-only hunting from the opening day through the first Friday; opening a conservative mid-week fall turkey season in Wildlife Management Area 5B, and reducing the season length in WMUs 4A, 4B and 4E; eliminating the post-Christmas segment of the ruffed-grouse season to improve adult survival due to recent population declines; restoring an extended black-bear season in WMU 3A; opening the Central Susquehanna Wild Pheasant Recovery Area to a youth-only pheasant-hunting season; opening WMU 5A to put-and-take bobwhite quail hunting, given the lack of wild quail in the area and the low likelihood of quail reintroduction being initiated there soon.

The public may offer comments on all proposed 2017-18 seasons and bag limits between now and the board’s next meeting, March 27 and 28.

Also, the board will receive at its March meeting staff recommendations for antlerless deer license allocations for each of the 23 WMUs. Deer harvest estimates for the 2016-17 seasons are expected to be available in mid-March.

The board retained antler restrictions in place for adult and senior license holders since the 2011-12 seasons. It remains the “three-up” on one side, not counting a brow tine, provision for the western Wildlife Management Units of 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B and 2D, and the three points on one side in all other WMUs. Those exempt from these antler restrictions are mentored youth hunters, junior license holders, disabled hunters with a permit to use a vehicle as a blind and resident active-duty military on leave.

Once again this year, the commissioners gave tentative approval to concurrent hunting of antlered and antlerless deer in WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D during most seasons, with the first segment of the archery season to run from Sept. 16 to Nov. 25 in those WMUs.

The board preliminarily approved a conservative, midweek fall turkey season in Wildlife Management Unit 5B, which long has been closed to fall-turkey hunting. The board also gave preliminary approval to reducing the length of the fall season in three Wildlife Management Units — WMUs 4A, 4B and 4E. Those WMUs all have shown indications of declining turkey population trends.

All recommendations on fall turkey season length are made in accordance with guidelines in the Game Commission’s Wild Turkey Management Plan.

For the 2018 spring gobbler season, which is proposed to run from April 28-May 31, the board continued with legal hunting hours to reflect the following: from April 28-May 12, legal shooting hours will be one-half hour before sunrise until noon; and from May 14-31, hunters may hunt all day, from one-half hour before sunrise until one-half hour after sunset.

The board proposed holding the one-day Spring Gobbler Youth Hunt on April 21, 2018, which will run from one-half hour before sunrise until noon. All junior license holders and Mentored Youth Hunting Program permit holders can participate in this special half-day hunt, as well as the other spring season dates.

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