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Outdoors

Order expands hunting, fishing on public lands

WASHINGTON (AP) — Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke last month signed an order to expand hunting and fishing on federal land, saying it would improve wildlife management and conservation. Environmentalists dismissed it as “a do-nothing order.” The order directs the Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies to produce a plan to expand access. It also calls for changes to management plans for national monuments to ensure the public’s right to hunt, fish and target shoot. Zinke called hunting and fishing “a cornerstone of the American tradition.” But the public already ...

Four electronic devices approved

HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners today gave final approval in September a measure that makes four additional electronic devices lawful to use while hunting. Once the changes become official, either this month or next, hunters will be able to use electronic decoys in hunting waterfowl; electronic dove decoys used solely for hunting doves; electronically heated scent or lure dispensers; and electronic devices that distribute ozone gas for scent-control purposes. Electronic devices generally are prohibited for hunting use in Pennsylvania, but the Game ...

Commission offers to test deer for CWD

HARRISBURG — Those hunting deer within the state’s Disease Management Areas have the opportunity to have their deer tested free of charge for chronic wasting disease, which at the same time helps the Game Commission fight this deadly disease. The Game Commission is installing large metal bins at 26 locations for the collection of harvested deer heads within DMA 2 and DMA 3. The bins, which are similar to those used for clothing donations, keep contents secure and will be checked and emptied every other day through the deer-hunting seasons. All deer heads retrieved from the bins ...

Permit required for pheasant hunters

HARRISBURG — Even though pheasant production has been trimmed, hunters heading afield this fall might not notice much difference in the number of pheasants they flush. The Game Commission still plans to release about 170,000 pheasants, a modest reduction from the goal of 200,000 pheasants in recent years. And nearly all of those birds are being released on public lands, which have the best hunter access and pheasant habitat, and highest harvest rates. Additionally, with a new, interactive stocking map available at www.pgc. pa.gov, it’s easier than ever for hunters to find out ...

Enter your buck in The Sentinel’s contest – open to archery hunters, too

LEWISTOWN — Hundreds of local hunters will be successful in bagging bucks this year and we look forward to seeing them in The Sentinel’s annual Big Buck Contest. Antlered deer that meet the three-point standard and are killed during the archery season are eligible. Winners will be declared in adult and junior divisions (junior license or mentored youth hunters), with the first-place deer featured on the cover of the Big Buck edition to be published after the traditional rifle season ends. Winners will be rewarded with a gift card. As always, photos of all deer entered in the ...

Chance at Atlantic salmon adds to lure of Salmon River

PULASKI, N.Y. — Back in the early years of the 19th century, Lake Ontario had the greatest population of landlocked Atlantic salmon in the world. So many ran the tributaries each fall to spawn, men could drive horse-drawn wagons into the streams and spear or net a load full. Housewives ...