HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Game Commission board of directors voted Friday to eliminate antlered deer tags and spring gobbler tags from those participating in the Mentored Youth Hunting Program until they reach their 7th birthday.
The vote came as part of the commission’s meeting at agency headquarters to set season and bag limits for the 2015-16 hunting and trapping seasons.
The PGC board of commissioners voted 8-0 to reduce the MYHP. If a mentored license is purchased before the child becomes 7 years old, they are ineligible to take a buck or spring gobbler unless an adult mentor transfers their tag.
Opponents of the MYHP wanted a minimum age restriction placed on participants out of what they said were safety concerns. Not only was no age restriction placed on the program so far as being allowed to hunt deer and spring gobbler with a mentor’s tag, those in the MYHP can continue to hunt squirrel and use high-power rifles to hunt groundhog and coyote.
“Safety is not an issue, and I made a point of stressing at our January meeting that we aren’t doing this because of safety concerns,” commissioner Ron Weaner said. “Sometimes life’s not fair.”
Previously, there was no age restriction on the MYHP, which went into effect by an 8-0 vote at the January 2006 board of commissioners meeting — making Pennsylvania the first state to adopt the Families Afield program.
In December 2005, the Pennsylvania State Senate approved the adoption of the program by 50-0 and the House of Representatives voted 202-1 in favor, with both branches of legislators specific that no age restriction be placed on any aspect of the program.
According to the United States Sportsmen’s Alliance, Friday’s move is unprecedented by any of the 35 states that have passed Families Afield legislation.
“We’re not closing the door on the program because a parent has the choice to transfer their antlered tag,” PGC board of commissioners president Dave Putnam said. “Also, a second spring gobbler tag can be purchased, so that shouldn’t be an issue.”
During the 12-day statewide firearms deer season — which opens Monday, Nov. 30, and concludes Saturday, Dec. 12 — hunters will have fewer days to fill an antlerless tag.
Wildlife Management Units 2B, 5A, 5B, 5C and 5D will have two weeks of concurrent antlered and antlerless hunting. The remaining WMUs will have antlered hunting for the first five days of the season, then have seven days of concurrent antlered and antlerless hunting beginning Saturday, Dec. 5.
Archery hunters will be allowed to hunt both antlered and antlerless deer in WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D beginning Saturday, Sept. 19, and continuing through the end of the statewide season Saturday, Nov. 28. Previously, antlerless hunting only was permitted in these WMUs until the opening of the statewide archery season, which this year is Saturday, Oct. 3.
With the 5-7 split for most of the state during the firearms deer season and a statewide antlerless allocation of 746,500 tags, hunter success is likely to continue its decline. Last year, 779,500 antlerless tags were issued and PGC biologists recommended that 879,000 tags be issued for the 2015-16 seasons.
WMU 4C, which includes most of Schuylkill County and northern Berks County, will receive the same 25,000 anterless licenses as last year, not the 33,000 recommended by agency staff.
WMU 4E, which consists of portions of Schuylkill, Dauphin, Snyder, Northumberland, Montour, Columbia and Luzerne counties, will receive 25,000 tags, which is 4,000 more than last year, but 1,000 less than recommended by agency staff.
Here are the 2015-16 antlerless allocations by WMU, with last year’s allocations in parentheses:
WMU 1A 46,000 (47,000); WMU 1B 29,000 (30,000); WMU 2A 43,000 (46,000); WMU 2B 61,000 (60,000); WMU 2C 31,000 (38,000); WMU 2D 55,000 (61,000); WMU 2E 21,000 (21,000); WMU 2F 22,000 (27,000); WMU 2G 22,000 (22,000); WMU 2H 6,500 (5,500); WMU 3A 19,000 (18,000); WMU 3B 28,000 (33,000);WMU 3C 36,000 (32,000); WMU 3D 25,000 (25,000); WMU 4A 30,000 (28,000); WMU 4B 26,000 (26,000); WMU 4C 25,000 (25,000); WMU 4D 33,000 (33,000); WMU 4E 25,000 (21,000); WMU 5A 19,000 (19,000); WMU 5B 50,000 (49,000); WMU 5C 70,000 (95,000); and WMU 5D 24,000 (18,000).