Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 33

Bridging the Generation Gap JUNIATA — Boy and Girl Scouts from Port Royal and McAlisterville came together to help the senior citizens at the Locust Grove Retirement Village participate in the Game Commission bluebird box program. Everyone learned about the eastern bluebird and then had a wonderful time assembling bluebird nesting boxes. The scouts plan on using the boxes in conjunction with a trail around the retirement village for the enjoyment of the residents. It was good to hear the laughter of both young and old, working together for the benefit of wildlife. — WCO DANIEL I. CLARK, HONEY GROVE Maybe They Got the Memo VENANGO — The Game Commission is impacted by gas prices, just like everyone else. As a cost savings measure we have been asked to reduce our mileage, and the wildlife has been cooperating. One of our duties includes doing a turkey survey and marking down how many turkeys — adults and juveniles — we spot while driving. Two hens successfully hatched broods near my driveway, and increased the number of turkeys seen while decreasing my mileage. — WCO LEONARD C. HRIBAR, OIL CITY Good Sign YORK — WCOs do a summer turkey sighting survey each year to monitor population trends and assess how the trap and transfer programs have worked over the past several years. I noticed quite a few hens with poults on public hunting areas in the southwestern part of the county, which is exciting because there has been a lot of hard work done to establish this population. NWTF volunteers, PGC employees and sportsmen and sportswomen of the area are to be congratulated for this accomplishment. — WCO CHAD R. EYLER, YORK Hard to Believe CENTRE — In June I helped with a cable restraint course at the Clinton County Fairgrounds and hosted by the Pennsylvania Trapper’s Association. One individual, I later found out, was from Texas and teaches similar courses there. I asked him what he thought about our course, and he openly admitted that he was going to copy as much of our program as he could. He especially liked the hands-on portion that gets the students involved in the construction of actual sets. After I gave him as much information as possible, we started talking about the differences between our two states. He was amazed at the amount of public land available to sportsmen here, and even more amazed at how little our hunting license cost. He just shook his head and stated how blessed Pennsylvania hunters are. — WCO CHRISTOPHER J. DEAL, BUTLER 33 A Nice Surprise I stopped for fuel at SGL 244 in Jefferson County during the summer when I noticed a brood of pheasants that numbered more than a dozen. It’s nice to see that at least a few of the birds we release for hunters survive and successfully reproduce in the wild. — LMO RICHARD T. CRAMER, TIONESTA In Abundance WESTMORELAND — I would hope all bear hunters are reading this Field Note and planning to hunt in or near my district. In just one month during the summer I trapped nine nuisance bears. Rabbits and squirrels are also in good supply. — WCO RODNEY ANSELL, MT. PLEASANT OCTOBER 2008

Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008

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