Pennsylvania Game News - October 2022 - 52

a class by itself, leading the typical
firearms category by nearly 15 inches
of antler.
With so many inches of antler, it's
not unusual for a rack the size of the
Kyriss buck's to end up with a slightly
different score when measured a second
time.
For Boone and Crockett's Big Game
Awards. An experienced two-judge
team measures the trophy, then a second
two-judge team measures it independently
to verify its final score.
Also recognized at the 31st Big
Game Awards was a black bear harvested
by Timothy Lenig Jr., of Shamokin,
who received a first-place award
for his 22-12/16-inch trophy, which ties
for eighth in the Pennsylvania record
rankings.
Additionally, a 455-0/8-inch bull
elk harvested in Elk County by Duane
Kramer, of Bellingham, Wash., in 2020
IN MEMORIAM
GEORGE BLOCK III
Outdoor writer George Block III, of
Washington, passed away July 25 at
age 86. George was a book author
who wrote a weekly outdoor column
in the Observer-Reporter newspaper.
He penned 32 Game News articles, the
first of which appeared in 1974. His
contributions will be missed. George
also was a member of the Pennsylvania
Outdoor Writers Association and an
official Boone & Crockett Club scorer.
received a first-place award.
This tremendous bull, a product of
the 2020 Keystone Elk Country Alliance
elk tag raffle, is the largest elk
taken in Pennsylvania and ranks sixth
all-time in the Boone and Crockett
Club's records.
Wild HPAI reports tail off
Detections of Highly Pathogenic Avian
Influenza (HPAI) in wild Pennsylvania birds
waned significantly this summer, though the
impacts of the 2022 outbreak remained unclear.
As of mid-August, HPAI had been detected
in 42 wild Pennsylvania birds. Thirteen of those
detections were in May, with the numbers
decreasing each month after, with just three
detections in July and one in the first two weeks
of August.
When avian influenza impacts wild birds, it
tends to fizzle out in summer. Waterfowl, which
are the natural reservoir for avian influenza, and
other birds are usually at their lowest densities
during summer since they're not migrating, so
there can be a reduced disease-transmission
risk.
But what has happened in the past isn't
always predictive of the future, said Dr. Andrew
Di Salvo, Game Commission veterinarian.
It remained too early to assess whether
there were population-level impacts on any
52
Pennsylvania wild birds, Di Salvo said.
The Game Commission began HPAI
surveillance in January, and the disease first
was detected in wild Pennsylvania birds in
March. From March to mid-August, more than
700 wild Pennsylvania birds - collected from 57
counties - were sampled and tested.
While HPAI wasn't confirmed present in
every Pennsylvania county, the disease was
presumed to be spread statewide. HPAI, which
is particularly contagious and lethal to domestic
poultry, caused major impacts to agriculture,
too. At presstime, the disease had infected
17 commercial poultry flocks in Pennsylvania,
leading to the culling of more than 4.2 million
birds.
Any sick or dead domestic birds can be
reported to the Pennsylvania Department
of Agriculture at 717-772-2852. Sick or dead
wild birds can be reported to the Game
Commission at 1-833-PGC-WILD or online at
pgc-wildlifehealth@pa.gov.
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2022

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