Pennsylvania Game News - January 2025 - 12

Korman said 85% percent of hunters
asked said they preferred the post-Christmas,
January hunt.
A January season also benefi ts hunters
who might take or have already taken
a deer with CWD.
" Right now, if you harvest a CWDpositive
deer, you can get a free replacement
tag, " Korman said. " However, if
you harvested it in rifl e season, you're
probably not going to get your results
back before the end of that season. This
will help address that issue. "
Extended seasons for antlerless deer
long have been in place in WMUs 2B,
5C and 5D - the Special Regulations
WMUs. For 2024-25, it goes from Dec.
26 through Jan 25.
During any extended season, hunters
need to be aware of the concurrent fl intlock
and late archery seasons. Both start
Dec. 26 - giving participants a week to
themselves, without extended season
hunters in woods - and continue through
Jan. 20.
Notably, that means hunters have different
fl uorescent orange requirements
depending on the season. Extended season
hunters must wear 250 square inches
of orange on the head, chest and back
combined, visible from 360 degrees.
Flintlock and archery hunters aren't required
to, though it's recommended.
While off ering an extended season is
a way to address CWD concerns, that's
not to say that the extended season will
be permanent in the three WMUs that
have it this year, or that it might not be
put in place in other WMUs in the future.
Such decisions are reviewed annually.
It's possible, Stainbrook said, that some
WMUs touched by CWD - these and
others - might have an extended season
all the time, in some years but not others,
or not at all.
12
" It really depends on whether harvest
goals can be met without it, " he said.
Specifi cs for 2025-26 will be announced
in April.
In the meantime, Stainbrook hopes
hunters get out in the extended season,
harvest antlerless deer and submit those
animals for testing, to help the agency
get a handle on CWD distribution and
prevalence.
" We are providing the opportunity in
tags and time, " Stainbrook said. " Hunters
took advantage of the extended season
where we had it last year. That is
hopeful for the three WMUs with additional
hunting this season. "
CWD TESTING
Hunters who harvest a deer in a Disease
Management Area this season are
encouraged to drop the animal's head in a
collecti on bin so it can be tested for CWD
for free.
Keep the completed harvest tag attached
to the deer's ear, then place the
head in a plasti c garbage bag, seal it and
put it in the bin. Search " CWD bin locati
ons " at www.pgc.pa.gov.
If you harvest a buck and want to keep
the antlers, be sure to remove them before
submitti ng the head, as they otherwise
won't be returned.
Hunters who harvest a deer and want
to pull a lymph node on their own to have
it tested for CWD can watch an instructi
onal YouTube video put together by the
Game Commission and Nati onal Deer Associati
on.
The Game Commission will noti fy
hunters of their test results if CWD is detected
in their deer. Otherwise, hunters
can check their results at htt ps://pgcdatacollecti
on.pa.gov/CWDResultsLookup.
Beyond hunti ng, reporti ng sick deer
and roadkills within Disease Management
Areas is extremely important to CWD
surveillance and the Game Commission's
ability to respond to new CWD detecti ons
quickly. People can report these animals
by calling 1-833-PGCWILD or 1-833-PGCHUNT.
http://www.pgc.pa.gov http://pgcdatacollection.pa.gov/CWDResultsLookup http://pgcdatacollection.pa.gov/CWDResultsLookup
Pennsylvania Game News - January 2025

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Game News - January 2025
