Bowhunters first to report success using new PGC online system
Bowhunters participating in Pennsylvania's archery deer seasons will be the first to be able to file their harvest reports through the Pennsylvania Game Commission's new online system.
To report a deer harvest online, hunters should access the PGC website at
http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/ , click on the blue box in the upper right-hand corner, select "Harvest Reporting," then click on the "Start Here" button at the bottom of the page, choose the method of validating license information and click on the checkbox for the harvest tag being reported. A series of options will appear for a hunter to report a harvest.After filling in the harvest information, click on the "Continue" button to review the report and then hit the "Submit" button to complete the report. Failing to hit the "Submit" button will result in a harvest report not being completed."Hunters may report one or more harvests in a single session," PGC executive directory Carl Roe said. "Responses to all harvest questions are required."Roe noted that hunters still have the option to file a harvest report postcard, which are included as tear-out sheets in the annual digest they received when they purchased their licenses."We certainly are encouraging hunters to use the online reporting system, which will ensure that their harvest is recorded and save the Game Commission money on postage," Roe said. "Either way, the more important point is that all hunters who harvest a deer report it to the agency."*****Omission of a regulation that has been in place for decades in this year's "Hunting and Trapping Digest," which is provided to all who purchase a license by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, has caused some hunters and trappers to wonder whether they still are required to display their licenses in the middle of the back as has been done for many years.PGC executive director Carl Roe reminds hunters that although the agency is supporting House Bill 460, sponsored by Rep. Neil Goodman (D-Schuylkill), which proposes to remove the statutory requirement that licenses be displayed, and thereby allow hunters to place their hunting license in their wallet with other ID, license must still be displayed.According to Roe, when the PGC was drafting the digest, it was believed that the HB 460 may be enacted before the start of the license year on July 1. So, to avoid potentially conflicting information, a decision was made to modify the wording about the requirement that licenses must be displayed."License buyers do need to remember that the digest is not the "Game and Wildlife Code" or its attendant regulations, and should not be considered final on legal interpretation," Roe said. "In printing the digest, the agency simply summarizes the more important and frequently misunderstood hunting and trapping regulations."*****Pennsylvania Game Commission press secretary Jerry Feaser is today's guest on "Experience the Outdoors" with Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association member Doyle Dietz on Oldies 1410-AM, from 7:30-8 a.m. There will be a rebroadcast of the program Sunday, from 9:30-10 a.m., on Magic, WMGH, 105.5-FM.*****A 3-D woods walk is open daily, through Sunday, Oct. 18, from dawn to dusk, at Bears Head Sportsmen, located off Interstate 81 Exit 134, Delano. For information, call the club at 570-467-0331 or e-mail
docblazer@verizon.net mailto:docblazer@verizon.net .*****"National Hunting and Fishing Day" activities will be held Sunday, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., at Middle Creek Wildlife Preserve, Hopeland Road, Kleinfeltersville. For information, call the visitor center at 717-733-1512.*****"Tuscarora State Park Walk" will be held, Monday, Sept. 28, from 1-4 p.m., meeting at Tuscarora State Park office, Barnesville. For information, call Teddi Cunningham at 570-621-3012 or 800-621-6325.*****Schuylkill County Friends of NRA banquet will be held Wednesday, Sept. 30, beginning at 5 p.m., at Schuylkill Mall, Frackville. For required pre-registration by Saturday, Sept. 19, call Mike McCord at 570-628-1382, Brian Tobin at 570-345-3300 or Heather Bixler at 570-622-5693.*****A quarterly meeting of the Pennsylvania Game Commission board of commissioners will hold its next meeting, Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 5 and 6, at the Holiday Inn Philadelphia Stadium, 900 Packer Ave., Philadelphia.Doors will open at 7:45 a.m. for the Monday session, at which time public comment and staff reports will begin at 8:30 a.m. Speakers must register and comments are limited to a maximum of five minutes.Agency business will be conducted at the Tuesday session, which begins at 8:30 a.m. and is open to the public.*****Complimentary, one-year memberships are being offered to first-time members by the National Rifle Association. According to an NRA spokesperson in the membership department, this is being done in an effort to familiarize firearms owners and shooters with the organization's services and programs.To register for a complimentary NRA membership, access the special Web site atwww.nrahq.org/nrabonus/accept-membership.asp