HARRISBURG -- The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners met today at the Game Commission’s Harrisburg headquarters to hear public comment and conduct official business that included the preliminary approval of 2026-27 hunting seasons and bag limits, which are provided in a separate news release. Other highlights from today’s meeting follow.
MENTORED HUNTERS UNDER 7 TO RECEIVE TAGS
All mentored hunters – including those under 7 years old – will get antlered deer and turkey harvest tags with their permits beginning in the 2026-27 license year.
The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners today voted to adopt a measure intended to improve access to the mentored hunting program and expand hunting opportunities within it.
The mentored hunting program allows young and inexperienced hunters to hunt under the guidance and supervision of a mentor if they obtain a permit and follow all program requirements.
Under the previous system, most mentored hunters received antlered deer, fall turkey and spring turkey harvest tags with their permits, but mentored hunters who are younger than 7 when they obtain their permits did not. If a mentored hunter under 7 harvested an antlered deer or turkey, they had to receive the appropriate big-game harvest tag from their mentor, meaning the mentor needed a valid tag to take them hunting.
This created challenges for mentors who accompany more than one child throughout the big-game hunting seasons. Furthermore, mentors who transfer their harvest tags to a successful mentored youth sacrifice their own ability to lawfully hunt for and harvest the species for which the tag was issued. Some believe this is unfair to mentors, who play a vital role in recruiting new hunters to carry on the hunting tradition and continue the important work of managing wildlife populations.
With the action by the Board, however, all mentored hunters will receive antlered deer and turkey tags starting in the 2026-27 license year, aligning the program across all age groups.
Mentored hunters under 7 would be able to obtain one antlerless deer license and one Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) permit. The Board voted unanimously to specify mentored hunters under 7 would not be permitted to hunt bears, either through the purchase of their own license or by receiving a tag through transfer from their adult mentor.
With that stipulated, the Board voted 8-1 to approve measure, with Commissioner Michael Mitrick voting against.
Commissioner Bob Schwalm, a dedicated advocate for youth hunters, and a mentor himself, pointed out the benefits of providing young hunters with opportunities.
“By introducing a youngster to hunting and conservation – before the distractions of organized sports, video games, and other activities – I believe we can recruit lifelong hunters,” said Schwalm, of Bethlehem. “As a lifelong mentor, I can assure you it requires a great deal of time and effort to prepare a young hunter before heading out on a mentored hunt. I’m proud the Board of Commissioners, with its vote today, is thanking mentors for their continued dedication and support of conservation in Pennsylvania.”
CERTIFIED HUNTER PROGRAM COULD EXPAND
The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners voted today to preliminarily approve regulations that will guide the agency’s Certified Hunter Program, which connects hunters and landowners as a means of addressing crop-damage concerns.
The Certified Hunter Program launched last year in the Southwest Region and is expected to expand statewide.
For hunters, the program provides an opportunity to access productive hunting grounds and harvest antlerless deer to help landowners meet deer-management goals on their properties. Participating landowners retain full control of their properties and enjoy peace of mind knowing the hunters there have met the program’s qualifications.
The regulations preliminarily approved by the Board establish eligibility for participants and other program parameters.
Certified Hunters would need to have held a hunting license in at least four of the past five years and pass a specialized course before being accepted into the program. Annual background checks would be required, and any applicant convicted of recent Game and Wildlife Code violations or other crimes would be ineligible for a permit. Certified Hunters also would be required to report their deer harvests electronically within 24 hours, unless out of service.
The preliminarily approved regulations will be brought back to the April meeting for a final vote.
ELK APPLICATION COULD BECOME SIMPLER
The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners today gave preliminary approval to changes that would provide for a simplified elk license application structure, which would consolidate any bonus points hunters have accumulated since 2003.
Pennsylvania elk licenses are awarded through a random drawing of applicants. A hunter can submit an application, and if not drawn for a license, will receive a bonus point. Then, the next time the hunter submits an application, they not only have one chance to draw a license, but an additional chance for each bonus point they’ve received.
Under the proposal, hunters would retain the bonus points they’ve collected over the years. Hunters would submit only one application per year, instead of one application for every elk season in which they want to participate, so all bonus points would be consolidated. Applicants would then select up to five options covering the elk season and hunt zone for which they’re seeking a license, and whether they want to hunt antlered or antlerless elk.
If an applicant is drawn for a license, their bonus points automatically would reset to zero. A previously adopted regulation that will be in effect for the first time in the coming license year also will ensure that applicants who are drawn for antlered elk licenses are never again eligible for an antlered elk license.
The changes preliminarily approved by the Board today will be brought back to the April meeting for a final vote.
CWD REGS REVIEWED
The Game Commission is considering changing some of its regulations regarding Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) to better protect the state’s white-tailed deer and simultaneously help hunters.
If the changes are adopted, hunters no longer would be prohibited from transporting harvested deer – including high-risk deer parts – between any two locations. But hunters statewide would be required to dispose of high-risk deer parts through their commercial trash pickup, and expressly prohibited from disposing of high-risk parts on the landscape.
Other changes include eliminating the regulatory prohibition on the use of cervid urine-based attractants in any outdoor setting – state law already has been changed to make these attractants legal – and providing the Game Commission’s Executive Director with the discretionary authority to establish targeted restrictions on feeding deer and other wild cervids in relation to CWD.
The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners today voted to preliminarily approve these changes. The measure will be brought back to the April meeting for a final vote.
The Game Commission’s goal in managing CWD always has been to mitigate risks related to the disease across the Commonwealth. The agency has determined that eliminating restrictions on moving high-risk deer parts or requiring the use of cooperating processors and taxidermists when parts are moved would not impact that, so long as any and all high-risk parts are disposed of properly.
That’s the real key, making sure that all high-risk parts – from deer harvested everywhere in Pennsylvania – are disposed of the right way.
The proposed regulations are preventative in nature. If high-risk deer parts are disposed of in the trash stream, it eliminates the possibility they will introduce CWD to a new area, and otherwise limits the disease’s spread.
The changes preliminarily approved by the Board today will be brought back to the April meeting for a final vote.
FIREARMS COULD BE USED SEASONWIDE FOR AG CONTROL
The Agricultural Deer Control Program, commonly referred to as Ag Tag, not so long ago only allowed hunting during periods when other deer seasons were closed. As crop-damage complaints escalated, however, the program was adjusted to allow hunters with Ag Tag permits for antlerless deer to hunt and harvest deer during all established deer seasons where they hunt, better serving the program’s purpose.
During overlaps with other deer seasons, though, Ag Tag hunters were limited to using the sporting arms approved for those seasons. When only archery season was open, for instance, an Ag Tag hunter needed to use lawful archery gear. That could change.
The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners today voted preliminarily to allow Ag Tag hunters to use any devices authorized for hunting deer in the regular firearms deer season. That said, landowners would maintain authority to restrict the use of any devices and methods on their own lands.
The measure will be brought back to the April meeting for a final vote.
The Agricultural Deer Control Program enables landowners to enlist the aid of hunters in removing deer from agricultural lands. Only antlerless deer may be taken with Ag Tags.
The Board today also adopted a measure that removes limits on the number of Ag Tags a hunter can receive.
The limit was removed previously, but additional action was needed to allow hunters to possess more than four permits at one time. With the change, hunters will be able to obtain as many permits as they have coupons for.
The changes preliminarily approved by the Board today will be brought back to the April meeting for a final vote.
CHANGE COULD BRING CONSISTENCY TO ANTLERLESS LICENSE SALES SCHEDULE
Antlerless license sales presently follow a set schedule determined by the calendar.
First-round sales for residents begin on the fourth Monday in June; non-residents can first purchase licenses on the second Monday in July. Rounds two, three and four sales for all hunters begin the fourth Monday in July, the second Monday in August and the fourth Monday in August, respectively.
This schedule, however, results in varying round lengths, depending on the particular year’s calendar and how the dates fall. For instance, the first round was three weeks in 2025. It was two weeks in 2024.
To simplify the process by which hunters obtain their antlerless deer licenses and improve efficiency and convenience, the Game Commission has proposed removing the calendar-driven antlerless license sales schedule from regulation.
Licenses would still be sold through some sort of rounds system – hunters won’t be able to buy up all the licenses when sales open – though exactly what the system will look like has yet to be determined. Whatever shape it takes, the new sales structure will continue to make antlerless licenses available on a first-come, first-serve basis that’s fair and equitable.
Whether resident hunters can expect to be guaranteed an antlerless license for the Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) of their choice for the 2026-27 hunting year is still being determined, too.
The Game Commission is working to calculate the 2025-26 estimated deer harvest. When that information is compiled, it will be used to determine how many antlerless licenses are made available for 2026-27. Whether resident hunters are guaranteed one will be based on that allocation, which will be announced at the Board’s April meeting.
The regulation change the Board preliminarily approved today would do one other thing, too: make it clear that resident agricultural landowners eligible for an antlerless license at no cost are limited to one antlerless deer per year under that exemption.
The measure will be brought back to the April meeting for a final vote.
SOUTHEAST BAITING REQUIREMENTS COULD CHANGE
In the Southeast Special Regulations Area, where it’s legal for deer hunters to use bait on private land, the Game Commission has proposed changes intended to make hunters more effective in harvesting deer, while simultaneously simplifying the rules.
Presently, deer hunters in the Southeast Special Regulations Area – which takes in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties, as well as Tyler and Ridley Creek state parks and other publicly-owned lands – may use bait on private or municipal property. The bait used must be limited to shelled corn or protein pellet supplements distributed through an approved feeder, with no two bait sites closer than 250 yards apart.
The proposed regulations would eliminate the minimum distance between bait sites, allow bait to be distributed via feeder or just placed on the ground, and expand the list of allowable bait to include apples and natural agricultural products intended for human or livestock consumption, excluding mineral blocks and mineral supplements.
The proposal also would amend regulations to include federal lands among those where baiting is permitted in the Southeast Special Regulations Area.
Along with those changes, hunters would have to display a tag or label including the full name and address of the landowner, or an individual authorized by the landowner to administer bait at that location, in the immediate vicinity of the bait site.
Limits on bait accumulation at any one site would remain unchanged at no more than 5 gallons.
The Board of Game Commissioners voted today to preliminarily approve the proposed changes, which will be brought back to the April meeting for a final vote.
ADJUSTED GAME LANDS REGULATIONS CONSIDERED
The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners today gave preliminary approval to two changes that would affect some non-hunting users of state game lands.
Non-hunters long have been allowed to ride non-motorized vehicles, conveyances and animals as authorized on game lands at certain times of year. That would continue under the proposed change, and the span within which these activities are prohibited would be roughly the same – from Oct. 1 through Jan. 31, and from April 1 through May 31.
The biggest difference would be these closed-activity periods that mirror peak periods for hunting would include Sundays, as well. Presently, non-hunting riding on game lands can occur on Sundays within the otherwise closed periods, though the regulation predates Sunday hunting becoming law in Pennsylvania.
The second change involves a similar span of dates within which non-hunting game lands users must wear either a fluorescent orange hat or 250 square inches of fluorescent orange on the head, chest and back combined, visible from 360 degrees. That span also is proposed as Oct. 1 through Jan. 31 and April 1 through May 31, promoting improved safety as well as consistency.
The measure approved today will be brought back to the April meeting for a final vote.
NEW OPTIONS FOR TRAPPERS CONSIDERED
Pennsylvania trappers could have some new options in targeting specific furbearers, based on a measure preliminarily approved today by the Board of Game Commissioners.
The Board voted preliminarily to increase the maximum size for body-gripping traps used for beavers and river otters to 14 inches in width or height, whichever is greater, from one jaw to the opposing jaw when set.
Presently, body-gripping traps used for beavers or river otters can be no larger than 10 inches high and 12 inches wide, which rules out the use of round traps that now are readily available. The Game Commission has determined the amended dimensions better reflect the range of trap sizes and designs appropriate for beaver and otter trapping in Pennsylvania.
The Board also voted to preliminarily approve the use of snap traps, within an enclosure, outside a water course, for weasel trapping. Snaps traps, which often are called “rat traps,” have been tested and approved by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Best Management Practices to target weasels, and are legal to use in several states.
Both of these measures will be brought back to the April meeting for a final vote and possible adoption.
SUNDAYS COULD OPEN ON REGULATED HUNTING GROUNDS
With the former prohibition on Sunday hunting now removed from Pennsylvania law, Sundays can be included within hunting seasons.
But on regulated hunting grounds, privately owned hunting properties that follow separate regulations, Sunday hunting remains prohibited in commercial areas. That could be changing.
The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners today voted preliminarily to lift the Sunday hunting prohibition that applies to commercial regulated hunting grounds. The measure will be brought back to the April meeting for a final vote.
This change was requested by the Pennsylvania Game Breeders Association. The Game Commission, in its review, did not identify any significant justification to maintain the prohibition.
PHILLY GAME LANDS RECLASSIFED AS SPECIAL WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA
The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners today adopted a measure renaming State Game Lands 339 as Poquessing Creek Wildlife Management Area.
The change will make the parcel the Game Commission’s third official special wildlife management area, joining Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in Lancaster and Lebanon counties and Pymatuning Wildlife Management Area in Crawford County.
Unlike other game lands, special wildlife management areas typically are governed by special regulations.
The plan at Poquessing Creek Wildlife Management Area, in particular, is to allow public archery deer hunting, but by permit only. Permits will be awarded by drawing each August. Hunters awarded a permit will be allowed to hunt the special wildlife management area and portions of nearby Benjamin Rush State Park from elevated stands during designated one- to two-week periods between the onset of archery season in September and its close in January. Five permits would be awarded per segment.
There’s no underestimating the opportunity that represents.
At 17.88 acres, State Game Lands 339 lies within Philadelphia’s city limits, just off U.S. Route 1 – a busy, heavily traveled area where green space is at a premium.
Yet hunting regularly occurs in the area. The Game Commission, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and various non-government partners conduct mentored hunts for first-time hunters in Benjamin Rush State Park and John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge.
Poquessing Creek Wildlife Management Area would give all hunting license buyers the chance to apply to hunt within Philadelphia. Managing that by permit will provide a better-quality experience, said Peter Sussenbach, the Game Commission’s Southeast Region Director.
“Hunters were absolutely ecstatic when we acquired this property because they know what an opportunity it represents in a metro area,” Sussenbach said. “What we’re trying to do now is make sure they can hunt, and have a good hunt, but do so safely. It can be done, as our partnerships with other parks show. We’re meeting hunters where they are, close to home and in areas with large populations of white-tailed deer.”
ACREAGE TO BE ADDED TO GAME LANDS
The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners today approved 13 real estate transactions – eight land acquisitions and five land exchanges – that would add more than 1,125 acres to state game lands. Furthermore, the Board approved the expansion of one non-surface use oil and gas agreement. The purchases are:
- Roughly 23.5 acres in Parker Township, Butler County, an indenture to State Game Lands 95, which will improve the manageability of the game lands.
- Roughly 127.4 acres in West Wheatfield Township, Indiana County, adjacent to State Game Lands 276. This acquisition will provide road access to a portion of State Game Lands 276 that is separated from the main parcel by Blacklick Creek and consequently does not have public road access.
- Roughly 13.4 acres in Delmar Township, Tioga County, adjacent to State Game Lands 313. This acquisition is within the natural heritage area known as “The Muck,” an area that contains the endangered American Bittern, Marsh Wren and nine other known species of greatest concern. This measure passed by an 8-1 vote with Commissioner Allen DiMarco voting against.
- An 87.5% interest of roughly 59 acres in Bell Township, Clearfield County, an interior to State Game Lands 87. This parcel is surrounded on all sides by game lands and is in a high-priority grouse area.
- Roughly 278.9 acres in Monroe Township, Bedford County, an indenture to State Game Lands 97, which will improve the manageability of the existing game lands.
- Roughly 14.3 acres in Pine Grove Township, Schuylkill County, adjacent to State Game Lands 211. This acquisition will provide public road access to a portion of State Game Lands 211.
- Roughly 30.3 acres in West Brunswick Township, Schuylkill County, adjacent to State Game Lands 110. This acquisition will provide access to a portion of the game lands that currently does not have good access due to the steep topography.
The right-of-way acquisition involves giving $15,000 from the Game Fund to purchase a 25-foot-wide access road right-of-way along roughly 315 feet of existing road into State Game Lands 120 in Chest Township, Clearfield County. This right-of-way will provide administrative and lawful user access from Punkin Ridge Road to State Game Lands 120, north and west of Hockenberry Run.
The five land exchanges are:
- The Game Commission will receive roughly 20 acres of land in Cherryhill Township, Indiana County, adjoining State Game Lands 248, in exchange for roughly 2 acres of State Game Lands 248 in White Township, Indiana County. The Game Commission is retaining one of the two existing parking lots along East Pike Road for continued public access.
- The Game Commission will receive roughly 2.8 acres of land in Jay Township, Elk County, adjoining State Game Lands 338, in exchange for roughly 1.4 acres of State Game Lands 338 in Jay Township, Elk County. This exchange will resolve a boundary encroachment issue and provide connectivity between two separated State Game Lands 338 parcels.
- The Game Commission will receive roughly 0.06 acres of land in Lackawaxen Township, Pike County, adjoining State Game Lands 116, in exchange for roughly 0.06 acres of State Game Lands 116 in Lackawaxen Township, Pike County. This exchange will resolve a boundary encroachment issue and provide additional access from State Route 590.
- The Game Commission will receive roughly 60 acres of land in Limerick Township, Montgomery County, adjoining State Game Lands 234; roughly 377.2 acres of land in Bern Township, Berks County; and roughly 176.8 acres of land in Edgemont Township, Delaware County in exchange for roughly 55 acres of State Game Lands 234 in Limerick Township, Montgomery County, as well as a 200-foot right of way across the remaining State Game Lands 234. The land in Berks County will provide old-field management opportunities while the land in Delaware County will be the first state game lands in this county, with those acquisitions resulting in the creation of two new State Game Lands, 341 and 342 respectively. The presentation about this land exchange can be viewed on the Game Commission’s YouTube channel. Several individuals appeared at today’s meeting to comment on this proposal. The Board approved the exchange by a 6-3 vote, with Commissioners Stanley Knick Jr., Allen DiMarco and Bob Schwalm dissenting.
- The Game Commission will receive a 25-foot-wide right-of-way for roughly 2,212 feet of existing access road into State Game Lands 120 in exchange for a 25-foot-wide right of way for roughly 1,587 feet of existing access road through State Game Lands 120 connecting separate private properties in Jordan Township, Clearfield County. The right of way in favor of the Game Commission will provide both administrative and lawful user access from Frailey Road, opening currently landlocked acres of State Game Lands 120 west of Irvona Road.
By notational vote on Nov. 24, 2025, the Board of Commissioners approved an additional 107 acres to be included in the Non-Surface Use Oil and Gas Cooperative Agreement with Laurel Mountain Energy LLC that was approved by the Board of Commissioners at their meeting on April 12, 2025. The proposed tract, now containing approximately 753 oil/gas acres, is located in Washington and Parker Townships, Butler County.
Hunters and other users of the game lands system should be aware that none of these additions are yet final. Some are contingent upon third parties receiving funding through grants or other means. What’s more, the Board of Commissioners’ approval of the agreements is but one step in the land transfer process.
When that process is completed, and the properties are officially game lands, the Game Commission will post signs to that effect, stating that they’re now available for public use.
BOARD REORGANIZES, NEXT MEETING SET
The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners elected new officers for 2026.
District 4 Commissioner Haley Sankey, of Tyrone, was chosen as the new President. District 5 Commissioner Allen DiMarco, of Allenwood, will serve as Vice President, while District 9 Commissioner Bob Schwalm, of Bethlehem, will be Secretary.
The board praised outgoing President Stanley Knick, the District 7 Commissioner, for his leadership and steadying hand while serving in that role.
The Board of Commissioners next will meet on April 10 and 11, 2026, at the Game Commission headquarters in Harrisburg. Final adoption of seasons and bag limits for the 2026-27 seasons will be on the agenda then, along with other matters.