Pennsylvania Game Commission

1974 — The Watergate Scandal, Rumble in the Jungle, $.53 per gallon gasoline, average household incomes of $11,100, and $8.25 resident hunting licenses. That’s a lot to take in, but let’s add one more Pennsylvanian event to that list. In the winter of 1974, Pennsylvania’s very first muzzleloader-only deer season took place. The season was held for three days on 37 selected state game lands — 2,064 hunters, both resident and nonresident, harvested 65 deer, including four antlered deer. It wasn’t until 1979 that the season expanded to statewide, and the reported harvest was 2,459 deer. In 2024, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of muzzleloader hunting season. Pennsylvania is the ONLY state to continue to host a flintlock-only hunting season. The 2024-25 flintlock only deer season runs now through January 20, 2025, statewide (Jan 25 in WMUs 2B, 5C, and 5D). Pennsylvanians are reminded that when participating in the flintlock hunting season, hunters can harvest an antlerless deer with their unused antlered (buck) tag. This is the only season in which this is permitted. Hunting with a flintlock is challenging and rewarding at the same time and can transport hunters back to a simpler time of buckskin hunting gear rather than the latest top-of-the-line camo. Good luck. Have fun. Hunt safely. Thank you for being a PROUD Pennsylvania flintlock hunter!

🎬 Pennsylvania Game Commission talent shines as Tracy Graziano’s film wins Outstanding Excellence at the Nature Without Borders International Film Festival! 🏆 Please join us in congratulating Tracy on this well-deserved recognition of her film “Pennsylvania: A Keystone for Wildlife.” https://bit.ly/3D7WOP7.  In less than a year, Tracy combined her passion and talent to create a film that highlights a behind- the-scenes look at several different wildlife species and the issues surrounding their successful conservation. Pennsylvania’s incredibly diverse wildlife and habitats are due to varying geography: from the ridge and valley mountains cutting diagonally across the state to the upper Piedmont, wetlands, grassland, riparian areas, and even beaches in the Northwest. And it’s all craftily showcased in this film. This film premiered in April to showcase the hard work going on within the Game Commission, much of which goes unseen by not only the public but also our own dedicated staff.   Nature Without Borders International Film Festival is a filmmaker-centered festival. Outstanding Excellence is awarded to films with exceptional artistic and technical achievements. This award not only highlights Tracy’s remarkable achievements but also underscores the Game Commission’s commitment to excellence in wildlife management.  Tracy has been with the Game Commission for 14 years and has produced over 60 films for the agency.  Congratulations, Tracy! 

Oh, the weather outside is frightful. Tomorrow marks the winter solstice, where the longest night and the shortest day of the year occurs. The Northern Hemisphere is tilted farthest away from the sun, bringing us into the winter season. What does this mean for Pennsylvania wildlife? Three major strategies help animals survive through cold temperatures when food is scarce: hibernation, migration, and tolerance. 💤 Hibernation helps animals survive winter by slowing down their metabolic rate, body temperature, heart rate, and breathing to conserve energy. For example, a groundhog’s body temperature drops from more than 90 degrees Fahrenheit into the low 40s; its heartbeat slows from more than 100 beats a minute to only four. It lives off body fat it accumulated during the summer and fall. ☀️Another strategy is migration, where an animal moves from one place to another to find food. For example, robins like to eat earthworms. But in winter, the ground freezes, making it impossible for them to feed on worms. They switch to eating fruits, but there is not enough fruit for all the robins, so most of them fly south to places like Florida where they can find more food. ❄️Lastly is tolerance. Tolerance is when an animal “toughs it out.” These animals have adaptations to help them survive, like growing their own winter coats. For example, elk grow winter coats, have long legs to get through the snow, have strong hooves to dig for food, and their stomach through digestion produces heat, acting as a built- in furnace. What’s your favorite part of winter? 

Naughty or nice? Pennsylvania has a wide variety of evergreen plants. Some are native, some are not, and some are invasive! Here’s which plants made the nice list, and which are relegated to the naughty list.  As a refresher, native plants occurred within this state before colonization by Europeans. Non-native plants are ones that have been brought into the state to become established in the wild. And invasive plants are non-native plants that spread quickly and cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. ✅Nice List:  Eastern hemlock, eastern red-cedar, balsam fir, black spruce, red spruce, eastern white pine, red pine, pitch pine, winterberry, rosebay, American holly, dwarf mistletoe, oak mistletoe, leatherleaf, common juniper, mountain laurel, American yew, American cranberry, teaberry, partridgeberry, and many other native evergreens. 🚫Naughty List:  Winter creeper, English ivy, common and bigleaf periwinkle, Japanese pachysandra, and privets (semi-evergreen).  Here’s some deciduous invasives that are so bad they had to go on the naughty list: European and Japanese barberries, bush honeysuckles, common and glossy buckthorn, multiflora rose, tree-of-heaven, Japanese angelica tree, oriental bittersweet, mile-a-minute, kudzu, and so many more! Plants are important in every ecosystem around the world. They make the oxygen we breathe and are the first step in the food chain. The conservation of native plants is our responsibility.  Many retail stores sell festive plants. We strongly encourage only purchasing responsibly harvested plants and discourage buying any invasive plants that will wreak havoc on ecosystems if not properly disposed of. Help wildlife by removing invasive plants and planting beneficial native plants this spring. What’s your favorite evergreen plant? Native plants: https://bit.ly/4gOjOSw Invasive plants: https://bit.ly/4iiuRUQ

Attention Pennsylvania outdoor recreational business owners     The Pennsylvania Office of Outdoor Recreation wants to hear from you if your outdoor recreation business falls into one of these categories:      Producer: Manufacturer or retailer of clothing, gear, and food.  Provider: Outfitters, guides, rentals, restaurants, and lodging.  Professional: Content creators, writers, and consultants.     Elevate is a new initiative to strengthen Pennsylvania’s outdoor recreation industry by engaging with the businesses that drive it.    So many outdoor recreation businesses support the Game Commission’s mission to manage and protect wildlife and their habitats while promoting hunting and trapping for current and future generations, and we want to help get your voices heard.     Tell them how they can help your outdoor recreation business grow and prosper here ➡️ https://bit.ly/ElevatePA.  More about Elevate here ➡️ www.elevateoutdoorspa.com. 

Who wants to go birding and make it count for conservation? Join a Christmas Bird Count! The Christmas Bird Count is an annual event where thousands of birders and nature enthusiasts across North America come together for a fun day of spotting and counting birds.    It’s the nation’s longest-running citizen science project. Audubon and other organizations, like the Game Commission, use data collected during the count to study the long-term health of bird populations.  It’s free to participate, and anyone can join regardless of birding experience. If you’re a beginner, you’ll be paired with an experienced birder.  Here’s how it works:  🐦 All counts are done between December 14 and January 5, every year.  🦆 Each count has a circle compiler, who chooses the day of the count.  🦅 Participants need to contact the circle compiler ahead of the count to join.   🦉 On the day of the count, participants count every bird they see or hear in a 15-mile-wide circle, following a set route organized by the circle compiler.     Does this sound like fun? If so, head over to Audubon’s website to learn more and join a count: https://bit.ly/49qOdTz. If you’ve participated in a CBC before, share your highest number of different birds you spotted! Ever spot a rare bird? 

Keep your eyes peeled — it looks like an irruption year for snowy owls!       Snowy owls are a rare and irregular visitor to Pennsylvania, showing up from November to January. However, every 3-5 years, a large number of snowy owls can show up in the state. The increase in wintering snowy owls is called an irruption and is an indication of a strong breeding season in the Arctic tundra thanks to an abundance of food.          Their diet consists primarily of small mammals such as lemmings, mice, voles, rabbits, and rats, but they will opportunistically take birds and fish.         Snowy owls are most well known for their striking pure white feathers. They are the largest owls in North America and can weigh up to 5 pounds.        Where to look: Snowy owls can be found in open spaces that resemble their tundra home, like open fields, reclaimed strip mines, and shorelines of rivers and lakes. You can also check for recent sightings on eBird.        Plan: Become familiar with regulations and activities happening at the location you’re headed to. Research when and where activities like hunting are occurring.         If you spot one: Give the owl plenty of space and don’t disturb it. If it is looking at you, you are too close! Getting too close can stress the owl or cause it to leave the area, burning precious calories needed for winter survival. When owls are not disturbed, they rarely move all day. Your vehicle makes the best viewing blind to minimize disturbance. Just be safe.       There’s so much to learn about snowy owls! Check out Project SNOWstorm: https://bit.ly/3ZBJU4L.     Have you ever seen a snowy owl? Happy birding!  

“The best things in life are free” 📸 Enter our FREE Take Someone Hunting Photo Contest for a chance to WIN a cellular trail camera and a hunting backpack with an assortment of Game Commission merchandise!  Someone taught you everything you know about hunting, and we encourage you to pass that hunting heritage on to a mentored hunter. We want to see who you take hunting!  👉 Here’s how to enter the contest: Take someone hunting, a mentored hunter(s). Snap a photo during your hunt. Send the photo by email to pgc-contest@pa.gov by Sunday, December 15, 2024.   The photo must be taken of a Pennsylvania mentored hunt that includes both the mentor and mentored hunter(s) during a hunting season within the contest time frame of October 5 through December 15, 2024.       Submissions should include the first and last name of the photo owner and the county in which the photo was taken. Include the subject line: “Take Someone Hunting Photo Contest.”  Official rules: https://bit.ly/3Qeku8F.  Good luck. Have fun. Hunt safely. Take someone hunting. 

Are you door-busting for deals?  If you need an excuse to grab that extra box of ammo, tell them you’re supporting wildlife conservation! Hunters are among the largest group of conservationists, and their support manifests in many ways — including shopping! You might have heard of the Pittman-Robertson (PR) Wildlife Restoration Act. But you may not truly understand how it works and how it GREATLY benefits wildlife conservation efforts here in Pennsylvania and across the U.S.  Initially enacted in 1937, the PR Act provided funding for states to support wildlife restoration, conservation, hunter education, and safety programs. The funding for this support comes from a federal excise tax on firearms, ammunition, archery equipment, and more.   To be eligible for PR funding, states are required to have enacted laws to ensure all hunting licenses fees collected are directed solely toward the state wildlife agency. Dispersal of the funds (to the states) is based on two formulas: one for wildlife restoration and the other for hunter education and safety programs. These formulas consider a state’s acreage, hunting licenses sold, and population.   This puts Pennsylvania in the right position, with nearly a million hunters who call the Keystone state home.   Those funds are specifically earmarked for specific purposes including hunter education and safety, “R3” (recruitment, retention, and reactivation), restoration and management of wildlife, acquisition of property for the purposes of wildlife habitat or public hunting access, and so much more.    What it comes down to is TREAT YO’ SELF this holiday shopping season, because you can proudly say that you are giving back to wildlife and conservation! 

What has the 36th Class of the Ross Leffler School of Conservation been up to?    After 28 weeks of intense training and taking their oath of office at the Ross Leffler School of Conservation, state game warden cadets left the classroom and headed to the field. Cadets embarked on their 10-week field training, where they worked side-by-side with veteran wardens, getting hands-on experience in every aspect of the job, from stocking pheasants to conducting investigations and participating in educational events.   Their dedication and hard work are paying off, as they continue transitioning into the next generation of Pennsylvania state game wardens, committed to protecting those that cannot protect themselves. Learn more about a career as a Pennsylvania Game Warden here: https://bit.ly/3Mfnkru. Have questions about our process or want to speak with a recruiter? Email Tyler at PGCcareers@pa.gov.