Pennsylvania Mixed Bag: Two-day regulated deer hunt at Presque Isle State Park

Erie, Pa. — Sixty-two hunters participated in a regulated hunt in Presque Isle State Park and harvested 14 antlerless deer and two bucks over a two-day special hunt.

The hunt is held to manage the deer population on the 3,200-acre park by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, which manages the property.

According to a report issued by DCNR, on Dec. 10, 46 hunters participated and they were able to take five antlerless deer and one eight-point buck. On Dec. 11, 16 hunters participated and they shot nine antlerless deer and one eight-point buck.

Much of the park was closed to the public during the hunt.

Hunters were able to harvest 27 deer in 2024, DCNR reported.

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ANF Snowmobile Trails are Open

Warren, Pa.s — Snowmobile season began at 8 a.m. Dec. 14 in the Allegheny National Forest. Snowmobile trails will remain open until March 31. A snowmobile trail map is available on the forest’s website.

Sufficient snowfall is needed for the trails to be usable.

Maintained snowmobile trails will not be groomed until adequate snow accumulates. For up-to-date trail conditions please refer to the Pennsylvania State Snowmobile Association’s website and social media.

There are approximately 365 miles of suggested snowmobile routes, and when conditions permit, another 52 miles of trail used for snowmobiles and ATV/OHMs throughout the Allegheny National Forest.

Big Year for Hunters Sharing the Harvest

Greenville, Pa. — Hunters Sharing the Harvest, Pennsylvania’s statewide venison donation nonprofit organization, reported 2025 as one of the highest deer-donation seasons in the organization’s 34-year history.

Established in 1991, the group has coordinated the donation of more than 3 million pounds of venison to hunger-relief agencies throughout the state. Hunters pay nothing to donate a deer through program – the nonprofit picks up the tab for every deer donated by reimbursing participating processors for their services.

In 2024 alone, the group distributed 283,789 pounds of venison – over 1.1 million servings – making Pennsylvania the nation’s leader in hunter-donated venison for at least four years running.

In December, Randy Ferguson, executive director of Hunters Sharing the Harvest said both donations and need were rising sharply, with processors reporting more donated deer than ever before.

New Manager for Chapman State Park

Harrisburg — The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources recently announced the appointment of Moon Township, Allegheny County, native Michael Plish as the manager for Chapman State Park in Warren County.

The 862-acre park, which includes 68-acre Chapman Lake on the West Branch of Tionesta Creek, is adjacent to state game lands, and the Allegheny National Forest, serving as an oasis of recreational facilities in a vast area of wilderness.

Plish, who holds an undergraduate degree in environmental science from Clarion University, has spent time working at Chapman, Little Pine Sinnemahoning, and Sizerville state parks before spending three years as the assistant manager at Gifford Pinchot State Park.

Bear Harvest Higher Last Year Than in 2024

Harrisburg — Pennsylvania hunters harvested 209 more black bears than last year, despite having a shorter archery hunting season, according to the Game Commission

Hunters reported 2,851 black bears to the commission last year.

Hunters harvested 2,642 bears in 2024.

In 2025, hunters checked in nine bears in the early archery season, 1,167 bears in the combined archery, muzzleloader and special firearms seasons, 1,206 bears in the four-day rifle season and 469 bears in the extended season.

Mary Webster Elected President of B&C Club

Missoula, Mont. — The Boone and Crockett Club recently announced that Mary Webster was elected as the club’s 38th president during the organization’s 137th annual meeting in Phoenix, Arizona.

She is the first woman to serve in this position since the club’s inception in 1887. Webster follows in the footsteps of her late husband, Paul Webster, who served as the club’s 24th president from 1995 to 1997.

Webster, a native of Minnesota now residing in Naples, Florida, previously practiced as an attorney for two nationally based U.S. law firms concentrating in environmental law in the areas of hazardous waste remediation and environmental compliance under federal and state regulations.

Bat Taken to Wildlife Center in Ambulance

Lancaster Pa. — The Raven Ridge Wildlife Center, in Lancaster County, experienced a first, welcoming a patient that arrived in an ambulance.

According to TV station CBS 21 news, the wildlife center said it received a call about a bat that was found in the EMS building in Lancaster City.

The bat, a young female brown bat, was said to be lost and in need of help. She was secured in a box and taken to the center where the bat was placed in the care of a bat rehabilitator on site.