Pennsylvania Mixed Bag: More ag tags could be held at a time

Harrisburg — Hunters participating in the Agricultural Deer Control Program, or Ag Tag program, can receive as many permits as they obtain coupons for.

But presently, Ag Tag hunters can hold no more than four permits at a time.

That would change based on a measure the Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners preliminarily approved at its recent quarterly meeting. The proposal would remove the limit on the number of Ag Tags a hunter can hold at a time. It will be brought back to the January meeting for a final vote.

DCNR Offers Hunters 28,607 DMAP Tags

Harrisburg — Offering deer hunters more hunting opportunities across Pennsylvania, state forestlands and state parks are participating in the Game Commission’s Deer Management Assistance Program.

The program allows landowners to apply for permits to encourage antlerless deer harvests on their property, enabling the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and private landowners to manage deer populations. Out-of-balance deer populations impact other wildlife and disrupt forest regeneration, which is vital to healthy, sustainable forested ecosystems.

DCNR is offering hunters 28,607 permits in 95 units totaling more than 1.2 million acres. This year, 27 state parks and 18 state forest districts are participating in the program.

DMAP tags are now on sale. Hunters obtain permits directly from license issuing agents or the Game Commission’s website.

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Invasive flathead catfish now the apex predator in Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna River

Pennsylvania Game Commission tracking EHD spread across state

Results of Rolfe Beagle Club’s Predator Hunt

Johnsonburg, Pa. — The final results of Rolfe Beagle Club’s 10-day, Statewide Coyote and Crow Hunt offered from Aug. 28 through Sept. 6 were as follows:

Hunters harvested 31 coyotes and seven crows over the hunt.

Paul Costanzo set a new club record by harvesting nine coyotes over the 10 days. He had set the previous record of eight coyotes in 2023. Team Miller and the duo of Brady Nussbaum and Reese Ehrensberger harvested seven coyotes.

The largest coyote of the hunt was harvested by Sean Holjencin, and the male coyote weighed in at 41.2 pounds. The largest female coyote was harvested by Reese Ehrensberger and weighed in at 33 pounds.

The contest had the same number of hunters as last year but they harvested three times as many coyotes over the same timeframe, according to Jim Pennington, club president.

Report Dead Deer to Game Commission

Harrisburg — In Pennsylvania, EHD, a viral disease that’s often fatal to white-tailed deer, has been confirmed in a handful of counties in the northwestern part of the state. But the Game Commission also has investigated reports of dead deer in southwestern and southeastern Pennsylvania, where test results are pending.

The public is encouraged to report sick or dead deer, especially if several are found dead in the same area and the cause of death is not apparent. The Game Commission can be contacted, round the clock, at 1-833-PGC-WILD (1-833-742-9453).

Public reports allow the Game Commission to further investigate and track EHD outbreaks.

EHD, or epizootic hemorrhagic disease, is spread to deer when they are bitten by infected midges, small insects often called “no-see-ums.” Because EHD is spread by midges, it emerges in late summer and remains a threat to deer until temperatures drop and the midges die off, usually at the first hard frost. But in local areas where EHD is present, deer mortality can be severe.

So far this year, EHD has been detected in: Butler County, Muddy Creek Township; Erie County, Mill Creek Township; Lawrence County, Slippery Rock Township; and Mercer County, Liberty and Shenango townships.

Styropek to Pay $2.6M in Pollution Penalties

Pittsburgh — The state Department of Environmental Protection together with nonprofits Three Rivers Waterkeeper and PennEnvironment Inc. recently filed a proposed consent decree in the U.S. District Court with Styropek USA.

If approved by the court, the agreement will require Styropek – an expandable plastic pellet manufacturing facility in, Beaver County – to pay $2.6 million in penalties and remediation costs for repeated pollution violations.

The company discharged plastic pellets into Raccoon Creek and the Ohio River, and now it will fund watershed rehabilitation and restoration projects.

DEP Awards $5M for Clean-Up of 7 Mines

Harrisburg — The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has awarded $5,222,250 for the environmental restoration of seven abandoned mine projects as part of the Abandoned Mine Lands and Acid Mine Drainage Grant Program.

Pennsylvania has the largest inventory of abandoned coal mines in the nation, with a roughly $5 billion need for reclamation and stream restoration. To date, the state has rehabilitated approximately 159,000 acres of abandoned mine land across the commonwealth, and with this federal funding, will be able to continue this vital work that protects the health and safety of communities.

The funding was awarded through the Infrastructure, Investment, and Jobs Act, which has invested more than $700 million into reclaiming Pennsylvania’s abandoned mine lands since 2022.