Tom Venesky

Less than two weeks after the first positive case of chronic wasting disease was publicly confirmed in the northeast region, another has turned up.
On Feb. 12, the Pennsylvania Game Commission confirmed that a second wild deer – this one in Carbon County – has tested positive for CWD. On Jan. 31, the agency issued a release identifying the first CWD-positive in the region – this one in Sugarloaf Township, Luzerne County, which is approximately 10 miles from the recent case in Carbon County.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission is considering an advanced hunter education program to certify hunters with the goal of opening up more private land.
Dubbed the “master hunter program,” Game Commission Executive Director Stephen Smith likened it an enhanced hunter safety course aimed to make landowners more comfortable with allowing hunters on their properties.

Randy Ferguson believes the potential exists to increase the number of deer donated to Hunters Sharing the Harvest in Pennsylvania, but there’s a gap in the chain.
Deer harvested for crop damage are on the rise, he said, and many can be donated to the program, but a lack of processors is limiting the effort.

A man who was the target of a sting operation by the Pennsylvania Game Commission had his charges dismissed during an appeal trial on Jan. 16.
Joshua Wingenroth, of Downingtown, was previously found guilty during a summary trial of two counts of using illegal electronic devices during hunting, disturbing game or wildlife, and violation of regulations on recreational spotlighting. The charges stem from a sting operation conducted by the Pennsylvania Game Commission in December 2023.