NWPA Outdoors

I'm not sure whether to be insulted or relieved, but Erie, Warren, Titusville and the whole of northwestern Pennsylvania is nowhere to be found in Outdoor Life magazine's list of the top 200 towns for hunters and fishermen to call home.

Williamsport checks in at No. 128, the first time Pennsylvania is mentioned in the West-leaning list. Carlise is No. 155, and Bradford, at No. 164, finally encroaches on the home turf. State College is No. 180, Scranton No. 193.

Even Ashtabula, Ohio, gets some love at No. 93.

Presque Isle does show up -- Presque Isle, Maine, that is, at No. 77.

The winner? Mountain Home, Ark., an Ozarks community with easy access to the White River system and big-bass lakes.

So, what's been overlooked in Pennsylvania? What would our top 10 state-only list look like?

At $20 for a 5-shell box, Hevi-Shot’s new Hevi-13 better be worth it.

I suspect it will be.

I sighted in my Benelli Super Black Eagle II using 3½-inch rounds two weeks ago and was impressed with the results, particularly at 40 yards. There was a significant pattern even at that distance.

The pattern was aided, of course, by the .660 turkey choke I was using.
But there was a significant difference between the Hevi-13 and the cheaper Remington Hevi-Shot, which I also tried out.

The Hevi-13 load peppered the paper turkey.

The Remington Hevi-Shot, also a 3½-inch round, was respectable — but the pattern seemed a little blown at 40 yards.

The Hevi-13, a 2.25-ounce load, is slow in comparison to the Hevi-Shot (1,090 feet per second compared to 1,225 fps).

But because I’ve never seen a turkey that could run faster than 1,090 feet per second, I’m going to give the Hevi-13 a try.

My first test will come next week in Oklahoma, where I will be hunting Rio Grande turkeys with a few friends.

Then, beginning on April 26, I’ll see how it performs on Easterns here in Pennsylvania.

... or your deer, bear or other game killed or caught and released recently.

Print space is limited, so there are limits to what can appear in the Erie Times-News' pages. Here on www.nwpaoutdoors.com, space isn't an issue. If you consider it a trophy, there's room for it on the Your Trophies page.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission on Friday sent out a news release saying that the statewide spring gobbler season looks promising.

But is that the case in northwestern Pennsylvania?

Well, not quite.

While this part of the state represents some of Pennsylvania’s best turkey hunting, the upcoming season might not be as good as it has been.

Here is the Game Commission’s forecast for the wildlife management units in our region:

— WMU 1A, which involves southern Crawford County: Excellent compared to the state average, but well below average compared to itself — 2007 showed the worst production since before 1995. With the shortened fall season to two weeks since 2005 and average reproduction in 2005 and 2006, expect spring 2008 harvest to be similar to last year, but still not at the levels of the early 2000s. There will be an average number of two-year-old gobblers, which are relatively easy to call in, but still may be a good proportion of four-year-olds in the population, which are difficult to call in.

— WMA 1B — which involves all of Erie County, and most of Crawford: Excellent compared to state. Average for the WMU — Average proportion of two-year-old males in the population for easy calling, below average for jakes (which shouldn’t affect this year’s harvest much, but may decrease harvest next spring).

— WMU 2A: Still well above the statewide average, but well below average for itself. Fall turkey season was shortened from three weeks to two weeks in 2007, which will allow more turkeys to survive to the 2008 season. Summer 2007 reproduction was above the previous three-year average so jakes abound in the population, while few two- and three-year-old gobblers are present. Search out the young, but quiet jakes as well as the older experienced four-plus-year-old gobblers.

— WMU 2B: Variable. This WMU is difficult to predict because of the lack of public land. For hunters who secure access to hunting areas, prospects are good for calling in a two-year-old or a jake. Very few three-year-olds, but still should be a good supply of four-year-olds in the population, which are the most difficult to call in due to their years of experience.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission board of commissioners will meet Monday and Tuesday to set seasons and bag limits for the 2008-09 seasons. Get a look at the full agenda.

For true turkey hunting enthusiasts, the sport is not merely a hobby but an obsession. It's not the harvest that drives them, but the overall experience. Part of the excitement and challenge comes from hunting in new, unfamiliar locations. Have you ever wondered where some of the wild turkey's most experienced hunters prefer to hunt? The National Wildlife Turkey Federation did, and surveyed some of its officials. Their to-do list:

Rob Keck, CEO, NWTF: El Dorado, Kansas.

The El Dorado area consists of wooded creek bottoms, small patches of timber and open land that is typical in the Flint Hills - home of Rio Grande, Eastern and Rio-Eastern hybrid wild turkeys.

Keck says henned-up gobblers can be spotted from far away. "Wait until they string out, with gobblers dragging behind the line of hens," he advises. "Walk towards the flock to send them scattering into cover and watch where the toms go. Then walk straight toward the toms, sit down, prop your shotgun on your knees and call. The results are sometimes immediate."

James Earl Kennamer, NWTF senior vice president for conservation programs: Rapid City, S.D.

Kennamer highly recommends using a box call. "Many calls work, but a high-pitched boat paddle call is my favorite to get Merriam's gobbling. It's a must on a hunt for Merriam's."

Tom Stuckey, outdoor marketing group representative: Kirksville, Mo.

According to Stuckey, Missouri birds are large, loud and a lot of fun to hunt. "My main tactics are to utilize aggressive hen calling and yelping with a diaphragm or slate call," Stuckey said. "They're very vocal, and some of the gobblers get into the 25-pound range. I recommend that people try hunting public land in the Kirksville area. There's so much good hunting to go around in Missouri, and it's hard to go wrong."

Brenda Valentine, TV show host and author: Buchanan, Tenn., her hometown.

Gregg Snyder, vice president/managing director, Wild Turkey Bourbon Distillery: Punta Gorda, Fla.

"The hunting scenery in Florida is unlike any other I've hunted, but just as beautiful as anywhere in North America, despite the mosquitoes."

Carl Brown, NWTF chief operating officer: Edgefield, S.C

It just so happens that the NWTF is headquartered in Edgefield, but the turkey hunting in The Palmetto State is among the finest anywhere.

Brown prefers using a slate call for Edgefield gobblers. "I'd say it's my favorite call, but each and every one has its time and place," he says. "The last decade I have become a fan of the boat paddle call. It seems to make even the oldest, wariest long beards sing their song."

HARRISBURG - The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners today gave final approval to hunting and trapping seasons and bag limits for 2008-09, including a slate of antlerless deer license allocations for the 22 Wildlife Management Units (WMUs).

Following are several articles on meeting highlights from today.

You can still have your say about the future of the Erie National Wildlife Refuge in Crawford County.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is accepting public comment on the refuge's comprehensive conservation plan process that started earlier this year with public meetings. The National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 mandates that each refuge carry out a CCP every 15 years, with the goal of developing management and public-use philosophies for the next 15 years, consistent with the National Wildlife Refuge System's mission.

The refuge is an 8,800-acre, two-division haven -- one in Guys Mills, one outside Cambridge Springs -- for migrating birds and waterfowl, American bald eagles and seldom-seen freshwater mussels. It's open to fishing and hunting, within refuge guidelines, and is a draw for hikers, birders and educators.

Read the refuge's CCP notice, then e-mail your comments to northeastplanning@fws.gov through April 30.

Check www.NWPAOutdoors.com throughout the week for new content to help you make the most of our area's outdoors opportunities, and just for fun.

New items in the last couple days:

-- Columnist Mike Bleech is hooked on lake trout fishing out of North East Marina.

-- Find tips for early-season walleye in Mike's weekly FishOn! fishing report.

-- Check out new turkey photos on the Your Trophies page, and learn how to submit your own trophy photos of fish and game.

You’d think there would be honor among hunters. But there are some guys who just don’t get it.
You know the types: the guy who trespasses to get at that big bird or deer; the guy who sits in some other guy’s treestand; the guy who litters or otherwise disrespects private property.
Now I’ve got one more for you.
Somewhere out there is a guy hunting turkeys with Hevi Shot who stole it from a local retailer.
A friend who works at one of our local sporting goods stores two weeks ago was alerted by a customer to a stash of ammunition boxes under a cot inside a tent that was set up in the store.
Someone apparently used the tent to avoid detection from the store’s security cameras as he emptied rounds of Federal turkey ammunition (about $12 for five rounds) from their boxes and replaced them with Hevi Shot ($20 for five rounds). That’s quite a discount.
And, it’s just classless.

So far, I’m undecided on the question.
I used a decoy for the first time in two years during a hunt Sunday morning in New York. I was set up at the edge of a large plowed field in an area where turkeys gather to dust themselves. I think the decoy helped me bring in a tom from several hundred yards away, but the bird hung up about 100 yards out. It didn’t seem to like the look of things.
It didn’t help that a dog started barking at a nearby farmhouse.
He looked the decoy over and over, and wouldn’t come in. A hen that straggled by earlier in the morning did the same thing.
I’ve seen this before — particularly out west where the birds seem to go out of their way to avoid a decoy.
In fact, my friends and I will only use them out there to direct birds away from a certain spot, such as the backside of our blinds.
I think decoys have a role in turkey hunting, but I’m still trying to find how to make them work for me.

Pennsylvania isn't the only state with a rift between the agency that manages deer and the hunters who scour the woods and fields for them. A new September doe hunt in Michigan has hunters there doing the same sort of questioning that Pennsylvanians have done in light of Pennsylvania Game Commission changes in the past decade.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission today announced U.S. Fish and Wildlife seasons for doves and Canada geese in 2008-09 seasons:

Pennsylvania hunters need to pass a Pennsylvania Game Commission Hunter-Trapper Education Course before they can be licensed. The official start of the 2008-09 hunting seasons -- dove and Canada goose, on Sept. 1 -- is coming up fast, but there's still plenty time to get licensed for those and the state's other seasons.

The PGC calendar is full of courses in the Northwest Region this month and in September, but after that availability drops significantly. If you've been putting off your multi-day class, make it a point to find one and register now.

Pennsylvania Game Commission executive director Carl G. Roe testified today in Cambridge Springs about the commission's desire and need for its first license fee increases since 1999. The full transcript of Roe's testimony follows in a news release from the commission:

This error's going to ruffle lots of feathers.

Callers trying to order duck stamps from the federal government at 1-800-STAMP24 are being greeted by a phone-sex operator because two numbers were transposed in literature about the stamps.

So hunters are getting tramps instead of stamps. And the government insists the error would be too costly to fix.

Duck stamps, which are $15 each, are necessary for migratory waterfowl hunters. Non-hunters who enjoy wildlife art also buy the stamps, and revenue goes to the National Wildlife Refuge System, including Erie National Wildlife Refuge in Crawford County.

Fish and Wildlife Service spokesperson Rachel Levin told the Associated Press the cost of reprinting the fliers this year would be $300,000.

"That's a lot of money we can be using for wildlife conservation. With all of the needs for conservation, it doesn't make sense to divert money away from an important cause," she said.

The AP reported that contractor Ashton Potter Security Printers of Williamsville, N.Y., said it was provided with the wrong telephone number.

Waterfowl migration reports, provided weekly to the Erie Times-News by the Avery Outdoors Pro-Staff:

Waterfowl migration reports, provided weekly to the Erie Times-News by the Avery Outdoors Pro-Staff:

The forecast for the weekend suggests the 27th annual Pymatuning Ducks Unlimited Waterfowl Expo on Saturday and Sunday in Linesville will be greeted by great weather and a big crowd.

Hunters, birdwatchers, wildlife art collectors and anyone interested in wildlife or the outdoors will find something of interest at the expo, which opens at various locations at 10 a.m. each day.

One of Saturday's highlight events will be selection of the 27th annual Pennsylvania Waterfowl Management Stamp from entries state wildlife artists. The announcement takes place at 1 p.m. at Linesville High School, 302 W. School Drive.

The annual public drawing for waterfowl blinds at Pymatuning State Park kicks off Day One at 10 a.m. at the Pennsylvania Game Commission's Pymatuning Administration Building, 9552 Hartstown Road.

Sunday's events include a waterfowl information and banding program, with chances for children to assist in the release of wild ducks, at 11:30 a.m. at the PGC Learning Center, 12590 Hartstown Road.

For information, contact Lew Walker at (814) 382-8551 or lwalker@ducks.org.

More than 17,000 applicants were eligible for the annual elk license drawing Sept. 20 in Elk County.

Only 45 licenses were awarded during the public drawing at the Pennsylvania Outdoor Elk Expo.

Four went to northwestern Pennsylvania hunters.

Christopher Rimel of East Springfield won a bull license and Darrel Maines of North East won a cow license for the Nov. 3-8 hunt.

Daniel Brenneman of Franklin and Leroy Byler of Mercer also won cow licenses in the drawing.

Spotlighting. Mute swans. Bald eagles. Archery deer season. Illegal geese.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission's wildlife conservation officers in the Northwest Region cover all the bases in their most recent field reports.

Butler County WCO Randy W. Pilarcik, for one, offers a look ahead to deer season: “There are some fields that have had more than 20 deer in them, and I had one guy tell me that he saw one field with 35 deer in it at one time."

Waterfowl migration reports, provided weekly to the Erie Times-News by the Avery Outdoors Pro-Staff:

Waterfowl migration report for week of Sept. 28, provided weekly to the Erie Times-News by the Avery Outdoors Pro-Staff:

Waterfowl migration report for week of Oct. 5, provided weekly to the Erie Times-News by the Avery Outdoors Pro-Staff:

Waterfowl migration report for week of Oct. 5, provided weekly to the Erie Times-News by the Avery Outdoors Pro-Staff:

Waterfowl migration report for week of Oct. 5, provided weekly to the Erie Times-News by the Avery Outdoors Pro-Staff:

Pennsylvania Game Commission forecasts for the Northwest Region for the fall turkey season that begins Saturday:

WMU 1A (Mercer and Lawrence counties and parts of Crawford, Venango, Butler and Beaver counties): Expect the fall harvest to be similar to last year with the only setback for hunters being the abundance of fall foods, which will disperse flocks. Hunters who have scouted and patterned flocks will have the most success. Flock sizes should be mixed as some areas had great reproduction while it was below average in other areas. Hunter success last fall (14 percent) was slightly below the state average (16 percent).

WMU 1B (Erie County, most of Crawford County and parts of Warren and Venango counties): With the excellent reproduction this summer, expect turkeys everywhere and great hunter success like last year (22 percent) compared to the state average (16 percent). The abundant fall food source will disperse flocks so scouting will be important for a successful hunt.

WMU 2D (Parts of Venango, Clarion, Butler, Armstrong, Jefferson, Indiana and Westmoreland counties): Turkey hunting prospects should continue to be better than many other units, but the fall harvest could be down slightly from last year’s hunter success of 15 percent, which was average for this unit, due to this summer’s lower turkey sighting index. However, spring and fall harvests continue to be above the statewide average.

WMU 2F (Allegheny National Forest region): The agency shortened the fall season to two weeks in 2007 to help this population reverse its long-term decline. This management action, coupled with slightly above-average recruitment, should provide the jump-start this population needs to rebound. Hunters can help, too, by harvesting a young turkey rather than an experienced adult bird, as there are ample juvenile birds in this fall’s population. The above-average acorn crop will cause the birds to be more dispersed, so preseason scouting will ensure success.

For reports for all species from around the state, visit the Game Commission's Field Officer Game and Furbearer Forecasts.

And you thought Lake Erie steelhead were big.

Researchers are taking a second look at the impact of dams on salmon.

If you're into watching fish do their thing, check out the Bonneville Web Cam.

Of maybe you like to chase big bucks. Surely you know you're not alone.

Erie Times-News contributing writer Mike Bleech gives his Pennsylvania deer forecast for Pennsylvania Game & Fish.

Alabama deer hunters are feeling the economic pinch ...

... While in Ukraine, the rich are spending lavishly to hunt exotics ...

... And in New Hampshire, officials wonder if more people will hunt to save money on groceries.

In Texas, where everything's bigger, the hunting bill isn't immune.

In other good news, researchers say migrating waterfowl could be carrying avian influenza viruses to North America.

If you missed Scott A. Messenger's story and video on deer-calling strategy on the NWPA Outdoors page in the Sunday Erie Times-News, you owe it to yourself to check out both. Click on extended entry to see the video.

Hunters in Erie County and Crawford County could be in for some of the best fall turkey hunting the state has to offer.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission suggests Wildlife Management Unit 1B, which includes all of Erie County, most of Crawford County and parts of Warren and Venango counties, could rival last year’s 22 percent hunter success rate.

The shotgun and bow-and-arrow season begins Nov. 1 and runs through Nov. 15 in WMUs 1A and 1B and 2F. Hunting hours are half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset.

Mary Jo Casalena, a Game Commission wild turkey biologist, said the state’s population is above its 10-year average because of good reproduction the past two years and short fall seasons that protect hen populations. She numbered the population at 335,00 in the spring, before reproduction added to the ranks.

She expects the state success rate to match 2007’s 16 percent, but to again be higher in northwestern Pennsylvania.

First, allow me to compliment your sets Saturday at Presque Isle State Park.

You see, my wife and I had it in mind that day that we'd scour Presque Isle for birds -- songbirds, raptors, ducks, gulls, anything we could find. It's not the best time of year for mass bird sightings from a moving vehicle, but you never know. Or at least we didn't. Especially since we -- I -- had left the binoculars at home.

So when the shoreline trees on the bay opened briefly as we drove past to show flashes of black and white and the clear shape of ducks, then closed just as quickly before we could process what we'd seen, we had to pull over.

That's how we came to be standing in the shoreline scrub, bewildered but pleased that the ducks had calmly and uncharacteristically allowed us to get within a couple dozen yards. What a find, too: Mallards, sure, but canvasbacks, and even four buffleheads in a perfect diamond set.

The few buffleheads seemed out of place, given the mass numbers one can see in the late winter and early spring, but we were so enthralled with finding them at all on an otherwise duck-free day that we didn't even question their presence.

It was the napping mallards that gave things away. No matter how close I got, they never woke. None quacked, or flapped a wing. And my brain started forming a word. "Decoys."

And then the plastic construction became clear. It couldn't have been more obvious if PLASTIC DECOY had been stamped across the back of each bird in neon.

The thought process was gradual but slow.

"Nice set. Well conceived.

"You know, decoys are kind of expensive. And there's little point leaving them out if you're not hunting at the time.

"Who would be dumb enough to leave out an unattended set?"

And the answer occurred to me.

No one.

That's when I turned and saw the three of you, all camo but your eyes and shotgun barrels, wondering when in the name of Cabela's I would notice I was standing 30 feet from an active and well-hidden shoreline blind.

I hope you laughed at my spastic wave and frantic retreat. My wife did. She shouldn't have; she took photos.

The rest of the day was songbirds on the peninsula's interior. Juncos. Sparrows. Robins with attitudes. A shotgun sounded once through a darkening sky. I hope it was yours.

Waterfowl migration report for week of Oct. 5, provided weekly to the Erie Times-News by the Avery Outdoors Pro-Staff:

Waterfowl migration report for week of Nov. 8, provided weekly to the Erie Times-News by the Avery Outdoors Pro-Staff:

Coverage of the outdoors in the Erie Times-News and on GoErie.com isn't limited to the sports section. In case you missed them, a couple features worth your time:

-- Managing editor Pat Howard's weekly newsletter, Inside Erie, is one of the central jumping-off points for discussions about all things in northwestern Pennsylvania. This week's topics: Guns. Have a read, then have your say, and watch for your comments in a future newsletter.

-- Staff writer Bob Jarzomski wrote a piece last week on the importance of Trout Run to the Lake Erie steelhead fishery.

The photography staff followed up this week with a great video of the brood collection from Trout Run. Have a look:

If you haven't checked out the trophy photos on nwpaoutdoors.com, or haven't been back to the Your Trophies page in some time, give them a look. New photos will be added overnight, including this 8-point Andrew Brozewicz, 13, took Oct. 18:

Submit your own photos to Your Trophies at sports@timesnews.com and they'll be considered for publication in the Erie Times-News and/or placement on the Your Trophies page at www.nwpaoutdoors.com.

-- Here's a pitch to keep crossbows out of Pennsylvania archery season.

-- Game Commission officials talk deer and deer hunting.

-- An estimated 750,000 hunters turned out last weekend for Michigan's deer opener.

-- A Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard? You bet, and it all started with a disinterment in Pennsylvania.

-- An Atlanta reporter with an understanding of the hunting culture in Pennsylvania asks Georgians if they're taking their kids hunting.

-- If the bear's brain were all that big, would it have allowed itself to be shot?

-- Outdoors conservation and recreation funding got a boost in Minnesota with a state constitutional amendment that created an estimated $300 million annual funding stream.

-- One man's seasonal affective disorder is another's deer fix.

-- Steelhead fishing from an Ohio perspective.

This week's western Pennsylvania waterfowl migration report from the Avery Outdoors Pro-Staff:

Pennsylvania's general firearms season for deer opens Dec. 1, and Times-News contributing writer Mike Bleech will take a look at the some of his favorite deer rifles in the Nov. 23 NWPA Outdoors ... raising the question, what's your preferred deer rifle? Have any good rifle or hunting stories to tell? Just reply to this post, or e-mail them to sports@timesnews.com.

Pennsylvania's general firearms deer season is less than a week away, which is still too many days for hunters who have waited a whole year to get back into the woods. Whet your appetite with a bit of deer news from here, there and everywhere:

-- Sighting in is as much a part of the hunt as the hunt itself.

-- West Virginia's deer season opened Monday with tragedy: At least three hunters died and five others were injured, likely from carbon monoxide poisoning. Meanwhile, schools in West Virginia are seeing more absentees than usual.

-- Ohio also is gearing up for the deer opener Dec. 1.

-- A Milwaukee writer trots out the tired "hunting is not a sport" argument, complete with the thought about arming deer and the notion that all hunters are fat.

-- New York would be glad to reduce the number of deer in the state, the better to reduce the number of deer-car accidents.

A look at the first two days' totals by region for the Pennsylvania black bear hunting season:

This week's regional waterfowl migration report from the Avery Outdoors Pro-Staff:

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has issued a guide to hunting on all of the national wildlife refuges it oversees. Refuges are often overlooked locations for great hunting, and Erie National Wildlife Refuge is no exception.

What the guide reports about the refuge in Guys Mills, one of just two refuges in Pennsylvania:

The Pennsylvania Game Commission eliminated by-county management of wildlife species within the past decade and moved to wildlife management units whose borders are designated by any number of features. Here's a helpful overview of the program and the borders.

Check out Times-News videographer Matt Mead's report from opening day of the 2008 general firearms opener in Pennsylvania on Dec. 1.

A look at the opening day of deer hunting from around the state:

-- A San Diego reporter with a cabin in the Allegheny National Forest is writing about his hunt.

-- An eastern Pennsylvania man died after falling from a tree stand.

-- Southwestern action was spotty.

-- Same old story: Fewer deer, larger deer.

-- Wet weather didn't help eastern hunters.

-- Hunting's a family affair.

-- Young hunters have quick start.

-- Check the Your Trophies page for frequent additions from northwestern Pennsylvania hunters. Scroll down for the latest photos.

Check out the Your Trophies page on www.nwpaoutdoors.com every day for the latest photos from hunters in northwestern Pennsylvania. Scroll down for the most recent entries.

Looking for a different taste from your venison this season? Try a NWPA Outdoors recipe.

And if you have a recipe others should know about, sign in and share it.

The western Pennsylvania waterfowl migration report for Dec. 3 from Avery Pro-Staff member David Rearick:

This week's western Pennsylvania waterfowl migration report from the Avery Outdoors Pro-Staff:

Check out an Erie Times-News video report on this week's deer hunt at Presque Isle State Park:

The Sharon Herald has the story of a hunter who just might have had to use his doe tag on his buck.

The Christmas Eve waterfowl migration report from Avery Outdoors Pro-Staff member David Rearick:

This week's western Pennsylvania waterfowl migration report from Avery Pro-Staff member David Rearick:

The waterfowl migration report for the week of Jan. 4, 2009, from Avery Pro-Staff members:

Check out a slew of new Your Trophies photos uploaded just today. Scroll to the bottom for the most recent images of your friends' and neighbors' successful hunts.

The waterfowl migration report for western Pennsylvania for the week of Jan. 11 from the Avery Outdoors Pro-Staff:

The regulated goose hunting area at the Pymatuning Wildlife Management Area, in Crawford County, will be closed Jan. 19 in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Hunting will remain open in public areas around Pymatuning.

“Goose hunting will remain open in the public hunting areas surrounding the Pymatuning Wildlife Management Area,” Pennsylvania Game Commission Northwest Region Director Keith E. Harbaugh said. “We are making this announcement due to the number of phone calls that we have been receiving inquiring about obtaining ‘no show' blinds at the management area. Funding constraints require us to exercise measures to control costs.”

The western Pennsylvania waterfowl migration report for the week of Jan. 18 from Avery Outdoors Pro-Staff member David Rearick:

Important tasks and changes are included in the agendas for the upcoming meetings of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and Pennsylvania Game Commission. Make sure to get a look before it's too late for you to have your say.

Check out new deer season photos in the Your Trophies gallery at www.nwpaoutdoors.com (scroll to the bottom for the most recent additions). Watch for new additions by the weekend.

The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners last week gave preliminary approval to hunting and trapping seasons and bag limits for 2009-10. There's a public comment period until the next meeting, April 20-21, when seasons and limits will be finalized and antlerless permit allocations made.

The proposed seasons:

David Rearick, a Pro-Staff member for Avery Outdoors, offers his overview of the waterfowl migration season in western Pennsylvania: