Hunting Report Archery Duck Deer

As I write this column, I’m mentally traveling back in time to a December morning in the second week of Maryland’s gun season last year.

That day seems like it was decades ago, in an alternate universe, when I think about the weather then as compared to today.

It was cold. Real cold.

I had only been on stand for about two hours when my toes started to sting.

I had to take off my boots and rub my toes between my hands to warm them up. There have only been a few days in my hunting career when I can recall having to do that.

It’s hard to imagine such conditions on a day like this. But it’s appropriate for me to think about that day today because I was deer hunting then and it’s time to prepare now for the coming year’s deer hunting.

What am I talking about? Doe tags, of course.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission will begin accepting the first round of applications for antlerless deer licenses from resident hunters on Monday, Aug. 4.

That means you can put your application in the mail next Friday.

The Game Commission will organize the applications by wildlife management unit (WMU) before sending them out to individual county treasurer offices. Those offices will distribute the permits.

Applications from nonresidents of the state will be accepted beginning Aug. 21.

Then, on Aug. 28, the Game Commission will begin taking applications for the first round of unsold antlerless permits. The second round will begin Sept. 11.

Regular and first round unsold antlerless licenses will be mailed to successful applicants by county treasurers no later than Monday, Sept. 18. Second and subsequent rounds of unsold antlerless licenses will be mailed to successful applicants no later than Sunday, Oct. 1.

You can buy tags over the counter at county treasurer offices in WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D beginning Sept. 18.

After Aug. 7, the Game Commission will launch the popular “Doe License Update” page on its Web site — www.pgc.state.pa.us — to provide hunters with updates on the availability of antlerless deer licenses. Notices for WMUs that have sold out will be posted as soon as possible.

Remember, you’re allowed to buy up to three permits total for the WMUs other than 2B, 5C and 5D, where you can buy as many as you want. Permits for those three units do not count against your three-permit statewide limit.

This year, there are 859,000 permits up for grabs. That’s down from the 879,000 allocated last year.

In WMU 5B, which encompasses Lancaster and parts of several surrounding counties, the allocation this year is 53,000, down from 56,000 last year.

If you’re interested in even more chances at does this fall, you can also look into securing one or more deer management assistance program (DMAP) permits.

For a listing of DMAP properties, go to the Game Commission’s Web site and click on “DMAP” in the center of the homepage, then select the county of interest from the map provided, or choose “Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Properties,” which will link you to DCNR’s site and their listing of state forests enrolled in DMAP.

“DMAP is a Game Commission program designed to help landowners manage deer numbers on their properties,” said Carl G. Roe, Game Commission executive director. “Qualified landowners participating in DMAP receive a limited number of coupons — determined by acreage — that they will make available to hunters, who, in turn, may redeem them for a DMAP antlerless deer permit to hunt on the property for which they are issued. Hunters may use them during any established deer hunting season for 2006-07.”

Since some WMUs have seen their antlerless deer license allocation reduced, DMAP may be the only option some hunters will have to secure a way to harvest an antlerless deer in these areas.

For example, WMU 2G in the northern tier is expected to sell out of its antlerless deer license allocation early.

Those residents and nonresidents unable to secure an antlerless license for WMU 2G still may be able to obtain a DMAP antlerless deer permit for one of the many state forest properties that DCNR had enrolled in the program.

Because new properties continue to be entered into the DMAP database, the Game Commission does not have final enrollment figures available at this time.

Last year, 659 properties representing 1,707,969 acres were approved for enrollment in DMAP, and a total of 47,366 coupons were approved for distribution by landowners.

In 2003, the first year of DMAP, 176 properties representing 695,396 acres were enrolled in DMAP, and a total of 31,784 coupons were approved for distribution by landowners.

Landowners are permitted to give up to two DMAP coupons per property to a licensed hunter, who then must use the coupon to apply for DMAP permits.

This will enable hunters to possess up to two DMAP permits for a specific DMAP area. Landowners may not charge or accept any contribution from a hunter for a DMAP coupon.

All public landowners enrolled in DMAP will be posted on the Game Commission’s Web site, as well as those private landowners who have requested to appear on the Web site.

Those private landowners not appearing on the Web site generally have a limited number of coupons available and already have identified a sufficient number of hunters to receive their allotted coupons.