Episode 5: “125 Years of Wildlife Conservation in Pennsylvania”

06/25/20 • 52 min

Call of the Outdoors

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Episode 5: “125 Years of Wildlife Conservation in Pennsylvania”

The Pennsylvania Game Commission has been a national leader in wildlife management for 125 years! On June 25, 2020, the agency celebrates its 125th anniversary. In this episode, Pennsylvania Game News Editor and Game Commission Historian Joe Kosack leads listeners on a walk through the agency’s impressive natural history here in Penn’s Woods.

In the late 1800’s, wildlife was dwindling as a result of deforestation, pollution, and unregulated hunting and trapping took place in Pennsylvania. From this dark period emerged the Game Commission, created by the state Legislature to protect and conserve wildlife, which was then commonly referred to as “game.” The wildlife diversity we enjoy today is largely due to the agency’s progressive, scientifically-based wildlife management programs and support from countless Pennsylvanians, hunters, wildlife enthusiasts and outdoors organizations.

Joe is the author of “100 Years of Wildlife Conservation,” a book published in 1995, to commemorate the agency’s 100th anniversary and is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of wildlife and conservation in the Commonwealth. The book is available at http://www.pgc.pa.gov.

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“Episode 6: Pennsylvania’s Elk Herd and the Inaugural Archery Season”

A special piece of hunting history was made in Pennsylvania when the first-ever archery elk season took place in September of 2019. Pennsylvania Game Commission Elk Biologist Jeremy Banfield joined Marketing Director Matt Morrett to talk about how that exciting season came to be and explain the opportunities now available for those interested in pursuing elk in the Keystone State.

Jim Lickfeld and Luke Miller also join us on this episode, who were both fortunate enough to draw an archery bull tag in 2019 and had the opportunity to hunt in the inaugural season. On the first evening of the season, Jim was able to take the season’s first-ever archery bull, a 7×6 dark-antlered bull in Hunt Zone 10. Luke also successfully harvested a bull with his bow in Hunt Zone 13.

While the elk hunting opportunities are exclusive in Pennsylvania, it’s an important component of maintaining a healthy and sustainable herd. The deadline to apply for the 2020-21 Pennsylvania Elk Hunting Seasons – archery, general and late season – is July 31, 2020. A total of 164 tags will be allocated for the seasons, which is an increase of 20 tags from last year.

Thank you to everyone who applied for an elk license and thank you for being a Pennsylvania hunter!