Wildlife Thriving in PA, says Commission

HARRISBURG, Ps. -- From 400,000 white-tailed deer and 200 bears outfitted with a GPS collar, to the return of a native species missing for years, Pennsylvania’s wildlife is thriving today, according to the state Game Commission.

In testimony before the state House Gaming and Fisheries Committee, Bryan Burhan, executive director, said the commission’s management of 480 species across 46,000 square miles is among the best in the United States.

“It’s a huge challenge,” he said, “but it’s one that we embrace, as evident from the accomplishments.”

Burhan also said that during fiscal year 2022-23, state game wardens issued 5,567 warnings and initiated 6,911 prosecutions with a 98.2 percent success rate.

Commission “accomplishments” of interest to hunters as well as nonhunters in Bucks County and across the state were those involving white-tailed deer, bears and bobwhite quails.

“No other species generates as much interest and passion as white-tailed deer,” he said. ‘Our deer harvest recently has averaged around 400,000 deer between the various seasons.”

More than 400 processors were inspected by 31 Commission teams last year and more than 23,000 harvested deer were examined.

“This work allows us to monitor the age and sex of the harvested deer to understand their population structure and inform our deer management decisions,” he said.

The state Game Commission last year wrapped up a three-year study of female adult bears in the Sproul State Forest, according to Burhan.

“It looked at habitat use and survival rates,” he said. “The results will be incorporated into future season recommendations.”

A five-year study begins this year, he said, on 200 male and female bears with GPS collars “to learn things about survival in relation to habitat and human presence.”

Animal lovers in Bucks County and across Pennsylvania are thrilled over the latest triumph to bring back a wildlife species native to the state but long missing, said Burhans.

The Commission released 50 bobwhite quail on the grounds of Letterkenny Army Depot in Franklin County, bringing to 76 the number of bobwhites planted on site in recent weeks with one more release to go.

“It’s difficult – not impossible, but difficult – to take any species that’s disappeared and bring it back again,” said Burhans, state Game Commission. “But Pennsylvania has a proud history of doing just that. White-tailed deer, elk, bald eagles, peregrine falcons all were gone or nearly so from our borders and now are thriving across Pennsylvania With this release, maybe just maybe. The bobwhites are on the same path.”

The birds – expected to increase their numbers exponentially over the course of the spring breeding season – are the final brick in a foundation the state Game Commission began laying more than a decade ago.

Said Burhans: “This is an exciting time, the next chapter in a story of wildlife restoration.”

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Pennsylvania Game Commission reports wildlife thriving.Photo byLaura CollegeonUnsplash