It seems that the Antlerless deer license application draw comes upon us earlier and earlier each year. The first round of resident and non-resident licenses have already been drawn and the next round of license applications will be on Aug. 1.

A friend of mine called me the other night and was worked up about his son missing the mailings due to being out of town for his job. He generally hunts in WMU 2D and I made a quick check on the Game Commission website to check license availability and found that 54,305 licenses were still available. Considering that WMU 2D started with 74,000 licenses and only 20,000 were already selected, he had no worries if he got on the stick!

That’s a lot of doe licenses for Butler County when you consider that WMU 1A is also on the western edge of the county along Route 8 and has an allotment of 43,000 start-up licenses. The WMU’s take in many more counties, but regardless, that’s a lot of deer hunting.

The deer population continues to grow in numbers and the deer hunter numbers continue to drop each year. The license allocation for each hunter is three, unless you get into some special hunting areas that the PGC manages to help control the deer population.

There are some actions being considered for doing away with the pink envelope mail-in system to county treasurers. A hunter would purchase their antlerless license when they pick up their regular hunting license and have it as an add-on just like the other add-ons, like a bear license or an archery or muzzleloader license. This option would be convenient to hunters and do away with some of the current extra steps in acquiring your doe licenses. We will follow that action and see if it takes a step forward for the 2023-24 season.

PA elk tags

My buddy, Brian Rumsky, who is a Pennsylvania Elk Guide, gave me a call to remind me that July is the time to apply for the PA elk tags. The Elk Season is now split into three distinct seasons: the Archery Elk hunt from Sept. 10-24; General Season from Oct. 31-Nov. 5; Late Season from December 31–Jan. 7.

You may apply for all three seasons, but can only hunt in one season each year as you get triple chances to draw an elk tag. The applications are $11.97 for each hunting season that you apply.

You will need to choose either bull or cow or any for your application process as well as the Hunting Zones designated 1-15. You will also need to pick five zones that you would like to hunt in as well. Each zone is described in the hunting digest or on the PGC website. It will inform you of elk availability in both numbers and tags offered for each zone and the topography of the hunting zone as well as public versus private-land ratios.

Another bear visit

The third bear in as many weeks passed through our yard recently as he walked the edge of the property heading for who knows where.

He was a big bear with an injury to his back left leg, causing a noticeable limp and the leg was certainly injured in the past as it appeared atrophied. There is no telling as to what injured the bear, but otherwise, he was a beautiful animal. How an animal that is injured makes it in the wild is a feat in itself.

American marten

What is an American marten formally known as the Pine Marten? The PGC plans on reintroducing the American marten to Pennsylvania as this member of the (Mustelidae) weasel family has been trapped out of most of the commonwealth for many years.

Pine marten are valued for their fur, which is collected in Alaska and Canada as a valuable commodity. A tanned pelt of this small mammal can be between $80-$100 and ranges up to two feet in length.

This reintroduction follows the extirpation of the marten in Pennsylvania in the 1920s. The marten is well-distributed through North America, Northern Europe and Northern Asia and is not a concern for extinction.

The marten is omnivorous and will readily go after mice, moles, red squirrels and chipmunks. They are opportunists when it comes to food choices. They in turn are preyed on by foxes, fishers, bobcats, owls and hawks, among other predators.

American Martens will also prey on their own species and in general are solitary animals.

Until we meet again, get those deer and elk tags ordered and hope to get lucky with the drawings!

Jay Hewitt is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle