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E-mailReproduction rates key to deer management
Bob Frye is the Tribune-Review outdoors editor. He can be reached at 724-838-5148 or via e-mail.
They now have their answer ... at least in part.
The commission has announced some of the measures it's going to use to analyze things like deer and forest habitat health.
Analyzing deer health will involve using reproductive data -- embryos per doe and fawn pregnancy rates -- from each wildlife management unit to evaluate trends in deer health.
"Reproduction was chosen as a primary measure for deer health because research has repeatedly shown there are differences in the reproductive rates of females in good physical condition and those in poor physical condition," said Chris Rosenberry, supervisor of the Game Commission's deer management section.
"Research also has confirmed that as a deer population's size increases, its reproductive rates decline. In fact, female fawns often stop breeding when deer populations are high."
Deer health will be gauged as good when 30 percent or more of fawns are bred; when 2-year-old females have 1.5 fawns or more; and when females 3 years or older have 1.7 fawns or more.
Habitat monitoring will examine forest sustainability. Forest habitat health would be gauged as good when at least 70 percent of sampled plots had adequate regeneration to replace the current forest canopy.
Violations
Opening day of trout season found some anglers too eager for their own good, it seems.
According to Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission waterways conservation officer Ron Evancho, one of his deputies was patrolling Hannas Run in Westmoreland County when he found two men fishing prior to the 8 a.m. start time. They already had seven fish in their possession.
Evancho and his crew also handled one littering case on opening day and found one fisherman using bait in the delayed harvest, artificial lures only section of Indian Creek.
Summer camps
The Penn State Conservation Leadership School, open to boys and girls ages 15 to 18, will be held twice this summer, June 25 to July 1 and July 9 to 15, at the Stone Valley Recreation Area near State College.
The curriculum will focus on four issues: fisheries conservation, forest heritage, acid mine drainage, and conservation leadership. Students will work with faculty from Penn State's School of Forest Resources and representatives of various agencies, including the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and Game Commission.
For information about applying for the school, call 814-865-8301. For information on scholarships, visit conferences.cas.psu.edu.
Volunteers sought
The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is looking for volunteers to help clean up illegally dumped trash and flood debris along the Clarion River on May 6 and May 13 in Jefferson, Clarion, Elk and Forest counties.
The cleanup will stretch from Ridgway to Millcreek. It will begin at 9 a.m. at the Pale Whale Canoe Rental in Cook Forest.
Volunteers will be provided with lunch and drinks, but must be at least 12 years old. For information, call Robin Orris of PA CleanWays at 814-856-3291.
