Permit waived for some seniors
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Board of Game Commissioners made pheasant hunting more affordable for some license holders. At their quarterly meeting last week the board voted that Pennsylvania residents who held a senior lifetime hunting license or combination license prior to May 13, 2017 will not be required to purchase a pheasant-hunting permit in the 2018-19 license year.
The $26.90 ring-necked pheasant permit became mandatory for all adult hunters in the spring of 2017.
Seniors who had purchased a Resident Senior Lifetime Hunting License ($51.90) or Senior Resident Lifetime Combination License ($101.90) prior to the requirement complained their purchase was in fact an agreement that gave them access to most Pennsylvania hunting privileges for the rest of their lives.
In a statement the Commission said the pheasant permit was created to help offset the high costs of its pheasant propagation program.
“The agency in recent years closed two of its four pheasant farms, and began purchasing day-old chicks from private propagators rather than carrying over breeding pheasants and raising chicks from eggs,” the statement said. “Through these measures the annual costs of the program have been reduced from about $4.7 million to about $2.3 million. The pheasant permit in its first year generated more than $1.1 million.”
Junior hunters will be eligible for a free permit in 2018-19. Of nearly 43,000 hunters who purchased a pheasant permit for the 2017-18 seasons, about 4,300 of them were senior lifetime license holders
Fishing derby
Young anglers age 5 to 16 are invited to a fishing event Saturday at the Conway Sportsmen’s Club near Zelienople, Butler County. Tackle available if needed, bus transportation departs 7 a.m. at Eastminster Presbyterian Church, East Liberty. Derby prizes, lunch provided, groups accommodated. Call, 412-335-5846 or 412-225-0982, for details and bus reservations.
Crappie tournament
The annual Pymatuning Lake Association Crappie tournament will be held Saturday with late registration and weigh-in at the THIS WEEK: In light of the continued decline in quality pheasant habitat, Pennsylvania should drop its $5 million pheasantstocking program. • Yes • No Espyville Boat Launch. Team entry fee is $45 with the five-fish first prize paying $500. Proceeds benefit a Pymatuning habitat fund. Details at pymatuninglake.com.
Trout Photo Contest
Share your catch in the annual Post-Gazette Trout Photo Contest. Attach high-resolution .jpgs (1 MB minimum) to email messages and send to fishingreport@post-gazette.com. Include name, age (for kids under 18), town, trout species, size, waters, county and details of the catch, as well as the photographer’s name, town amd phone number, Deadline May 20. Winners in categories Big Fish, Kidstuff and Artsy Shots will be interviewed for an article to be published May 27. View Trout Photo Contest entries at post-gazette.com/outdoors.