PA Game Commission to Launch Fourth Round of Deer Management Open Houses

HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For the fourth consecutive year, the Pennsylvania Game Commission is hitting the road to bring six deer management open houses to communities throughout the Commonwealth beginning on Feb. 20 and ending on April 10.

Open houses are used by the agency as an interactive public outreach tool that employs multimedia presentations, exhibits and wildlife managers to bring both the nuts-and-bolts and finer details of deer management to hunters, farmers and others whose lives are influenced by deer. The effort emphasizes bringing this powerful communications and educational tool to residents as a means to further the general public's understanding of deer and deer management. The approach is bolstered by having agency employees on hand to engage participants who attend the open houses.

Open houses provide a means to cover wide-ranging topics through specialized stations set up in a large hall. Stations are spaced out so participants who have questions and/or comments for station attendants can communicate in a one-on-one exchange without interruptions and with the expectation of getting answers immediately.  

"Here's your chance to interact with a deer biologist, or State Game Land manager, or forester," explained Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe. "And hopefully, one of the open houses will be close to your home. The goal here is to reach out to Pennsylvanians, both figuratively and literally. We hope that every person who attends an open house can better identify with our deer management program upon leaving."

Six open houses are currently scheduled to be held in Pennsylvania. They will all have the same presentation: displays manned by agency staff. The displays are:

- Goals that Direct the Deer Program – Outlining the five goals of the deer management program;

- Management Goals are a Product of Public Input – Focuses on the participating stakeholders who were involved in developing the current deer plan goals;

- Where do you hunt? – Helps hunters take a critical look at the characteristics of habitat through visual representation;

- Deer Necessities – Identifies the preferences that guide deer in selecting habitat;

- Habitat Variability – Focuses on how habitat health is rated differently from one Wildlife Management Unit to another;

- Telemetry Study – Sheds light on the dispersal of young male deer;

- Deer Aging – Allows participants to learn how deer are aged through tooth wear; and

- Deer Management DVD – Nonstop presentation of the agency's recently-produced deer management DVD, free copies of which will be available to open house visitors.

Open houses will be held in six different locations from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on a Saturday to maximize the opportunity for those interested in attending, and are being held in different locations than the three previous rounds to afford residents in other areas of the state the opportunity to attend.  

The schedule for the open houses is as follows:

February 20 – Northcentral Region

Coudersport Volunteer Fire Company Training Center

171 Rt. 6 West

Coudersport, Pa 16915

Traveling West on Rt. 6, from red light in Coudersport at Sheetz, .07 miles on left across from Eulalia Cemetery, next to the Movie Galley.

Traveling East on RT. 6, from Port Alleghany, .02 miles past West Gate Inn on right, next to the Movie Galley.

February 27 – Northeast Region

PPL Wallenpaupack Environmental Learning Center

126 PPL Drive

Hawley, PA 18428

From Hawley/Honesdale  take US 6 east to the intersection with PPL Drive (0.3 miles past the intersection of US 6 and SR 590), turn right and follow signs to the ELC.

From Milford take US 6 west to the intersection with PPL Drive(1.0 miles past the intersection of US 6 and SR 507), turn left. Follow signs to the ELC.

From  Scranton take I-84 east to Exit 17 (Hamlin, Newfoundland, SR 191), turn left (north) onto SR 191. At SR 590, (9.0 miles) turn right. At US 6 (1.7 miles) turn right. At PPL Drive (0.3 miles), turn right. Follow the signs to the ELC.

March 13 – Northwest Region

Brokenstraw Fish and Game

1001 Mead Run Rd.

Pittsfield, PA 16340

Traveling west on Rt. 6 turn right on Mead Run Road.  Travel approximately 1 mile the club is on the left.  Mead Run Road is approximately .7 miles west of Youngsville.

Traveling east on Rt. 6 turn left on Mead Run Road.  Travel approximately 1 mile the club is on the left.  Mead Run Road is approximately 2 miles east of the Rt. 27 / Rt. 6 intersection in Pittsfield.

March 20 – Southwest Region

Richland Fire Department – Solomon Run Banquet Facility

176 Mt. Airy Drive

Johnstown, PA 15904

DIRECTIONS (From Johnstown and points south)

Travel Rt. 219 northbound and take the Galleria Drive exit

Turn left at the top of Galleria Drive

Turn right at Solomon Run Road

Turn right at Mount Airy Drive

THE BANQUET FACILITY PARKING LOT IS ON THE FAR SIDE OF THE BUILDING.

Directions (From Ebensburg and points north)

Travel Rt. 219 southbound and take the Galleria Drive exit

Turn right at Galleria Drive

Turn right at Solomon Run Road

Turn right at Mount Airy Drive

THE BANQUET FACILITY PARKING LOT IS ON THE FAR SIDE OF THE BUILDING.

March 27 – Southcentral Region

Shippensburg State University Conference Center

500 Newburg Road
Shippensburg, PA 17257

FROM EAST OF SHIPPENSBURG: Take the Pennsylvania Turnpike to Exit 16/226 (Carlisle). Follow U.S. Route 11 north to I-81 South. Exit I-81 South at Exit 29 (King Street). Turn right at the end of the exit ramp onto PA 174. Travel 2 miles to a "T" intersection. Turn left onto King Street (U.S. Route 11). At the 6th traffic light, turn right onto North Earl Street.  Proceed approximately 1.4 miles, during which North Earl Street becomes the Newburg Road (PA Route 696).  Just past the football stadium on the right is the Conference Center, also on the right.  The Conference Center is the rear portion of a large red brick building. Look for the sign in the front of the building.  Parking is in the rear.

FROM WEST OF SHIPPENSBURG:  Take the Pennsylvania Turnpike to Exit 15/201 (Blue Mountain).  Turn left onto PA Route 997.  At the "Y" intersection bear right onto route 696. In the town of Newburg, watch the signs carefully and stay on Route 696 (requires a left turn followed by an immediate right turn).  Continue on Route 696 south another 8 miles toward Shippensburg.  As the University stadium comes into view, the Conference Center is on the left and is the rear portion of a large red brick building, shared with the SU Foundation.  Look for the sign in the front of the building.  Parking is in the rear.

FROM NORTH OF SHIPPENSBURG: Take rural routes to I-81 and follow directions from North or use rural routes to PA turnpike and follow directions from West.

FROM SOUTH OF SHIPPENSBURG: Take I-81 north to Pennsylvania. Continue to exit 24 (Fayette Street). At exit ramp, turn left onto Route 696 and travel 2 miles to a "T" intersection. Turn left onto Fayette Street and proceed to another "T" intersection. Turn right onto King Street. At the 2nd traffic light, turn left onto North Earl Street.  North Earl becomes the Newburg Road (PA Route 696).  Proceed approximately 1.4 miles, just past the football stadium on the right, to the Conference Center, also on the right.  The Conference Center is the rear portion of a large red brick building. Look for the sign in the front of the building.  Parking is in the rear.

FROM THE PARKING LOT, the Open House is through the entrance off the parking lot and into the lobby on the first floor.

April 10 – Southeast Region

Frackville American Legion

40 S. Mahanoy St.

Frackville, PA 17931

From Rt. 81, take exit 124B to merge onto S Lehigh Ave/PA-61 N and travel toward Frackville.  In Frackville, turn right on Oak Street by the Turkey Hill.  Take the first left on S. Mahanoy St.

These deer management open houses and the outreach information available at them were developed by a Deer Communications Working Group, which was created in 2007 to improve the agency's efforts to explain deer management – and the need for it – to Pennsylvanians.  

"This group has made tremendous progress in bringing the public up to speed on how and why we manage deer," Roe explained. "They meet regularly and have developed displays, brochures, a new video and whitetail website, employee training and many other tools to help in the never-ending effort of explaining deer management to both the public and fellow employees. But despite all that has been accomplished in recent years, there is still much, much more to do."

For more information about the agency's deer management program, including a complete selection of the brochures being distributed at the open houses, visit the Game Commission's website (www.pgc.state.pa.us) and click on "White-Tailed Deer" in the center of the homepage.  This website features links to all of the brochures used in the open houses, all issues of the agency's "Deer Chronicle," many top-notch references to agency research and general information, deer photos and even an "Ask The Deer Biologist" section.  

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SOURCE Pennsylvania Game Commission