Pennsylvania Game News - May 2018 - 46

Womelsdorf and Wyomissing. State
Game Lands 46, 220, 225 and 274 are
included in DMA 4.
The turn-by-turn descriptions of DMA
4's boundary can be found on the Game
Commission's website.
Within DMAs, special rules apply. The
intentional feeding of deer is prohibited.
Hunters may not use urine-based deer
attractants or possess them while afield.
And hunters who harvest deer within
a DMA may not transport the carcass
outside the DMA without first removing
and properly disposing of all highrisk deer parts, including the head and
backbone.
While the rules might pose an
inconvenience, they are meant to slow
the spread of CWD, which so far has been
detected in only a few parts of the state.
"CWD is an increasing problem in
Pennsylvania, and as the disease emerges
in new areas, more Pennsylvanians are
impacted," said Game Commission
Executive Director Bryan Burhans. "To
this point, however, CWD has been
detected in captive or free-ranging deer
only in a few, isolated areas of the state.
That's good news for all Pennsylvanians
who enjoy deer and deer hunting. And we
continue to focus our resources on ways
to minimize CWD's impacts statewide."
CWD, which is always fatal to deer,
elk and other cervids, first was detected

CONTACTING THE
Northwest Region

(814) 432-3187 or (814) 432-3188,
(814) 432-3189

Southwest Region

(724) 238-9523 or (724) 238-9524,
(724) 238-5639

46

in Pennsylvania in 2012 at a captive deer
farm in Adams County. CWD has been
detected among free-ranging deer in two
areas of the state.
In addition to establishing DMA 4, the
Game Commission will increase its CWD
sampling there.
Within DMA 4, the agency will begin
testing all known road-killed deer for
CWD. Come hunting season, bins for
the collection of deer heads and other
high-risk deer parts will be placed in
areas for the public to use. Hunters who
deposit the heads of the deer they harvest
in designated collection bins will be able
to have their deer tested, free of charge.
And DMAP permits for use within DMA
4 will be available for purchase.
Wa y n e L a r o c h e , t h e G a m e
Commission's special assistant for CWD
response, said increased sampling within
DMA 4 is necessary to find out whether
CWD exists among free-ranging deer
there, and adjust the response accordingly.
"We need to know the full extent of
the CWD problem in any area where the
disease exists," Laroche said. "We have
not detected CWD among free-ranging
deer in DMA 4, and maybe we won't.
But if CWD is out there, we surely need
to know about it to confront it head-on."
More information on CWD and
Pennsylvania's DMAs is available at
www.pgc.pa.gov.

REGION OFFICES

Northcentral Region

(570) 398-4744 or (570) 398-4745,
(570) 398-3423

Southcentral Region

(814) 643-1831 or (814) 643-9635

Northeast Region

(570) 675-1143 or (570) 675-1144

Southeast Region

(610) 926-3136 or (610) 926-3137,
(610) 926-1966
http://www.pgc.pa.gov
Pennsylvania Game News - May 2018

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