Pennsylvania Game News - November 2022 - 16

many as four people on the busiest days.
All told, the region devotes 100 man-days
to its stations, plus the expense of overtime,
fire hall rentals and more, said David
Carlini, Northcentral Region Director.
And that's just one region. There are
nine other bear check stations across
Pennsylvania.
Making that kind of commitment
made sense when most of the bear harvest
occurred in the short window of the
regular season, Carlini said. But things
are different now.
" With expansion of bear hunting
opportunities and new seasons, bear harvest
now occurs from mid-September to
December, " Carlini said. " What once was
a four-day commitment has now become a
months-long commitment of staff. "
Indeed, Pennsylvania no longer has
" a " bear season. It has three. The early
seasons account for roughly one-third of
the annual overall take. The regular season
produces another third and the extended
season the final third.
Breaking that down further, the regular
bear season is really two seasons unto
itself. The first two days are busy; lots of
hunters get lots of bear then. The harvest
- and action at check stations - slows
considerably over the next two days,
Carlini said.
" So this change isn't necessarily about
cutting back check station operations, "
Carlini said. " The purpose of check stations
is to collect the data necessary for
monitoring harvest impacts and bear
population trends. That need will always
exist and we will do whatever is necessary
to collect the information needed for
sound management of our bear resource.
" But we want to evaluate the role of
check stations and see if we can continue
to meet our data needs with fewer days
of operation. "
16
History says the Game Commission
can. The agency already has a system
whereby hunters who harvest a bear in the
early and extended seasons check them
in by calling the Game Commission's
dispatch center (1-833-PGC-HUNT or
1-833-PGC-WILD) and arranging to
meet with a game warden or biologist,
who collects information as they would
at a check station.
That's worked for years and should
continue working into the future, said
Game Commission black bear biologist
Emily Carrollo.
" This isn't anything new, " Carrollo
said. " Bears taken in the early and
extended seasons are field-checked by
wardens and other field staff with no
issues. We are fully confident that we will
continue to get every bear checked as per
our regulations. Our local wardens are on
call during the bear season specifically for
this reason, to be able to respond ASAP
and check bears while collecting all of the
information we need. "
The move to rely less on bear check
stations could also increase convenience
for hunters, Carlini added.
" For example, hunters who are headed
home may be able to have their bear
checked along the way through a fieldcheck
instead of redirecting to a check
station, " he noted.
None of that necessarily means check
stations will ever go away completely.
But, like video chats, this system of checking
bears could become the new normal.
" Operating check stations on the first
two days of the regular season captures
a large percentage of the harvest and
maximizes the return on our staffing commitments, "
Carlini said. " Then, using a
hybrid system of field-checking bears and
examining them at single-person satellite
sites can take over. "
Pennsylvania Game News - November 2022

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