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By JESSICA WELSHANS
For The Express
Hunters, pick up your new 2015-16 Hunting/Trapping digest and be sure to read it. There are some new changes.
As always season dates vary, and there are some changes in Wildlife Management Units and a few others.
One change voted on this past April at a board meeting of the Pennsylvania Game Commission was the requirement for tree stands and blinds – located on state game lands and hunter-access properties -be marked with proper identification tags.
There are around 1.5 million acres of state game lands throughout the state, open to hunting and trapping on these public grounds, according to the game commission.
This new tag requirement on these grounds must be conspicuously marked with a durable and legible identification tag.
Travis Lau, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Game Commission said this decision was made because problems arose with tree stands being placed too early, too late and left behind in a permanent manner.
“The tag gives us a mechanism to contact the owner,” he said.
Right now, when wildlife conservation officers or land managers on the State Game Lands and hunter access areas remove the stands that have been left out, its a sit and wait to see if someone comes to claim them.
“We only can hold onto them and sit and wait, and the owner often never comes to claim it. Now we can contact them and not have to store stands or make decisions for how long to store them,” he added.
As it stands now, regulations for tree stands and blinds on state game lands cannot be placed any earlier than two weeks before the archery season. Then removed no later then two weeks after the final deer season in that area or Wildlife Management Unit.
Lau said there was much discussion leading up to the tagging requirement being passed.
“On one hand, there is a problem on certain game land tracts of stands being abandoned outright, and for lack of a better term, they end up junking up the game lands. Even stands left out after the date, they must be pulled creates a burden on our field staff to monitor and take them down,” he said.
Tagging tree stands and blinds is very similar to trappers having their traps tagged, Lau commented.
Tags under the regulation will require the tag to durable and legible and be conspicuously marked.
The tag must include the following: owner’s first and last name and legal home address, or bear the CID number that appears on the owner’s hunting license or a number issued by the Game Commission to the stand or blind owner.
“If I were to use my CID number on the stand, which is one option in properly tagging it, I might write it on a piece of nonwhite paper, laminate it, then either seal the whole thing to a flat surface using packing tape (not sure how well that would hold up) or wire it to the stand,” Lau said.
He also offered up the idea to make a tag out of a piece of plastic and write the number on it with magic marker, paint it on, or engrave it into a piece of tin.
“It doesn’t matter as long as the requirements are met. The owner can use their CID number, First and last name and legal address, or they can go onto The Outdoor Shop on our website and obtain a unique number to place on their stand or blind.,” he said.
Those who decide to use the The Outdoor Shop online will get a issued numbered tag from the Pennsylvania Game Commission. That option is a “print at home” only and will not be mailed out.
“Stands are supposed to be down within two weeks after close of season. If they find stands, currently, they have no possible way of knowing who’s they are,” Brian Knapp, sportsmen from Millerton, said. “With this law, they can now hold people accountable for leaving them out. I don’t see a problem with it. I have to tag my traps so I can be held accountable for any wrong doings with them. I can see a few negatives, possibly, and some positives to it.”
Other regulations that hunters need to remember when placing stands or blinds on state game lands aren’t just about the timing.
“The (tree stand) cannot be placed in any manner that damages a tree, and the Game Commission defines tree damage as any penetration into the cambium layer of the bark – the tree’s growth area beneath the protective outer layer of bark,” Lau said.
He went to say that there are no regulations on the type of stand so long as this requirement is met.
“It’s probably important to note here that ladders, steps, etc. also must not damage the tree. Hanging hooks that screw into the tree are not permitted, as is the trimming of any tree,” he said.
Blinds may not be constructed on state game lands for turkey hunting. Blinds are usually made in-the-field by piling logs, brush, downed trees and even rocks to create cover.
Lau said this is legal on private ground, but not on state game lands.
Portable blinds are OK, and also need to be tagged in the same manner.
“On game lands, however, they can’t be constructed or used. So the tagging requirement for blinds applies only to portable blinds, because they’re the only blinds that can be used on game lands, and blinds on private lands don’t need to be tagged,” Lau said.
When on state forest lands, tree stands and blinds are legal, but no tagging is required. Officials with the Bureau of Forestry noted that they follow the rules and regulations set forth by the Pennsylvania Game Commission regarding tree stands and blinds, with the timing of placement and duration.
No cutting of vegetation or trees to make blinds is a law on state forest land.
The new regulation is located on Page 23 of the 2015-16 Hunting/Trapping Digest.
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