The discovery of a road-killed adult doe that tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Cumberland County has triggered another expansion of Disease Management Area (DMA) 2 in south-central Pennsylvania, which includes a significant portion of Adams County.
DMA 2 is expanding east to more Cumberland, Adams, and York counties and will be in effect for upcoming hunting seasons.
The eastern portion of Adams County remains outside of DMA 2.
CWD was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2012 on a deer farm in New Oxford, which generated DMA 1. That DMA expired after five years with no additional positive cases of CWD.
The new boundary line for DMA 2 follows Route 134 north from the Maryland line for approximately 4 miles to the intersection of U.S. Route 15, then follows Route 15 north for 36.4 miles, crossing Route 581 where it becomes Route 11. It then follows Route 11 for 2.4 miles to where it meets the west bank of the Susquehanna River at Front Street. The boundary follows the Susquehanna River north for about 15.1 miles to Route 22.
Within the DMA it is illegal:
-Remove or export any high-risk deer or elk parts (eg, head, spine, and spleen) from a DMA or EA.
-Use or possess attractants based on deer or elk urine.
-Feed directly or indirectly to wild deer in freedom. It is already illegal to feed moose regardless of DMA location.
-Rehabilitate wild deer or elk in the wild. The change follows on the heels of a previous DMA 2 expansion announced in April.
In addition to DMA 2, DMA 4 in southeastern Pennsylvania grew in southern Lancaster County earlier this year and DMA 7 in northeastern Pennsylvania was created in response to a CWD-positive deer in a captive facility. DMA 7 is the fifth DMA formed following the detection of a CWD-positive deer within a captive facility.
Chronic wasting disease is spread through direct animal-to-animal contact, as well as indirectly through prion-contaminated environments. People infected with chronic wasting disease shed prions through saliva, urine, and feces, and infected carcasses contribute to environmental contamination. Once in the soil, CWD prions remain infectious for decades.
There is no evidence that CWD infects humans or other species under natural conditions. Because so much is still unknown about CWD, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends against eating meat from CWD-positive deer.
COMMISSION APPROVES FISHING LICENSE RATE INCREASE
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) Board of Commissioners has given final approval to a list of proposed fee adjustments for fishing licenses and various other licenses and permits.
Under the proposal, the price of the most common fishing licenses and permits, an Annual Resident Fishing License, a Trout Permit and a Combined Trout/Lake Erie Permit, would increase by $2.50 each in 2023, marking the first increases of rates since 2005.
Separate increases would apply to other categories of licenses and permits for nonresidents, seniors, and tourists.
Revenue from these fee increases is expected to generate an estimated $2.5 million annually for PFBC’s Fish Fund to support fishing-related programs.
The Board also gave final approval to fee adjustments associated with various categories of vessel titles, licenses and permits. Many of these administrative fees, such as those related to the issuance of title certificates, cast net permits, and bad check penalties, have not been updated since the 1980s or 1990s. Revenue from these rate increases is expected to generate an estimated $30,000 annually for the Fish Fund and $1.2 million for the PFBC Boat Fund to support boating-related programs.
The proposed final rule, the transcript of the public hearing, and all public comments associated with the proposal will be shared with the Pennsylvania House and Senate Committees on Fish and Game for their review.
SINGER OF “BARNEY”, EX
My thoughts are with the family and friends of Warren W. “Barney” Singer, Jr. this week. He was 78 years old when he passed away in Sayre, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, August 9.
For 16 years, Barney patrolled Adams County streams as a waterway conservation officer for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. He also served as a WCO in North York County. He transferred from Adams to Bradford County in late 1985 and also served in Sullivan County.
He was born in Wilkes-Barre and lived in Rome, Pennsylvania.
Barney is survived by Beverly A. (Corby) Singer, his wife of 52 years, two daughters and other relatives.
He was a Vietnam veteran and received full military honors. He was buried at Tunkhannock on Monday afternoon, August 15.
When it comes to Volvo venison, Pennsylvania is the fifth most likely state in the nation for deer-vehicle collisions.
According to an annual State Farm® analysis, the chance of a deer-vehicle crash is 1 in 54 drivers in the Commonwealth.
West Virginia is at the top of the heap where an individual driver has a 1 in 37 chance of hitting an animal. Aside from Mountaineer State, only Montana (1 in 39 chance), South Dakota (1 in 48 chance) and Michigan (1 in 54 chance of an accident) top Pennsylvania.
The months when drivers are most likely to hit a large animal in the US are (in order) November, October, and December.
The new data shows that American drivers on average have a 1 in 109 chance of colliding with an animal, according to the analysis. State Farm® estimates that there were more than 2 million animal collision insurance claims in the US between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021 (nearly 200,000 more claims than in the previous 12 year period). observed months).
Allegheny was the leading county for deer-vehicle collisions in Pennsylvania with 321; followed by Chester, 241; Westmoreland, 230; York, 205; Dollars, 197.
• The Fish and Boat Commission will hold a public meeting of the Fish and Hatchery Committee at 1 pm on Wednesday, September 28 at the Harrisburg headquarters on Elmerton Avenue, Harrisburg. A proposal to create a fish stocking authorization program and improve protections against the spread of aquatic invasive species will be discussed. The public comment period associated with the proposal has been extended by 30 days, through September 17. To view the proposal and submit public comments online, visit the PFBC website (Fishandboat.com).
• Free one-hour Learn to Hunt webinars provided by Game Commission include information on where to hunt, what you need to hunt, hunting tips and tactics, and how to prepare your game for the table. The series kicked off Wednesday with a webinar on squirrel hunting. Additional webinars will be provided: two on archery deer hunting on September 7 and 21, and one on pheasant hunting on October 5. Sign up for webinars or learn more at www.pgc.pa.gov/InformationResources.