HARRISBURG, PA - Hunters who missed out on their first opportunity to get antlerless deer permits to use on specific properties within Disease Management Area 3 (DMA 3) now have a second chance.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission announced today it will increase its allocation of Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) permits in three units:
DMAP Unit 3045, which Includes State Game Lands 87 and other areas of western Clearfield County, and State Game Lands 195, 31 and 244, parts of Clear Creek State Forest and other areas of Jefferson County;
DMAP Unit 3461, which Includes State Game Lands 174 and 262 and other parts of northeastern Indiana County, and parts of southwestern Clearfield County; and
DMAP Unit 3466, which includes parts of Clear Creek State Forest and State Game Lands 54 and surrounding areas in Jefferson County, as well as parts of Indiana and Armstrong counties.
An additional 2,500 permits will be available in DMAP Units 3045 and 3466, and an additional 1,500 permits will be available in DMAP Unit 3461.
There are four DMAP units within DMA 3. The allocation will not increase in DMAP Unit 3934, which includes Curwensville Lake and parts of Moshannon State Forest in Clearfield County. As of this release, about 4,000 of the permits allocated originally still were available in this unit.
The additional permits in DMAP Units 3045, 3461 and 3466, which will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis, will be available to purchase sometime on Thursday, Nov. 28 or Friday, Nov. 29.
DMAP permits cost $10.90 each and are available at any license issuing agent. While the permits also are available to purchase online, hunters likely are better off buying them in person since the permits contain harvest ear tags and must be in possession while hunting, and they can’t be printed when bought online.
Each hunter may purchase up to two DMAP permits for each DMAP property while permits remain available.
DMAP is a statewide program that uses hunting to help public and private landowners meet deer-management goals on their properties. Within Pennsylvania’s DMAs, where Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has been detected in captive or free-ranging deer, DMAP is used to reduce CWD infection rates and increase disease surveillance.
The decision to increase permits in DMAP Units 3045, 3461 and 3466 serves to better accommodate hunters in the area. The Game Commission recently mailed letters to over 7,000 households within and near DMA 3 to ask for hunters’ help in addressing CWD concerns through DMAP in DMA 3.
“Immediately, we received an exceptional response from hunters who want to do what they can to limit CWD impacts where they live,” said Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans. “Unfortunately, by that time, permits in three of the four DMAP units within the DMA either were sold out or nearly sold out.
“With that being the case, with CWD representing an immediate threat and with the firearms deer season right around the corner, we’ve decided to increase available permits,” Burhans said. “We want the hunters to be the first line of defense in combating CWD and providing more hunters the opportunity to obtain DMAP tags is an important step in that direction.”
Originally, 4,500 permits were allocated for DMAP Unit 3045; 3,800 permits for DMAP Unit 3461 and 3,900 permits for DMAP Unit 3466. Statewide, about 30 percent of DMAP permit holders are successful in harvesting deer.
CWD, which always is fatal to the deer and elk it infects, first was detected in Pennsylvania in 2012 and more than 250 wild deer have tested positive for CWD since that time. Within DMA 3, just six free-ranging CWD-positive deer have been detected and hunters can play a crucial role in getting ahead of CWD before it becomes a larger problem.
While CWD represents a serious threat to Pennsylvania’s deer and elk and the state’s hunting heritage, the special regulations that apply within established DMAs serve to limit CWD’s spread.
Hunters harvesting deer within DMAs can have them tested for CWD, free of charge, by placing heads from their deer in one of several Game Commission head-collection bins provided within DMAs. While CWD is not known to infect humans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends never consuming the meat of CWD-positive animals.
More information on CWD can be found on the CWD page at www.pgc.pa.gov.
For a more-detailed description of the boundaries of these DMAP units, view interactive map that can be accessed through the CWD page at www.pgc.pa.gov. By clicking on the Layers list in the top right corner of the map screen, and checking the DMAP Area box the units appear and can be viewed in greater detail.
MEDIA CONTACT: Travis Lau - 717-705-6541
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