The following news release contains four articles:
1) GAME COMMISSION DRAWS BOBCAT PERMITS FOR UPCOMING SEASON
2) GAME COMMISSION AWARDS ELK LICENSES TO 50 HUNTERS
3) ELK GUIDE PERMIT APPLICATION DEADLINE IS OCT. 12
4) WMU 5B SELLS OUT OF ANTLERLESS DEER LICENSES


GAME COMMISSION DRAWS BOBCAT PERMITS FOR UPCOMING SEASON HARRISBURG - The Pennsylvania Game Commission, with assistance from several interested observers, publicly drew by computer the names of 1,010 individuals who each will be awarded one bobcat permit for the upcoming 2007-08 hunting and trapping season. The drawing was held at the agency's Harrisburg headquarters at 10 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 14.
After a review of the 6,064 applications received for the drawing, the Game Commission disqualified 15 individuals for failing to follow instructions, including mailing in multiple applications and bounced checks. Of those 15, five were disqualified because they had been issued bobcat permits for the 2006-07 season and were not eligible to be in this year's drawing.
Of the 6,049 eligible applicants in the drawing, an additional 20 applications were drawn as alternates in case the Bureau of Wildlife Protection declares any of the first 1,010 individuals ineligible during an application review.
Of the 1,010 permits awarded, 44 were awarded to female applicants and 65 were awarded to applicants under the age of 17.

Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe noted that preference points played a significant role in determining those drawn. According to results, 165 of the 478 individuals with five preference points were selected for a bobcat permit; 181 of the 659 individuals with four preference points were selected; 223 of the 953 individuals with three preference points were selected; 231 of the 1,385 individuals with two preference points were selected; and 210 of the 2,574 individuals with one preference point were selected.
Those selected in the random drawing will receive one permit for no additional charge to either hunt or trap one bobcat in the next few weeks.
The hunting season will run from Oct. 20- Feb. 16. The trapping season will run from Oct. 21- Feb. 17.
Top counties for those receiving bobcat permits are: Lancaster (57); Berks (55); Clearfield (43); Tioga (40); and York (38).
Hunting and trapping bobcats is restricted to Wildlife Management Units 2A, 2C, 2E, 2F, 2G, 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D. A statewide map of the WMUs, as well as a series of maps of each WMU, appears on pages 42 through 45 of the 2007-08 Pennsylvania Digest of Hunting and Trapping Regulations.
Facts about the Pennsylvania Game Commission: Did you know that, in 1970, after receiving testimony from hunters and trappers, the Game Commission reclassified the bobcat, then an "unprotected species," to a game animal and immediately was provided closed season protection? However, in 2000, after 30 years of protection and field study, the bobcat population rebounded to the point where the agency could offer a limited number of hunters and trappers the opportunity to harvest one bobcat in Pennsylvania.


GAME COMMISSION AWARDS ELK LICENSES TO 50 HUNTERS KERSEY, Elk County - On Saturday, Sept. 15, Pennsylvania Outdoor Elk Expo visitors helped the Pennsylvania Game Commission award elk licenses to 50 hunters in a public drawing. There were 17,245 individuals eligible for the drawing. For the November 2007 elk hunt, the agency awarded 40 licenses (15 antlered and 25 antlerless) and, for the September 2008 elk hunt, 10 licenses (2 either sex and 8 antlerless) were awarded.
All 50 hunters selected to receive a license will be mailed a confirmation letter within a week.
"While there is great interest in the names of the hunters who will receive these 50 elk hunting licenses, by law, the Game Commission is not permitted to release information about our license buyers to the public," said Carl G. Roe, Game Commission executive director.   "Beyond announcing the names and hometowns of those selected at the public drawing, we are not permitted to provide a complete list for public dissemination."
Roe noted that the 10 hunters currently participating in the elk season held from Sept. 3-29 were drawn at last year's elk license drawing.
For the November hunt, which will be held Nov. 5-10, 14 antlered elk licenses were awarded to Pennsylvanians, and one was awarded to a hunter from New York. Pennsylvania hunters selected represent the following counties: Allegheny (2); Armstrong; Bedford; Cambria; Columbia (2); Indiana; Lebanon; Lycoming; McKean; Perry; Union; and Westmoreland.
Of the 25 antlerless elk licenses awarded, 23 were awarded to Pennsylvanians and one each was awarded to hunters from New York and Florida. Pennsylvania hunters selected represented the following counties: Allegheny; Berks (2); Blair; Butler; Cambria; Centre (2); Fulton; Indiana (2); Jefferson; Lackawanna (2); Lancaster (3); Lebanon; Mercer; Montgomery; Westmoreland; and York.
For the September 2008 hunt, which will be held September 1-27, 2008, eight licenses were awarded to Pennsylvania hunters and one each was awarded to hunters from New Jersey and Virginia. The two either-sex license recipients were from Armstrong County and New Jersey. Pennsylvania hunters received seven antlerless elk licenses and a hunter from Virginia received an antlerless elk license. Pennsylvania hunters receiving antlerless elk licenses for this season are from the following counties: Adams; Armstrong; Centre; Lehigh (2); Montgomery; and Perry.
Roe noted that preference points played a significant role in determining those drawn. According to results, 27 of the individuals selected for an elk license had five preference points; 10 had four preference points; six had three preference points; five had two preference points; and two had one preference point.
All 50 elk license recipients will receive in the mail two copies of the Game Commission's elk hunter orientation DVD or video, which they must view prior to the elk hunt. The second copy is to be previewed by their guide, if they choose to use a guide. Elk license recipients are not required to use a guide.
All elk license recipients must obtain a general hunting license prior to purchasing their elk license. Elk licenses cost $25 for residents and $250 for nonresidents.
Facts about the Pennsylvania Game Commission: It is believed that, in 1867, the last native elk killed in Pennsylvania about this time. Elk didn't freely roam Penn's Woods until the Game Commission began its elk reintroduction effort in 1913.

APPLICATION DEADLINE FOR ELK GUIDE PERMITS IS OCT. 12 HARRISBURG - Anyone interested in applying to be an elk guide for the upcoming November elk hunt should submit a completed application to the Pennsylvania Game Commission's Bureau of Wildlife Protection by Friday, Oct. 12. Elk guide permits cost $10 for residents and $25 for nonresidents.
Guides may provide assistance in locating or tracking elk, but may not harvest an elk. Permit applications may be obtained from the Game Commission's Harrisburg headquarters by calling 717-787-5740.
The Board of Game Commissioners created the elk guide permit to allow experienced individuals, especially those who live in the elk range or are familiar with the elk herd, to serve as guides for those who receive an elk license. Elk guide permits are not required for those who only plan to aid a successful elk hunter to remove an elk from the field.
Since only properly licensed hunters may take part in the hunt, and since the agency is awarding only a limited number of licenses, the guide permit will remove any legal concerns about an elk hunter taking someone along to participate in the hunt.
All elk license recipients will receive in the mail two copies of the Game Commission's videotaped elk hunter orientation program, which the hunter must view prior to the elk hunt. The second copy must be viewed by their guide, if the hunter chooses to use a guide.
Those seeking elk guide permits also should consult with the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources concerning special guiding permits and requirements on state forest or state park lands.


WMU 5B SELLS OUT OF ANTLERLESS DEER LICENSES HARRISBURG - Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) 5B has been added to the list of 15 WMUs that have exhausted their entire allocation of antlerless deer licenses, according to Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe.
WMU 5B, which exhausted its allocation of 53,000 antlerless deer licenses today, is comprised of portions of Adams; Berks; Chester; Cumberland; Dauphin; Lancaster; Lebanon; and York counties.
Of the 865,000 antlerless licenses originally allocated, agency employees have distributed to county treasurers 778,653 applications. Following is a listing of the remaining WMUs antlerless deer licenses as of today (along with the initial allocation for each WMU): WMU 2A, 11,862 (60,000); WMU 2B, 45,454 (68,000); WMU 3B, 843 (43,000); WMU 4E, 5,573 (38,000); WMU 5A, 196 (22,000); WMU 5C, 11,493 (84,000); and WMU 5D, 9,507 (20,000).
For more updates on the availability of antlerless deer licenses by WMU, visit the Game Commission's "Doe License Update" in the "Quick Clicks" box in the upper right-hand corner of the agency's homepage (www.pgc.state.pa.us).