Pennsylvania Game Commission presents 2023–24 annual report; lawmakers press for fiscal detail

The Pennsylvania Game Commission on an annual report to the House Game and Fisheries Committee outlined research on elk, bears and turkeys, habitat work including prescribed burns, new land acquisitions and a private shooting-range grant program — while committee members sought clearer fiscal detail about the commission's large reserve.

Executive Director Steve Smith of the Pennsylvania Game Commission delivered a roughly 15-minute summary of the 2023–24 annual report and then answered about a half hour of members’ questions. "Maintaining accurate up to date information on the health of wildlife populations is at the core of our management programs," Smith said, describing collaring, thermal-imaging aerial surveys and other monitoring efforts.

The report highlights and committee concerns

Smith and commission staff described research and management actions across multiple species and programs. Those highlights included: more GPS- and radio-collaring for elk and turkey ("more than 400 hens have been equipped with radio transmitters" for the turkey study); use of aerial thermal imagery for elk estimates; ongoing bear genetics research and a 2023 season bear harvest of 2,920; habitat restoration and prescribed fire (about 11,000 acres treated in the past fiscal year and nearly 60,000 over five years); timber harvests on roughly 25,000 acres for habitat improvement; expansion of game lands by more than 10,000 acres; and infrastructure work including 79 miles of improved roads and 21 new bridges on game lands.

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