Forestry professionals, hunters and conservation volunteers urged the Pennsylvania Game Commission on Jan. 25 to refine antlerless allocations, expand deer-management assistance program (DMAP) support for land managers, and improve data collection on deer populations in large public-forest tracts.

Kenny Kane, president of Generations Forestry, representing the Society of American Foresters Deer Forest Committee, asked the commission to follow biologists' recommendations for antlerless allocations and to support DMAP tags in critical forest-management areas. Kane said serviceable DMAP allocations are “a major tool for us in managing both public and private lands.”

Other commenters raised concerns about low deer sightings on public lands and asked for separate harvest reporting for private and public property. Jeffrey Schoep, a longtime hunter, said he sees “hardly any deer” on public ground and urged the commission to manage private and public lands separately. Blaine Toy and others asked for more accurate reporting that separates private and public harvests.

Some speakers urged more surveillance in large woodlands. Toy recommended a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) flyover study for the northern central woods to estimate deer numbers. Commenters also discussed chronic wasting disease (CWD) response and said lowering deer density in affected zones should follow biologists’ recommendations.

No formal management decisions or votes were recorded during public comment. Speakers requested that the commission clarify how antlerless allocations are set, publish harvest statistics separated by land ownership, and share any surveillance plans for deer-population estimates and CWD response.