Game Commission unveils overhaul of Hunter Access Program, plans online reservations and tiered access

Pennsylvania Game Commission staff presented a major redesign of the Hunter Access Program on Wednesday, proposing a three-tier access system, an online reservation platform and a public-facing mapping interface intended to reduce landowner–hunter conflicts.

John Tauscher, private land section chief, described the Hunter Access Program as “one of the largest truly voluntary access programs in the country” and traced its history from experimental cooperative programs to the consolidated hunter-access model in use today. At its peak the program enrolled about 2.6 million acres; staff estimated current enrollment at roughly 1.8 million acres and said more than 9,500 individual landowners and organizations participate.

Under the proposal, properties would be categorized into three tiers based on landowner-specified access:

- Tier 1: open access, no reservation required; - Tier 2: reservation required and controlled through the commission’s reservation system; - Tier 3: reservation required plus a signed slip from the landowner to confirm coordination.

Reservations would be free, issued on a first-come, first-served basis for tiered properties, and would require hunters to provide a CID number, date of birth, email and phone. Different reservation categories would be available for big game, small game, waterfowl (reservations can include up to five hunters), and trapping (reservations good for three weeks). Tauscher said the reservation and data collection would allow the commission to report how many hunters used hunter-access properties and to produce metrics tied to individual landowners.

The new mapping interface would display property boundaries, parking locations, maximum daily reservations (set by the landowner), Sunday-hunting availability and explicit landowner restrictions (for example, permitted weapon types). Landowners would be able to opt into an optional portal to review reservations, contact information and historical use; the portal would not allow landowners to edit agreements or maps directly — those changes would require commission staff to approve edits.

Tauscher said the system is built and currently being live-tested in the Southwest Region. The commission plans to hire six limited-term habitat/hunter-access technicians to assist with re-enrolling existing cooperators and to begin public outreach in January, targeting a go-live date for the new system of July 1, 2026.

Commissioners asked about data collection and integration with the certified hunter pilot program; Tauscher said certified-hunter access currently uses the same system and that staff are evaluating whether certified hunters will be represented as a distinct tier. Commissioners also asked whether municipalities and NGOs could enroll; staff said NGOs and timber companies are already enrolled while municipalities and townships are being steered toward a separate “400” agreement designed for public lands.

Tauscher acknowledged current program shortcomings — mapping errors, unclear access restrictions and inconsistent permissions — and said the overhaul is intended to increase transparency and reduce negative interactions between hunters and landowners.

Staff said testing is underway and outreach will expand in the coming months. Questions from commissioners focused on enrollment numbers, integration with other pilot programs and whether the system will capture harvest numbers from hunter-access properties; Tauscher said harvest tracking is not currently available under the legacy system but will be possible under the reservation design for tier 2 and tier 3 properties.

No formal vote was required during the staff report; commissioners thanked staff and asked for continued updates as the pilot expands.