Game Commission opens 13 Sundays this fall, excludes migratory game birds; staff to monitor impacts

The Pennsylvania Game Commission on July 28 voted to adopt a resolution directing its executive director to sign an executive order adding Sundays to most 2025 fall hunting seasons from Sunday, Sept. 14, through Sunday, Dec. 7, agency officials said. The action implements Act 36 of 2025 and adds 10 Sundays to three already scheduled April dates; the commission said migratory game birds will remain closed on Sundays for the 2025–26 license year.

The move is the first major change in the agency's 130-year history to remove the longstanding ban on Sunday hunting, Executive Director Steve Smith told commissioners. Smith recommended the executive order because a full regulatory amendment would likely take 12 to 14 weeks and would not allow timely implementation this license year.

Commissioners said the step is intended to provide hunting opportunity while leaving time next year for a fuller regulatory process and additional public outreach. "This resolution is simple and straightforward. It would open up Sundays for hunting during that time period," Smith said during the meeting.

Why this matters

The change follows the Legislature's passage of Act 36 of 2025, which removed the statutory statewide prohibition on Sunday hunting. Commission staff and hunters told the board they want the agency to manage season dates, bag limits and timing using its expertise rather than leave those details fixed by the Legislature.

Biology, federal limits and public input

Wildlife staff told the board they reviewed harvest and monitoring data for multiple species before recommending the limited Sunday openings. "Our harvest monitoring programs are robust enough to be able to handle modifications like Sunday hunting," Matthew Schnoop, director of the Bureau of Wildlife Management, said, adding staff would adjust recommendations if monitoring shows population impacts.

Mary Jo Casalina, the commission's wild turkey biologist, said staff found no biological concerns with adding brief Sunday opportunity to the fall 2025 turkey seasons. She advised against including spring gobbler seasons in the executive order because of potential disturbance to nesting hens and ongoing research that will better inform future spring-season decisions.

The bureau recommended that migratory game birds remain closed to Sunday hunting for the 2025'26 license year because of federal regulatory constraints. "Compensatory days," a federal mechanism that preserves total allowable hunting days for states that historically closed Sundays, applies only when a state either keeps all Sundays closed or opens all Sundays for migratory species; opening even a single Sunday for a migratory species would cause Pennsylvania to lose compensatory-day treatment and likely reduce total opportunity for waterfowl and other migratory-game-bird hunters, Ian Gregg, chief of the Wildlife Operations Division, said.

Public comments and stakeholder views

Public commenters at the meeting offered varied proposals. Dan Sneath, a public commenter, urged commissioners to "incorporate all Sundays into our hunting seasons, again, based on science based wildlife management." Tracy McCormick asked the commission to consider a Maryland-style midday pause (e.g., hunting from sunrise to 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. to sunset) to reduce user conflicts on shared trails and in parks.

Representatives of hunting organizations urged action. Mike Kreiner, representing the Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen and Conservationists, praised the commission's leadership and framed the resolution as a measured implementation of House Bill 1431. Troy Loudensleger, representing the Pennsylvania Game Breeders Association, asked the commission to consider allowing commercial preserves to operate on Sundays consistent with other changes to Title 34 and Title 58.

Commissioners and staff emphasized monitoring and outreach. Commissioner Kopenaver said the 13 Sundays being added are consecutive, which should reduce public confusion, and encouraged clear messaging. Commissioner Bridal asked staff to ensure data collection programs are adequate to detect any demographic shifts in harvest (for example, changes in age structure of antlered deer) that could result from increased weekly hunting pressure.

Votes at a glance

- Resolution directing the executive director to sign an executive order extending established seasons to include Sundays from Sept. 14 through Dec. 7, 2025, excluding migratory game birds and not including spring gobbler seasons: approved (vote recorded as carried; tally not specified in transcript). Notes: staff said this adds 10 Sundays to the 3 previously scheduled dates; migratory game birds remain closed on Sundays for the 2025'26 license year because of federal compensatory-day rules.

- Final adoption to amend 58 Pa. Code —6147.804 to allow mentored youth and mentored adults to acquire agricultural deer control harvest permits and snow goose conservation permits: approved (motion carried; tally not specified).

- Final adoption to amend 58 Pa. Code —6147.762 to improve accessibility and effectiveness of the agricultural damage/depredation permit program: approved (motion carried; tally not specified).

- Authorization to acquire 16.5 '/ more or less acres in Buck Township, Luzerne County, from Natural Lands Trust at an option price of $400 per acre, funds from the Game Fund (contingent on partnership grants and CCRs): approved (motion carried; tally not specified).

- Approval of an exchange with Lorraine Tatarco: commission to accept 18.5 '/ more or less acres in Blacklick Township, Cambria County, adjoining State Game Land 79 in exchange for 3.8 '/ more or less acres of SGL 79 to improve management and integrity of SGL 79: approved (motion carried; tally not specified).

- Acceptance of land transfer from PennDOT of approximately 22 acres (Wetinski Bank Site) for use as a state game land bank site adjacent to SGL 207: approved (motion carried; tally not specified).

What's next

The executive order will be issued by the executive director consistent with the resolution; staff said they will monitor harvest and population data and report results to the board. The bureau plans additional public outreach and focused human-dimensions research, including focus groups and new surveys, before the 2026 regulatory cycle to gather more data on hunter preferences and the potential longer-term effects of opening Sundays for other species groups, notably migratory game birds.

Ending

Commission leaders framed the action as a deliberate first step to restore Sunday hunting opportunity while preserving the commission's ability to manage seasons adaptively. "We are handing this public policy issue over to the experts of the Game Commission," Mike Kreiner said in public comment, praising collaboration among the agency, the Legislature and hunting organizations.