[00:00:00] Speaker A: That's our mission, is to use hunting to manage wildlife. We have a great track record of it, and we can just keep building upon that success for years to come.
[00:00:07] Speaker B: But we all have to work together. I mean, we might not agree, you and I might not agree on something, but we have to work together to move things forward.
[00:00:15] Speaker A: You gotta have both, right? So opportunities are big, but sustainability is just as important.
[00:00:25] Speaker B: Hello and welcome to Call of the Outdoors, the podcast of the Pennsylvania Game Commission. We were lucky enough to to be able to grab Steve Smith, our executive director, once again to come in and talk about a lot of the things that are happening, changes that happen in April. We're gonna kind of recap some of that and just get excited about what's happening. It's the start of hunting season and we might even get a tip or two out of Steve. But thanks for joining us. And we want everybody to have fun in Penn's woods. Well, Steve, thank you for joining us today. And I can't believe that it is June halfway through the year already. And really, when you look at June, we just got out of turkey season, hunting season starting now.
[00:01:01] Speaker A: Matt, it's good to be back with you. And you're right, it feels like we were just here talking about wrapping up last year's seasons, and now here we are talking, looking forward, talking about what's, what's on the horizon and the not too distant future.
[00:01:13] Speaker B: Right. And a lot of, you know, the reason we're here, you know, really is to kick it off. We're all excited. I mean, before we know it leaves will start changing and I mean, we'll be in that time of year, but a lot of things happen this year and we really want to recap it.
So everybody's, you know, familiar with a lot of the new things that happened at the board meeting this past April. We did one before, but I want to come back and talk a little bit more in depth and maybe set some of the things up that are coming throughout the year. But the biggest thing that we want to talk about that this month on the 22nd, at 8 o' clock in the morning, we start selling hunting license again.
[00:01:43] Speaker A: We do. And you're right, it's hard to believe, but they go on sale 8 o' clock on the 22nd for a lot of our hunters, for a lot of us personally, that's a date we usually circle on that calendar because it's the unofficial kickoff of the hunting season. And this year is no exception.
[00:01:57] Speaker B: You know, there's some good news. We're year two, where everybody, that first round of resident antlerless tag, everybody, is guaranteed the WMU of their choice. Which is. Which is a great thing. It means you don't have to rush there at 8 o' clock in the morning, Right?
[00:02:12] Speaker A: You're exactly right.
A couple years ago, we have the new licensing system in place. We got it in place.
A benefit of that licensing system is it allows us to analyze the behavior of our license buyers, particularly as it relates to antlerless licenses. We can see how long it's going to take for different units to sell out, et cetera. Because of that, we could identify that, we could adopt a policy where for that first round, for our resident hunters, there's no rush, there's no quota that's going to expire. They can buy a hunting license anytime. They can buy their antlerless license anytime they buy their hunting license for that first round. The whole goal, of course, is to make it more convenient for our hunters by reducing the need to be there at exactly 8:01 on that Monday morning, be it in person or online. You can take your time. You got two weeks to buy a license when it's convenient for you. And there's going to be an antlerless license there in that first round.
[00:03:08] Speaker B: Yeah. And you can buy it at your local vendor or you can go
[email protected] and you can do it online. Absolutely. But I will bet you a free cup of coffee opening day of license season, that there's people waiting in line at headquarters because it's kind of like opening day of deer season for them.
The same guys, a lot of them I know real well are gonna be there and it's pretty cool to see that happen.
It is definitely a tradition or something they do every year.
[00:03:34] Speaker A: I mean, we'd have it no other way. Right. There's something about pulling into our parking lot there on that Monday morning and seeing that line already waiting for us. And you're right, a lot of familiar faces. Not new faces, familiar faces. People we've seen for years, for decades in some instances, and everybody feeling the same way. That unofficial kickoff to our hunting season. So as much as we love that excitement, again, for those who can't get there first thing on Monday morning, no need to panic. You got two weeks to get an antler license.
[00:04:03] Speaker B: Right. You know, the other big news that happened in April, well, it happened last year. It happened, you know, midstream. Digests were already printed. But this year, you know, it was addressed, you know, approved in April is the Sunday hunting opportunities that are going to happen. And it's pretty exciting this year. Like, this is monumental. This is the first year that we can pretty much hunt some days for everything, excluding migratory birds. But you know, even into next turkey season. Let's talk about that a little bit.
[00:04:30] Speaker A: Yeah, it is. It's pretty historic. For the 130 years now of our agency's history, this is going to be the first year where we could, our board could adopt through the regulatory process Sunday hunting. They could implement it. The prohibition in law was removed.
And of course, last year we had Sunday hunting kind of on a trial basis. I'll say for 13 Sundays. We didn't see any issues with that. Biologically, no issues as far as hunter safety, no issues as far as interference with non hunters. So because of that, our board adopted a slate of season proposals for this upcoming year that includes Sunday all the way through, with the exception, as you said, of migratory birds.
[00:05:15] Speaker B: Right. Which includes woodcock and dove. A lot of people don't realize that that is part of that system.
[00:05:20] Speaker A: Yeah, we just go to waterfowl, but it's bigger than that. But other than that, that one exception for all other species, Sundays are now part of that season framework. And something new for this year as well is seasons that traditionally would have closed on a Saturday are now going to be extended that final day to go and close on a Sunday. So some big changes for this year, but also all really good things for Pennsylvania hunters.
[00:05:43] Speaker B: You know, and I, you know, just coming out of turkey season, spoke to a lot of turkey hunters this, this spring and, you know, whether at an event or see them at a gas station, and the conversation comes up about Sundays and spring gobbler season for next year for 27. And, you know, let's just talk about it a little bit, you know, and the reasoning that we shifted back to 11 Turkey for the year and you know, where we're looking at in the future, because that's the most important thing we got to look at. It's more than just next year.
[00:06:08] Speaker A: Oh, that's exactly right. And we would have loved to have something Sunday hunting for this year, particularly every time when it rained on a Saturday but was nice on a Sunday. And that did happen.
[00:06:18] Speaker B: Right.
[00:06:18] Speaker A: It happens every spring.
[00:06:19] Speaker B: It happened youth season this year. Like, we almost jinxed it.
[00:06:22] Speaker A: Right. Like we were afraid of what happened. So we would have loved to. However, as you said, the Sunday hunting law change happened at a time where our digest had already been printed and more importantly, individuals had already started to buy that Second spring gobbler tag.
When we looked at implementing Sunday hunting, we want to take a kind of cautious approach, see what the harvest is, and then make a decision. With the second spring gobbler tag, we couldn't do that last year because individuals had already bought that tag.
So because of that, we excluded Sunday hunting from that list of opportunities for this year, for the upcoming license year. So there will be the spring of 27. We remove that second spring gobbler tag in order to create opportunities on Sundays. What that's going to allow us to do is analyze that harvest, see to what extent it increases because of Sunday hunting. And I think it's a very reasonable expectation that it will increase. But we need to know exactly how much first and then we can make a decision moving forward on what to do with that second sprint gobbler tag. Because as you said, it all comes back to creating opportunities, of course, but also doing it at a way that's sustainable. And that's what. That's the key thing that our board was looking for as they implemented Sunday hunting.
[00:07:32] Speaker B: And when you look across the country right now, especially with turkeys, a lot of people are looking into the sustainable part of it. And you know, we've, as turkey hunters, you know, when you look at equipment, you look at information, people are getting better at harvesting turkeys. So it's a good thing we're out ahead of that a little bit and just paying attention and making sure that sustainability is here for the future. And I think that's the biggest mark that we made when we took it down to one tag.
[00:07:58] Speaker A: You got to have both. Right. So opportunities are big, but sustainability is just as important.
[00:08:02] Speaker B: Right.
[00:08:02] Speaker A: So that, that balance has. That equilibrium has to be there when you manage a species. And that's what we're trying to do with, with spring gobbler, like everything else.
[00:08:09] Speaker B: Absolutely. So heading away from turkeys, you know, licenses are going on sale. We've got another big event here that's, you know, that's happening right now, or elk. Elk applications. You can apply right now and, you know, the deadline is July 12, midnight to get those choices in. And some big changes happen with, with not only the elk drawing. We, you know, we changed. We changed the elk management units. A whole lot of stuff is out there that has changed. We, we encourage everybody to take a look at. At on the website, get familiar with it. And, you know, it's. It's a new process.
[00:08:40] Speaker A: It is. And there are a lot of changes. And you're exactly right. The best thing we could have our, our hunters doing is be looking at our website, seeing those changes before going to buy a license. It'll just make the process easier for you, the transaction smoother if you already have an idea in mind of what you want to do.
We've changed the zones based on what our biologists were seeing as far as travel patterns, where the elk were staying. So we changed some of those zones.
There's new seasons in place, there's an earlier rifle season, and we also changed how you can apply. It used to be that an individual had to apply or had could buy up to three applications for three separate seasons. This year there's one application fee, but the hunters can apply up to five different seasons, all from that one fee. So it's a change that we think is going to be better for our hunters. So really recommend take a look, familiarize yourself with that and then get that application in.
[00:09:35] Speaker B: You know, one of the other things that happened this year, it's pretty exciting too, is that new firearm season, that early October season that was implemented just because of the growth of the herd. And you know, the zones have gotten changed because elk are moving around a little bit. And it's, you know, it's, it's great news.
[00:09:50] Speaker A: It is, it's really exciting for our hunters who are going to be fortunate enough to get drawn for that season. This, this way, what it does is just, just spreads that pressure out a little bit. And I appreciated the recommendation as it came up from our staff of making sure we're giving those hunters who get such a special opportunity, really the chance to maximize that opportunity to have a great experience. And by spreading that pressure out a little bit, it's going to make sure that takes place.
[00:10:15] Speaker B: Absolutely. And you know, some changes that actually happened last year too, is our non resident cap at 10%. And also from here on out, if you draw a antlered bull tag, it's once in a lifetime.
[00:10:29] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, that's. Which just demonstrates how important that tag is, how fortunate that hunters are, which again has led to the creation of that season to spread that pressure out. One more change I'll talk about as it relates to elk. And you mentioned that deadline, I believe is the 12th of July. And then there's going to be the Elk Expo up at the Elk country Visitor Center, July 26.
At that time period, that's when we conduct a drawing and announce who's going to be getting those tags for this year.
When you look at a drawing, especially one as sophisticated as ours is, there's several portions Several aspects of that drawing. And what we've done over the past couple years is we've selected the participants we've determined to make sure that they're eligible, which is a big part of it. As you said, we have caps on non residents.
There's also limits on how soon you can be drawn. It used to be a five year. Now it's a lifetime. So we review the make sure those individuals are eligible, and then we announce who those winners are up at that Elk Expo. In going up there for years myself and talking to our hunters, and I know, Matt, you've done the same, one thing we've heard from those who attend is it'd be nice to try to do all three of those things at the same time, live up at the Elk Center. So we're going to try that this year. It's going to be the first time we've been able to attempt this under the new licensing system. It's not going to be quick. We're going to have individuals up there early in the morning starting that process.
But that process is going to take place right up there at the Elk center during the Elk Expo, and it's going to consist of all three of those aspects of the drawing. They're going to do the selection, they're going to review the applicants, make sure they're eligible, and then we're going to announce who those winners are. So kind of have our fingers crossed a little bit heading into it when
[00:12:14] Speaker B: they just got cell service at the Elk center in the last couple years. I mean, we're in the middle of nowhere. We are.
[00:12:19] Speaker A: And we've both been there times when that thunderstorm comes through. That late July thunderstorm in the mountains usually has some wind with it. And one time that rain was coming down sideways and knocked everything out. And we've experienced some bad situations.
[00:12:33] Speaker B: But y' all should have seen Steve. He did Pete row slides in the
[00:12:36] Speaker A: mud up there that day.
If this is a way to help our hunters feel more comfortable about the process, then I think it's a risk worth taking. So pretty excited to roll that out. It's easy for me to say. I don't know if our licensing staff and our IT staff are as excited about it, but we're going to give that a try for this year.
[00:12:53] Speaker B: We're going to go at it 100%. We'll get it done for sure. You know, when you going from elk going to whitetails, you know, we plan on having the deer team on the podcast here in the next few months to Talk about where we're at, you know, kind of the state of whitetails here in Pennsylvania. And talk about cwd. I mean, it's a, it's a three letter word that's been around, but there's been some changes this year when it comes to CWD as well.
[00:13:16] Speaker A: Yeah, there have been and really recommend for our listeners to watch and listen to that podcast. Excited to see that come out.
They can certainly go into really in depth behind the changes and the rationale for how we've been managing this disease and the impact on deer for over a decade now.
But as the disease has spread, one thing that we've identified is we want to make sure our hunters have a clear understanding of where it's been found.
So we're moving away from those disease management areas, which essentially just picture little dots on the map.
And now we're identifying the wmu, the Wildlife Management Unit, where the disease has been found in the wild herd.
As hunters, we have a good deal of comfort with our. Which we know which WMU we're hunting in. Right. Like that's kind of been ingrained into us at this point with those DMAs, those disease management areas, as they were growing and changing on a yearly basis. We were just hearing from hunters that it was hard to keep pace with that change.
So in order to just give better information about where it is, we've identified the WMUS where CWD is and moved away from the individual disease management areas.
[00:14:25] Speaker B: Yeah, and you know, the biggest thing is, you know, not the biggest thing, but one of the things that came out of it. We're trying to make it a little bit easier for us to manage or mitigate with, you know, high risk parts. In the disposal of high risk parts, you know, either you want to take it to a processor where they can dispose or we dispose it in our trash stream.
We don't want to take those high risk parts. Shoot a deer in Potter county, bring it back home, Perry county and throw it on the landscape. We want to get it in that trash stream, get it off the landscape. Unless you're going to be way back in somewhere and you have to field dress it or, you know, cape it out or bone it out out there in the field where you want to leave it at the spot of harvest.
[00:15:02] Speaker A: That's exactly right. And that's always an option, right. That you can break down that deer right there in the field, not a problem. But if you are taking the deer from county A to county B, you just want to make sure that, like you said, it's going to a processor, it's going to a landfill. What we don't want to see is carcasses dumped on the landscape because that creates the risk of potentially spreading that disease. So that's something that is going to impact all of our hunters moving forward, not just in areas where CWD has been found, but anywhere states statewide. There's now a prohibition on taking that carcass and dumping it on the landscape.
[00:15:35] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, that's important. And we're going to. Unfortunately, we're going to be hearing those three letters for a long time, and we all need to do the best that we can. And when I say that I want to get to some stuff. This is two years for you being in the executive director position.
And our hat's off to you because it's, you know, every day it's a different battle or a different win or a different struggle. And, you know, let's talk about a little bit about what the Game Commission is tasked to do as an agency, what our job is and what we. What. You know, when I hear some other. You sent a podcast the other day by Dr. Chamberlain talking about what state agencies can do. And when you really look at the big picture, there's a lot we can do. But it's tough sometimes to get everything that everybody wants. And I want to talk about that. I think it's important.
[00:16:26] Speaker A: Yeah, you're right. I mean, there's not too many levers that we have to pull other than setting those seasons and bag limits for species. That's the big opportunity that we have to manage wildlife. That's how we're instructed to do it by law. That's how we've been doing it for over 130 years now. And you're right, it's great every now and then just to take kind of that step back and look at how far we've come as a state.
I'll mention that when you buy a hunting license, it comes with that Hunter Trapper Digest. Right.
So there's always a section in there, a message from the executive director. And I'll mention this because it's top of mind. I was just writing that and working with Bob Fry and your staff, Matt, on what that message should be. And I appreciate working with Bob because, like us, he likes that historical perspective. And you'll see that message talks about one of my earliest predecessors, who 100 years ago was likely celebrating that the antlered harvest for that year was almost 8,000 deer. And the reason for the celebration is it was only 15 years or so prior that the overall harvest was 200 deer. It's hard to believe in the state of Pennsylvania that that's where we were at with white tailed deer in the past century or so. And to think that now we're coming off of a season where the harvest was at half a million, and I think it's very reasonable to expect this upcoming season the harvest will be right in that same ballpark. It just shows the efforts that have gone into bringing those species back, managing it, balancing that opportunity with sustainability, creating good habitat for wildlife, including deer, all of it coming together to have the kind of harvest success that we do year in and year out and just
[00:18:14] Speaker B: to just even just to see the wildlife that's there today, you know, and when you say half a century or a century, I'm half a century old. So to think about like the years that I was little, like it wasn't too long before that that there wasn't a lot of deer or turkeys or, you know, you know, everything's ebbs and flows to habitat. But, you know, I remember my granddad telling stories about seeing a deer track when he was younger and, you know, the whole town came to see it because there weren't deer around, you know, other than up north or in the big woods.
[00:18:43] Speaker A: Yeah. It shows the impact again of those regulated seasons, structuring them at a time that creates opportunity, but also ensures sustainability of wildlife populations and also shows the impact of the work that we've had with the partners that we do all across the state who support our agency, support the efforts of our board of commissioners, and have really gone to BAT to make sure that we can continue to manage wildlife in a way that's based on science.
[00:19:08] Speaker B: And I had the opportunity to speak this weekend at TAC at the Rocky Mountain Foundation.
They had like an after show thing where it was a bunch of people that were there shooting and people that just were celebrating conservation. And, you know, the message, and it's loud and clear to me, especially being here at the agency, is like, we get one lap around this thing in our lives. And what matters, everybody that works at the Game Commission, they're so conservation minded. That's why they're here.
But we all have to work together. I mean, we might not agree, you and I might not agree on something, but we have to work together to move things forward. And I think that's deep. I mean, I think that's where people really need to look at, you know, whether they like the decisions that we make on a Statewide brush or not, we have to work together to make things work. We can always try to, you know, move things down the road, but we have to look at that long term vision because if we don't, our grandkids aren't going to be able to have the same experiences we did in the outdoors. And that's where we're coming to hunting. I mean, how important is hunting to conservation?
[00:20:08] Speaker A: Yeah, it's everything. And you're right, I like what you said there. I think you're correct when you point that out that certainly there's disagreements from time to time internally about which direction to go and how to get there. But it seems like whenever there's a need, whenever it's important enough for us all to rally around, together around conservation, we do. I mean, that's one thing that has kind of defined the hunting community in the past and I have every reason to believe it will continue to do so because we need to maintain our ability to manage wildlife scientifically through hunting.
That's our mission, is to use hunting to manage wildlife. We have a great track record of it and we can just keep building upon that success for years to come.
[00:20:47] Speaker B: Right. And it's important, like if I encourage anybody out there that's listening or if you have an opportunity this year to introduce someone new to hunting or the outdoors, I mean, take the time to do it and take the time to go out there and just take a look, I mean, look at a deer, find a squirrel, take him to the range. I mean, all that stuff is so important that I mean, we all have that. We all should take that as an initiative to make sure we pass it on.
[00:21:10] Speaker A: Yeah, it really, I think, enhances your experience to the extent that when you don't have somebody, you feel like you're. It's not quite as exciting almost that when you take somebody out, when you introduce a new hunter, when you have them by your side time and time again, you really see the value of what we're doing, passing that on. And I've experienced, I know lots of others have, who, when, say your kids grow up and they're not there now, it just doesn't feel the same. And then the goal is to look for somebody else.
[00:21:39] Speaker B: Right.
[00:21:39] Speaker A: Just keep going, passing it on. It's the best thing that we can do to ensure the sport continues.
[00:21:44] Speaker B: Absolutely. And your boys are getting to the age where soon they're going to start taking you hunting.
That's how it works.
[00:21:50] Speaker A: As long as they're there to drag.
[00:21:52] Speaker B: That's what I mean. They got to do the hard work.
[00:21:54] Speaker A: They got to do the hard work.
[00:21:55] Speaker B: That's right. Well, let's, you know, we talked about anything else that you wanted to add about what. What's happening right now? I think we recapped pretty much all the high points, for sure.
[00:22:04] Speaker A: Yeah, we did. We had the things that I wanted to talk about. I think it was a good opportunity to do it again, like I said, we talked about a couple months ago, but we have. There have been some changes, we think, for the betterment of the sport. So we just want to continue. Continue to talk about them and look forward to seeing how they work for this year, get them out.
[00:22:20] Speaker B: And when you have good folks out there, when they have good, constructive, you know, conversations that want to be had, they want to get something in front of the board. We encourage them to, you know, get on the website and send their comments to the board. I mean, that's what. That's what our board does. They listen to everything that comes in. And, you know, we hear all those ideas on a daily basis, and sometimes we get some stuff that really, really works and makes sense.
[00:22:41] Speaker A: Absolutely. We're all in this together.
[00:22:42] Speaker B: That's right. That's right. Well, let's talk about, you know, we talked about our mission and what we're doing. Let's get a little bit more into hunting season now. I mean, because the older you get, the faster time goes and, you know, success is measured in many ways.
Yeah, pulling the trigger or releasing an arrow and putting one in the freezer is great, but success can be measured. And if you celebrate it all year, from getting your equipment ready to scouting this time, I know you spend a lot of time out there in the woods and scout, and a lot of times the more time and effort you put in there, it pays off in the end.
[00:23:16] Speaker A: Oh, 100%. I think that way, too, you get more of the full experience. Right. It's not just that, that morning hunt or that afternoon hunt, whatever it may be, it's starting in June, looking at maps, you know, looking at aerial shots of where you want to hunt. It's getting them boots on the ground, putting cameras out, seeing what if there's going to be acorns or not this year, all of that that goes into it makes for much more of a fulfilling hunt than just that, the actual hunt itself.
[00:23:43] Speaker B: And when you look at. When you say that about just a local observation, and I'm by no means a Dave Gustler center, a Dave Mitchell, but like, we had that hard frost close to here, this and the oak trees around my place like they lost their leaves. So I'm the white oaks especially. It was just a critical time right there. And I'd be curious.
I'm very doubtful that we're going to have a lot of white oaks in our valley this year. Close, but I mean it all, it all. And red oaks might be the place, the preferred source. And that's where scouting really pays off. And it's not just like a couple days before season. Start that scouting in the summer and you can enjoy that as a family too. I know you all do that as well. You spend a lot of time out there looking around and you know, for me, you know, turkey season just ended, getting my equipment ready. I think that's something too, that we can do this all summer. And from your clothes to boots to. If you want to go out there on the gun range, take some time and go out there. We offer ranges just, I mean within a 30 minute drive, just about everywhere in the state you can get to one of our public ranges.
[00:24:41] Speaker A: Yeah. And that's why we do we have over 75 ranges now on 45 different game lands, including archery ranges, some just really incredible state of the art archery targets that things that never existed years ago. But we are fortunate enough to have those opportunities now. And they're there for the recreational shooter, of course, but primarily for our hunters. We want them to have that opportunity to be proficient as possible.
It just increases your chance of being successful in that moment of truth if you've spent a couple weeks, couple months familiarizing yourself with your bow, with your firearm, whatever it may be. So yeah, check our website. Chances are there's going to be a range nearby and use this kind of off season this summer to get ready for the fall.
[00:25:24] Speaker B: Yeah. And if you hold a hunting license, you know, it comes as part of the deal. And if you're not a hunter, you can buy one of our shooting range permits and use those as well. And we've revamped a lot of them. They're state of the art, they're beautiful. And the new archery ranges, you don't need a hunting license to go shoot your bow there.
[00:25:39] Speaker A: That's right. Yep. And again, just check our website. Chances are that map, there's one there. If it's not there yet. Yet, it will be soon.
[00:25:47] Speaker B: That's right. So let me ask you this. Have you ever missed a deer?
[00:25:51] Speaker A: Once or twice.
[00:25:52] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:25:52] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:25:53] Speaker B: Just there. I mean, just practicing. I mean it's hard to practice that adrenaline pump you get. But when you know Everything's right, you know, then you know what you did wrong most of the time.
[00:26:02] Speaker A: Yeah, it's learning from mistakes is the best way to learn.
[00:26:05] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:26:06] Speaker A: And you're right that you can plan as much as you want, but that when that adrenaline spike comes, if you're not prepared for it, it can lead to some Aaron shots.
[00:26:13] Speaker B: But that's why we go hunting. When you think about it, like, when, you know, especially like that first gobble you hear or those footsteps you hear when you're in the archery stand, and I mean, you can't control what happens there, your adrenaline pumps, your heart rate goes up. I mean, and you know, like, we did that, we had the Lebanon Valley College two years now down at the outdoor show, doing some health assessments. And, you know, even this summer, a good thing to do is just go out there and take a walk, you know, get that, get those legs, get those lungs going. And, you know, just a little bit of exercise can help you this fall.
[00:26:44] Speaker A: Yeah, you're absolutely right. And it's, it's the reality of hunting that we've done such a great job promoting safety from our, from our hunters, identifying your target, et cetera, that those hunting related shooting incidents, sure, they happen, and every one is one too many. But for most of our hunters, the biggest risk that they have is that physicality associated with hunting, that how demanding it is to pull a deer out of a hollow, or the other part being when you climb a tree stand, it's those two things that have more of a risk factor than anything else when hunting. So it's, it's good to be thinking about that now, getting in shape for pulling that deer out and making sure, if you have private property where there's stands, making sure that they are secured already.
For game lands, it's got to be two weeks before the season starts, and then they have to be taken down two weeks, weeks after.
But even that, that's still plenty of time to make sure they're secure, make sure that equipment's functioning properly, because again, those are the two highest risk factors that we see time and time again for our hunters.
[00:27:44] Speaker B: And if you're going in a tree stand this fall, make sure that you're strapped in from the ground to the stand. You know, when we. Unfortunately, like you said, one's too many, but we hear a lot of tree stand accidents out there. And, you know, you want to make sure if your stand's been hanging out there all year, make sure the straps are good, make sure the cables are good, if it's A if it's a hang on style stand, we, we want you to be as safe as possible out there. And you know, you always want to let somebody know where you're going. I know you don't want to give away your good spot sometime, but for safety factor we need to let folks know where we're at.
There's not cell phone service everywhere we go nowadays. I mean it's just how it is pretty much everywhere. But there's lots of places we're fortunate enough in this state to have some nooks and crannies that you can get away from at all, especially in the northern part of the state. And you know, if you see something out there, say something. It doesn't have to be rude or demeaning or anything like that. Just say something if you see something.
How many times have we been out there and somebody point, you know, 101 from Hunter Trapper Ed. They point their muzzle in a bad direction. You know, you just want to say something nicely and just remind people that don't take this for granted and keep it safe.
[00:28:46] Speaker A: Yeah, that old sportsman's policing our ranks together still applies just like it did. I'm sure you remember that emblem back in the 70s and 80s. I remember seeing it as a kid. The principle behind that is still important and it still applies today.
[00:29:00] Speaker B: I know I couldn't wait to get a sport hat when I was a kid. And when I came to work at the agency here seven years ago, I found one on ebay and it's a pretty prized possession of mine. I mean, I think like back then, like that was the brand to wear. That was like wearing Air Jordans, in my opinion.
[00:29:17] Speaker A: A little less expensive.
[00:29:18] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Well, not if it's a collectible.
[00:29:22] Speaker A: That's a good point.
[00:29:23] Speaker B: So I think, you know, taking it out here, I'd like, you know, a couple tips on fall and I'll. I'll give one of mine just what we were talking right here. And I think my biggest tip that I have for folks, especially somebody new that's getting into hunting is getting out there and learning what is in the place. Whether you're hunting public or you have a, you know, 10 acres that you hunt, knowing what out there those animals are eating, it's just like us. We need food and water every day of our lives.
And you know, an animal's not out there and can't go through the drive through at McDonald's. It has stuff that it likes to eat and learning those food sources and they change from time to time and just staying on top of that. I think that's the biggest tip. You know, some of I'm not a bear hunter but have some great friends and I know you love to chase bears.
Their diet changes so much because of what's available. And I think the more you can become in touch with that and just learning what and where and as it changes those animals, whether it's squirrels or rabbits or deer or turkeys, it doesn't matter.
Learning that food source can just make you have many, many more just rewarding experiences out there.
[00:30:30] Speaker A: Yeah, it's critical. I think there's a reason why we're already thinking about what that acorn crop is going to to look like this year. Right. It's best to be thinking about it now because it's absolutely going to impact where all the wildlife is.
[00:30:41] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:30:41] Speaker A: Come September, October. So you can't assume year after year that things are going to stay the same. In fact, one thing we know for sure is that they're not.
[00:30:49] Speaker B: Right.
[00:30:49] Speaker A: So you need boots on the ground to find out where that food is and that's going to increase your odds exponentially.
[00:30:54] Speaker B: I know in the areas that I hunted last year, the white oak crop was unbelievable. So like whittling something down, it was tough because they could not take a step and not get something to eat. And this year might be a little bit different. So it might be. It's just year to year.
[00:31:08] Speaker A: It is, it is. In fact, this is kind of just a hypothesis of mine, but if you look at last year, that archery harvest actually went down a little bit. And I wonder if it's not because of that. I wonder if it's because there was so many acorns on the ground, there was such an abundance of food. When that happens, you don't have to move too much. Right.
This year I don't think we're going to see that on the ground. So I wonder if that's going to have an impact.
[00:31:29] Speaker B: I relate it to. I used to do a lot of out of state hunting and Oklahoma was a place that I spent a lot of time and you know, out there they've been hunting over corn feeders their whole life, since they've grown up. And when they have a big mass crop out there, deer stop hitting, you know, their feeding stations and they don't know how to hunt deer. I mean, a lot of the locals have like, ah, there's deer going. But no, the deer are just being natural because they have this natural food source out there. So it's just it's critical, for sure, but we want to. We want to get in your head a little bit, and maybe if you had a chance to think of a real good tip to send out there
[00:32:01] Speaker A: for this fall, I think that I would struggle when it comes to giving tips as far as personal experience, because I think I've just been more lucky than good.
[00:32:10] Speaker B: He's very humble, y'. All Very humble.
[00:32:13] Speaker A: But one thing I'll say that I've been fortunate over the past couple years, not necessarily getting out as much myself, but I've had the opportunity to talk to some really terrific hunters when I go around the state, when I go to sportsman's clubs, when I go to the outdoor show places like Tack, like you mentioned, even talking to our own employees. We have some terrific employees at the Game Commission. I've said it before. I'll say it again. It always cracks me up when somebody questions whether or not there's hunters at the Game Commission. Just try to schedule a meeting in November if you think. If you have any questions as to whether or not there's hunters at the Game Commission.
But one thing that they all have in common, the people that I talk to who are just fanatical, great hunters, is they care about COVID including food sources, like you said, but also the wind.
It's second nature to them to be thinking about the wind, and I think obsessing over those two things. Cover, food, wind, you're going to do okay.
[00:33:12] Speaker B: Right? You know, I grew up. You know, I started deer hunting in 1982, and nobody ever talked about wind. We just went hunting, and imagine how many deer we've spooked over the years because we never figured out the wind. And the wind's tough in our state, too, with all the hollows and hills and tops. But when you get that predominant wind and you can. And thermals and things like that, when you put that into your scenario, you're exactly right. It can definitely. It only takes a couple seconds for. If you're hunting bigger bucks, for a big buck to come by.
And we definitely.
They're out there to survive.
[00:33:43] Speaker A: I mean.
[00:33:44] Speaker B: And they're using that nose every day.
[00:33:45] Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. I mean, to your earlier point, in any wildlife species, they are where they are for a reason. Right. So you're looking for that habitat, that food and that cover. And then if the wind is in your favor, chances are you're gonna have a good hunt.
[00:33:58] Speaker B: Absolutely. Well, Steve, we definitely appreciate you coming out and sharing today and just getting some of that stuff out there, but I think you know, from all of us at the Game Commission. We want to thank everybody out there that's. I mean, that loves wildlife, but especially our folks that buy hunting license. I mean, they are what conservation is. And carrying on the conservation message again, I think, you know, encourage somebody to. Encouraging everybody maybe to share the outdoors with somebody out there this year and, you know, let's all work together for a better future.
[00:34:27] Speaker A: Yeah, that's a great way to wrap this up, Matt, because that's what it's all about, is managing wildlife for today, but also making sure that we have those abundant, sustainable wildlife populations for tomorrow. And that's what it involves, is partnership, taking other people out, introducing them to the sport, and making sure that we can leave it better than how we found it.
