Those looking to gain perspective into Pennsylvania’s wildlife, habitat and hunting heritage will have several opportunities in the coming weeks to take one or more tours being offered by the Game Commission.

On September 28 the Game Commission is scheduled to host guided tours of its four game farms – two in Lycoming County and one each in Armstrong and Crawford counties.

And Sunday driving tours on several tracts of state game lands across the Commonwealth are planned for October 5, 12 and 19.

The Sept. 28 game farm tours all will begin at noon and conclude by 3 p.m., and will be held rain or shine.

Those taking a tour will get a comprehensive look at the Game Commission’s pheasant propagation program, which again this year aims to raise about 200,000 birds to provide hunting opportunities statewide.

Tour stops include hatcheries, brooder houses and the rearing, “grow out” and over-wintering pens. The tours also will inform on the objectives in propagation management, including the importance of sportsmen’s clubs and members of the public raising day-old hen chicks hatched at the farms, ultimately to provide hunting opportunities.

The tours of state game lands provide an opportunity to talk to the personnel directly responsible for managing and protecting game lands, and four-wheel-drive vehicles are recommended for those taking driving tours on some tracts.

Game Commission Executive Director R. Matthew Hough said the tours provide an opportunity to show the public the many things being accomplished for wildlife and for Pennsylvania’s hunters.

The state game lands system provides hunting and trapping opportunities on more than 1.4 million acres statewide, and many game lands tracts are stocked annually with pheasants raised through the propagation program.

“We are exceptionally proud of our state game lands and our pheasant propagation program, and these tours provide an ideal setting for our staff to interact with the public and show them the many reasons why we’re so proud of these initiatives,” Hough said.

With autumn nearly here, Hough said, the tours should provide a splash of color and some of the best scenery the Commonwealth has to offer.

The state game lands system has a long history in Pennsylvania. The Game Commission in 1919 was granted authority to purchase lands for the protection, propagation and management of wildlife, and provide areas for public hunting and trapping.

Today, tracts of state game lands exist in all but Philadelphia and Delaware counties. Collectively, game lands make up a land base greater in size than the state of Delaware.

With few exceptions, state game lands were purchased using revenues from hunting and furtaker license sales; state game lands timber, coal, oil, gas and mineral operation revenues; the state’s share of the federal excise tax on sporting arms and ammunition, known as the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Program; from Working Together for Wildlife artwork and patch sales; and from the Pennsylvania Waterfowl Management stamp and print sales.

Click Here for the schedule of tours and more details.

9/15/2014