With less than one month remaining before the start of Pennsylvania’s traditional deer hunting season, Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn Tuesday reminded hunters Deer Management Assistance Program permits remain available for state forest tracts across the state.

“As of mid-October, more than 1,700 permits still were available in four state forest districts among those participating in the Game Commission’s Deer Management Assistance Program, or DMAP,” Dunn said. “DCNR views DMAP as an invaluable tool in promoting hunter enjoyment and healthier forests. Always paramount in DCNR’s use of DMAP is the belief deer are an integral part of a healthy forest ecosystem and a tremendous asset for the state.”

Allowing landowners to apply for permits to encourage antlerless harvests on their property, the program designates DMAP areas across the state that enable DCNR and private landowners to more effectively manage white-tailed deer populations and curtail damage to forests and crops. 

Michaux State Forest has more than 300 DMAP permits that have gone unclaimed. Other state forests with permits available as of mid-month included: Tioga, DMAP Unit 2860, 94 permits available; Susquehannock, 2010, 667; Susquehannock, 2858, 36; Susquehannock, 2859, 137; Tioga, 2860, 94; Rothrock, 1881, 100; Rothrock, 1883, 70; Rothrock, 2109, 49; and Rothrock, 2110, 247.  Click Here for a map showing state forest areas.

Applicants for DMAP permits can find DCNR tract locations and maps, availability numbers, past hunter success rates and other information at DCNR’s website.

“By focusing DMAP antlerless harvests in our state forest districts and some of our state parks, hunters can help balance deer populations with available habitat, and promote healthy forests and healthy deer while enjoying quality hunting experiences,” Dunn said.

DCNR continues to adjust DMAP applications based on habitat conditions. For instance, some years some state forest districts will not participate in the program because of improved forest regeneration, previously impacted by deer. 

“In some areas where we have seen decades of overabundance, the DMAP program serves as a tool to help those areas recover,” Dunn noted.

For questions about the statewide DMAP program, the application process, coupon availability, or DMAP regulations, visit the Game Commission’s DMAP webpage or call 717-787-4250.

For more information on state parks and forests and recreation in Pennsylvania, visit DCNR’s website, Click Here to sign up for the Resource newsletter, Visit the Good Natured DCNR Blog,  Click Here for upcoming events, Click Here to hook up with DCNR on other social media-- Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.

(Photo: Deer hunters in Michaux State Forest.)

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