Pennsylvania Game Commission

HARRISBURG, PA – -(AmmoLand.com)- HARRISBURG, PA – -(AmmoLand.com)- Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe today announced that license buyers now can check the status of their antlerless deer license applications, as well as their elk and bobcat applications, thanks to the new Pennsylvania Automated License System (PALS).

To access the information, go to the Game Commission website (www.pgc.state.pa.us), and click on the blue box in the upper right-hand corner of the homepage. Click on the “Purchase License Permit and or Application/Replace License and or Permit” option, which includes the ability to “Check on the status of any Lottery Application,” scroll down and click on the “Start Here” button at the bottom of the page. At this page, choose one of the identification options below to check your records, fill in the necessary information and click on the “Continue” button. Click on the appropriate residency status, which will display your current personal information. At the bottom of the page, choose the “Check on the status of any Lottery Application” button, and then hit “Continue.”

“While this may seem like a lot of clicking and box checking to get to the information, the system is designed to protect an individual’s personal information, while at the same time enabling that person to check on the status of his or her applications,” Roe said. “As doe licenses are processed by county treasurers, a license buyer’s application status will be updated in the system and consequently can be checked online. This update – which includes the Wildlife Management Unit for which the license was issued – occurs as soon as a county treasurer’s office allocates a license to a license-buyer’s account. This new feature will shed light on the doe license application process unlike anything we offered before.

“In the past, the only way to know for sure that you received your license was if you contacted your bank to see if your check was cashed by a county treasurer or if you received your doe license in the mail. Now, you can find out the instant your doe license issued. Monitoring this feature will help folks sort out whether their doe license application or issued license was lost in the mail, or if it’s still waiting to be processed by the county treasurer.”

Additionally, Roe noted that hunters will be able to see for themselves if their application for the bobcat and/or elk drawings recorded accurately. Elk license applicants also will be able to confirm their preferences listed for Elk Hunt Zone and antlered or antlerless elk.

“Shortly after the bobcat and elk public drawings are held on Sept. 11, license buyers’ records will be updated to let them know if they were drawn for one of the 1,780 bobcat permits or 59 elk licenses,” Roe said.

For antlerless deer licenses, there is a new timeline for the applications, which started on July 13, when county treasurers began accepting applications from residents. Nonresident applications for regular antlerless deer licenses will be accepted beginning on July 27. After this, residents and nonresidents will apply for the first round of unsold antlerless deer licenses on Aug. 3, and residents and nonresidents will apply for the second round of unsold antlerless deer licenses on Aug. 17.

County treasurers will have to mail regular and first round of unsold antlerless deer licenses no later than Sept. 14, and second round of unsold antlerless deer licenses no later than the Sept. 28

Beginning August 3, for WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D only, there is no limit to the number of unsold antlerless deer license applications an individual can submit until the allocations are exhausted. This must be done by mail only, and there is a limit of three applications per pink envelope.

Beginning Aug. 24, county treasurers will accept applications over-the-counter for WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D, and may immediately issue antlerless deer licenses. Hunters may apply over-the-counter to county treasurers for any other WMU with antlerless license allocations on Nov. 2.

Roe noted a “Doe License Update” page has been launched through PALS, and that it can be accessed from the agency’s homepage (www.pgc.state.pa.us) by clicking on the “Doe License Update” link in the upper right-hand corner. This site provides a real-time status of antlerless license allocations and availability by WMU, and will aid license buyers as they determine which WMU to list as their first, second and third preference when they submit applications.

“Hunters do not need to list a second or third preference on their application,” Roe said. “But this option is available for those who hunt in multiple WMUs and want to avoid the possibility of having the application returned to them if their first preference is sold out.”

Pennsylvania Game Commission

HARRISBURG, PA – -(AmmoLand.com)- With full implementation of the Pennsylvania Automated License System (PALS), Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe today reminded hunters that county treasurers will begin accepting antlerless deer license applications three weeks earlier than in past years. Applications from resident hunters will be accepted by county treasurers starting Monday, July 13; nonresidents on Monday, July 27 2009.

For the 2009-10 license year, antlerless deer license fees are the same as they have been since 1999. However, there is a 70-cent transaction fee attached to the purchase of each license and permit, which is paid directly to Automated License Systems, the Nashville-based company that runs PALS. This transaction fee, which already applies to each Pennsylvania fishing license and permit sold by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission through PALS, means that residents will need to write checks made payable to “County Treasurer” for $6.70, and nonresidents for $26.70.

By state law, antlerless deer licenses will continue to be sold only by county treasurers, so hunters will need to prepare and mail separate applications for antlerless deer licenses. A listing of all county treasurer addresses can be found on page 48 of the 2009-10 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest, which is provided free to each license buyer.

Roe noted that hunters must use the new pink envelopes, which are provided to each license buyer by the issuing agents, and that the previously used yellow envelopes should be thrown away. For those who order licenses via the Game Commission’s website (www.pgc.state.pa.us), a new Digest and two pink envelopes will be included in the package, along with the licenses, which will arrive in seven to 10 business days from the date of order.

“As county treasurers will be set up with PALS, hunters will be able to submit an application to any county treasurer, and the application will list the hunter’s first three choices, in order of preference, for a specific Wildlife Management Unit antlerless deer license,” Roe said. “If an applicant’s first choice of WMU has exhausted its allocation of antlerless deer licenses, the county treasurer will move to the second preference – and third, if necessary.

“This new process will nearly eliminate the chance that a hunter will not be able to receive at least one antlerless deer license during the processing of regular antlerless deer licenses.”

Also, Roe said that the early start to the antlerless deer license application process will help ensure that county treasurers will be able to mail antlerless deer licenses back to hunters prior to the opening of the archery season. The first such season opens with the antlerless archery season in WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D on Sept. 19. The opening date of the general statewide archery deer season is Oct. 3.

Under the new timeline, residents will apply for regular antlerless deer licenses on July 13; nonresidents will apply for regular antlerless deer licenses on July 27. After this, residents and nonresidents will apply for the first round of unsold antlerless deer licenses on Aug. 3, and residents and nonresidents will apply for the second round of unsold antlerless deer licenses on Aug. 17.

County treasurers will have to mail regular and first round of unsold antlerless deer licenses no later than Sept. 14, and second round of unsold antlerless deer licenses no later than the Sept. 28.

Beginning August 3, for WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D only, there is no limit to the number of unsold antlerless deer license applications an individual can submit until the allocations are exhausted. This must be done by mail only, and there is a limit of three applications per pink envelope.

Beginning Aug. 24, county treasurers will begin accepting applications over-the-counter for WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D, and may immediately issue antlerless deer licenses. Hunters may apply over-the-counter to county treasurers for any other WMU with antlerless license allocations on Nov. 2.

Roe noted that, this year, in conjunction with the move to PALS, the Game Commission will roll out a new online reporting system for antlered and antlerless deer, as well as fall turkey and spring gobbler. Postage-paid report cards still will be available in the Digest, but the agency is encouraging hunters to report online to save on the cost of postage and data entry.

“Reporting online also will ensure your harvest data will not be lost in the mail,” Roe said. “So report online and the agency will be able to direct its limited resources to other important wildlife conservation work. Thanks in advance for helping to improve harvest data collection!”

Roe noted that antlerless deer licenses, as well as general hunting licenses, still will need to be displayed by hunters.