Pennsylvania Game Commission photo
This year, for the first time, there’s documentation of an eagle nest on the Yough River producing a young bird.
A few odds and ends from around the outdoors…
= Call it a sign of the times.
It is, in many places, county fair season. And, as usual, the Pennsylvania Game Commission is a fixture, with a booth set up to greet fairgoers.
But these days are different.
According to Roger Hartless, a long-time wildlife conservation officer in Jefferson County, working the fair booth used to mean answering hunting-related questions.
“Nowadays, with access to the internet and the (commission) website, most people can quickly find the answer to their hunting questions online. The main reason they stop by these days is to talk about the wildlife they have seen lately,” Hartless said.
“It is nice to see how passionate people are about seeing wildlife and how excited they are to talk about what bird or animal they saw.”
= Ah, that would be no.
Armstrong County wildlife conservation officer Rod Burns recently prosecuted a man who illegally killed two bucks last fall. He shot one in archery season – without an archery license – and then took another in rifle season.
At his hearing, the man’s attorney made one request.
“His attorney asked if there was any way his client could get the antlers of these deer back,” Burns said. “The answer was absolutely not.”
= Drunk boaters continue to be a problem on local waterways.
According to a Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission report, two people were cited with boating under the influence on the Allegheny River recently. One case occurred in Allegheny County, the other in Armstrong.
In the latter case, the boat operator had a blood alcohol content of 0.22, nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08.
= Game Commission officers routinely deal with the issue of people riding all-terrain vehicles illegally on state game lands and private property enrolled in the agency’s cooperative access properties.
A multi-officer detail was just recently carried out on game land 296 in Westmoreland County, for example. Eight people were cited and seven others got warnings.
This, though, was a case of someone making a bust really, really easy.
In Warren County, officer Matthew Savinda said he came across a young man – riding illegally, on a road closed to the public – who was passed out on his ATV. He was cited not only for being where he shouldn’t, but for having marijuana on him, too.
= That had to hurt.
Fish and Boat Commission officer Tony Beers recently responded to a report of a boating accident on the Allegheny River in Armstrong County, near Rimerton Road.
A man was knee boarding behind a boat when he fell off. The boat operator turned to go pick him up.
That’s when things got ugly.
The knee boarder tried to get into the boat before the driver cut the motor.
“The propeller struck the victim in the right leg causing several lacerations to his leg,” Beers said.
His friends took him to the family camp initially, but he ultimately had to go to the emergency room.
= There’s been no decision yet and time is running short.
Earlier this summer, Wayne Laroche, director of the Game Commission’s bureau of wildlife management, said the agency had two choices in its fight to contain chronic wasting disease.
It could add Arkansas – which recently discovered CWD within its borders — to the list of states from which hunters can’t bring back high-risk deer parts. Those are brains, spinal cords, skulls with visible tissue still attached and the like.
Or, Laroche said, the commission could just ban the importation of such parts from all states and Canadian provinces, regardless of whether they’ve discovered CWD or not.
As of now, the commission has announced no word on either front. Laroche said the agency must make a decision soon.
= The Yough River produced what is thought to be its first eaglet this year.
According to Game Commission officer Doug Bergman, the nest fledged successfully one juvenile.
“This was the first documented active eagle nest on this waterway. It is hoped the adults return for years to come to use the nest,” Bergman said.
