Now that the 2020-2021 hunting season licenses are available for purchase, it’s a good time to review the Hunting and Trapping Digest and become familiar with new regulations and the upcoming seasons and bag limits. Reminder — if you have not yet done so, you can still submit an application for an antlerless deer license in the WMA of your choosing.

With the continued presence of the corona virus and the uncertainty of when we will get a vaccine to combat it, we are fortunate to have quite a few great hunting opportunities within our state. It makes a lot of sense then to focus our attention on what is available in Pennsylvania, especially since this fall may have very little to offer out west or across our US borders into Canada or Mexico. Further, there have been some changes to policies that will allow even more chances to enjoy your days outdoors in pursuit of your favorite Pennsylvania game birds and animals.

Some of the highlights of changes and updates that are effective this fall are as follows: The statewide general bear season includes 4 continuous days of hunting (Saturday, November 21 through Tuesday, November 24), since Sunday, November 22 is one of the 3 Sundays approved for hunting this fall. The statewide archery deer season has been extended to November 20 and the archery bear season has been extended by one week, overlapping in its first week with the muzzleloader deer and bear seasons. Note: Properly licensed archery deer hunters can now carry muzzleloaders when hunting if the archery deer season overlaps with a muzzleloader bear season. Two additional Sundays have been approved for hunting — November 15 for archery deer hunting and November 29 for deer hunting. The additional Sunday hunting days, the extended seasons and the overlapping seasons all increase chances for success this fall.

For small game enthusiasts, the statewide squirrel season has been moved up to start on Saturday, September 12. Also, either sex pheasant hunting is now permitted statewide outside of the Wild Pheasant Recovery Areas.

If you plan to refrain from travelling this fall to out of state destinations, this year within our borders will provide excellent opportunities for success in the field when it comes to hunting. The second ingredient you need to consider beyond these extended seasons and opportunities is a place to hunt.

We are very fortunate here in Pennsylvania that, over the years, hunter’s license fees have allowed the purchase of thousands of acres of what are now designated as Game Lands where properly licensed hunters can pursue everything from squirrels to black bear. For a more private setting, hundreds of hunting clubs and camps dot the landscape all across Pennsylvania, where memberships are sometimes available to new hunters and camaraderie is an additional bonus to membership. If you are looking for an even more private setting, there are some farmers and landowners who will permit hunting on their land.

Access to private land is not that difficult. You merely need to use some common sense and exhibit good old fashioned respect and responsibility. Do not wait until the day or week before a season opens to approach landowners to seek permission to hunt. Instead, go now or at least in the next few weeks. Taking along a young hunter who you hope to mentor may just win over the heart of a landowner! After receiving permission, dropping by with a homemade cherry or apple pie may just seal the deal for a long term relationship! But, at least stop by before the season opens to verify where you can park your vehicle and to let the landowner know what days you would like to hunt there. Do not drag along a friend or relative without first getting permission.

Be aware that it has now been approved that a landowner no longer must use signs to mark his property to restrict trespassing, but instead can merely use purple paint to mark his property lines which indicates that trespassing is strictly forbidden.

Finally, antlerless deer license applications were due into the applicable County Treasurer’s office on Monday, July 13. If you missed that date, you can still send in your application as it sometimes takes several days to process all the requests and you may still be able to secure one for the upcoming season.