Pa. Game Commission addressing lag in new hunting license system

1. Pennsylania’s system for issuing hunting licenses has experienced a slowdown.

According to Game Commission officials, the new system for issuing state licenses, including antlerless deer licenses, has operated slowly during peak sales periods. One such period began Monday, when the system began accepting applications for antlerless licenses.

“While the new system has been slow, antlerless licenses still are being issued and no doubt will be in hunters’ mailboxes well before the first deer seasons begin in September,” said Bryan Burhans, the commission’s executive director.

Burhans said the commission is working to improve the system with NIC, the vendor that came on board in January to operate it.

The Kansas-based company has a 10-year contract with the commission to handle license applications. The company has more than 20 years’ experience in outdoor licensing in 11 states, including Alabama, South Carolina and Wisconsin.

“The technical teams are aware of the slower response time of the system and are working quickly to enhance system performance,” said Sandi Miller, vice president outdoors for NIC.

Hunters can visit huntfish.pa.gov and log into their account to check whether their license has been awarded. They also can monitor the number of antlerless licenses remaining in each wildlife management unit by going to pgc.pa.gov, clicking on the Antlerless Deer License link under Quick Clicks and then selecting Antlerless Application Availability.

Phil Wagner of Mifflinburg, president of United Sportsmen of PA, said he isn’t too concerned by news of the license slowdown.

“I don’t see it being an issue,” he said. “It’s not that anybody needs to use the licenses now.”

Wagner said he is more concerned that the concurrent hunting of antlered and antlerless deer approved throughout Pennsylvania’s 2021-22 firearms deer season will reduce the state’s deer population too much and result in decreased interest in hunters obtaining licenses for the 2022-23 season.

Last year, 10 of the 23 wildlife management units in the state had two weeks of concurrent buck and doe hunting, while the other 13 had one week of buck-only hunting, followed by a week of concurrent hunting. Commissioner Mike Mittrick said hunters’ fears that a two-week season would mean too many does shot were unfounded.

The Game Commission blamed a large volume of sales and a technical glitch in an online license system operated by a previous vendor when tens of thousands of people experienced a lengthy delay in receiving 2019-20 Pennsylvania hunting licenses.