JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — The days of applying for antlerless deer licenses with a pink envelope may soon be over.

The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners met Saturday in Harrisburg to preliminarily approve hunting and trapping seasons and bag limits for 2023-24, with restructuring the antlerless deer allocation system being one top proposal.

Instead of dealing with county treasurers, resident hunters would simply purchase tags online or at issuing agents beginning on the fourth Monday in June. Only one license could be obtained in a first round.

Nonresidents would then get chances to purchase licenses before three more possible similar rounds of purchasing later in July and August.

Hunters would be able to obtain a personal limit of six tags going into the season, and could even purchase more as they harvest and report.

The board voted to stick with the current Saturday-after-Thanksgiving opener for deer firearms season. Prior to the vote, the commissioners reviewed recent license data which showed a positive change following the implementation of the Saturday opener — namely, increases in license sales among hunters ages 18 to 34 and among female hunters.

Another significant proposal affecting deer hunters would involve harvests from out of state and in chronic wasting disease (CWD) areas.

Currently, hunters who harvest deer in CWD Disease Management Areas or Established Areas are required to take their animals to approved processors and taxidermists associated with those zones, and out-of-state hunters are banned from bringing any high-risk parts across the border.

If the new proposal is adopted, those hunters would be able to take deer harvested from those areas to any cooperating processors and taxidermists in Pennsylvania, eliminating unnecessary travel back to those areas for their processed meat and mounts.

Among proposed changes to seasons and bag limits is the removal of the extended black bear firearms season in Wildlife Management Units 2C, 4A, 4B, 4D and 1A, and moving elk archery season to one week later.

No significant changes were proposed for deer and turkey seasons, with the exception of the 2024 spring gobbler season, which would be scheduled five days later than in 2023 due to normal calendar fluctuation, keeping the practice of opening the regular season on the Saturday closest to May 1.

Other proposals include new restrictions on operating speeds of boats used on state game lands; otter trappers reporting harvests within 48 hours, and the use of larger traps; and new regulations to govern the collection, testing, manufacturing and distribution of cervid urine or biological products. Falconers would be permitted to harvest furbearers.

All proposals would need to be adopted at the board’s next meeting in Harrisburg on April 14 and 15. Details regarding land acquisitions, changes to wildlife scientific names and board member positions, and other proposals can be found on the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s website under “News.”

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