By Becky Polaski

Staff Writer

At their recent meeting the Pennsylvania Game Commission finalized regulations with regard to the auctioning of one antlered elk license a year through a wildlife conservation organization.

This new policy went into effect earlier this year and was signed into law through House Bill 747. The finalized regulations include implementing a voucher process to allow an easier transition in giving the license to the winner bidder.

PA Great Outdoors Sales Director Carla Wehler noted that the implementation of the voucher process should help to simply the license auction.

“I think the auctioning of the license is a great opportunity for our conservation organizations,” Wehler said. “It provides an opportunity to raise funds for elk and other wildlife conservation. Many other states do this process and we have lobbied for it to take place since 2001. It seems the voucher process is a solution to keep the license auction as simple as possible.”

The first license auction took place earlier this year when the Game Commission announced that they were awarding the inaugural license to the National Wild Turkey Federation.

 The license was auctioned off during the National Wild Turkey Federation’s national convention, which was held from Feb. 19-22 in Nashville, Tenn.

According to the Web site for the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the winning bidder was Pennsylvania National Wild Turkey Federation Board member Jim Nyce of Green Lane. Nyce bid $28,000 for the license.

“I think a lot of people anticipated it to go way higher than that,” Wehler said. “They haven’t mentioned who is getting it next year. I think that will probably only be announced in the spring of next year when the Game Commission has their Commissioner’s meeting.”

That license was one of 60 awarded by the Game Commission for this year’s hunt. The other 59 licenses were awarded during a drawing held at the Game Commission headquarters in Harrisburg on Friday, Sept. 11. Of those licenses, 20 were for antlered elk and 39 were for antlerless.

The drawing was available for individuals to watch via a live feed on the Game Commission’s Web site.

“I thought it was a good idea that they did have the web cam because it at least gave people a chance to be a part of it without traveling to Harrisburg,” Wehler said. “As for my computer, it was a little difficult to read, but it was definitely still interesting to watch. I was certainly disappointed that an Elk or Cameron County resident didn’t get drawn, but I tuned into it along with close to 800 others. I like that they at least made it accessible to everyone.”

Privacy laws prohibit the Game Commission from issuing an official list of individuals drawn to receive elk licenses, but a now policy this year made it easier for individuals to find out the status of their own license application. This year, applicants were able to log onto the Game Commission’s Web site and check the status of their application instead of having to wait to be contacted by the Game Commission if they were selected to receive a license.