PENNSYLVANIA

PENNSYLVANIA
Oct. 31 deadlinefor elk guide permits
Anyone interested in applying to be an elk guide for the upcoming elk hunt should submit a completed application to the Pennsylvania Game Commission's Bureau of Law Enforcement by Friday, Oct. 31. Elk guide permits cost $10 for residents and $25 for nonresidents. Guides may provide assistance in locating or tracking elk, but may not harvest an elk. Permit applications may be obtained from the Game Commission's Harrisburg headquarters by calling 717-787-5740.
The Board of Game Commissioners created the elk guide permit to allow experienced individuals, especially those who live in the elk range or are familiar with the elk herd, to serve as guides for those who receive an elk license. Elk guide permits are not required for those who only plan to aid a successful elk hunter to remove an elk from the field.
"Since only properly licensed hunters may take part in the hunt, and since the agency is awarding only 100 licenses, the guide permit will remove any legal concerns about an elk hunter taking someone along to participate in the hunt," said Michael Dubaich, Game Commission Bureau of Law Enforcement director.
All elk guide applicants are required to attend this year's orientation program on Sunday, Nov. 9, to receive an elk guide permit.
OHIO
ODNR gets $30,000to study land access
A $30,000 grant is enabling state wildlife biologists to develop a survey of Ohio landowners to identify barriers hunters face in gaining access to prime hunting lands, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.
The $30,000 grant comes from the National Shooting Sports Foundation's Hunting Heritage Partnership, which provides direct funding to state wildlife agencies to help them with programs that provide opportunities for, and remove barriers to, hunter participation.
Availability of private hunting land is a major factor impacting participation in the outdoor sport. Ohio's survey will provide valuable insights on how the agency can address these issues in a cost-effective manner.
A total of 18 state agencies received more than $500,000 in grant awards from NSSF.
Ohio's 1.4 million anglers and 490,000 hunters spent $1.7 billion in Ohio last year in pursuit of their pastime which supported 33,000 jobs in the state. Efforts to expand hunting, such as identifying and overcoming key barriers to access, help boost the economy in a state where one of every seven residents hunt or fish, generating $139.5 million in state tax revenue.
MISCELLANEOUS
Iowa poacher collared
An Iowa farmer pleaded guilty recently in a deal that could send him to prison for up to 15 years in what authorities consider one of the worst wildlife poaching cases.
George Allen Waters, 53, of West Branch, Iowa, often used a rifle during archery season, investigators said, and when he killed trophy animals, he camouflaged the heads, stashed them in trees and returned later to claim them as "found heads."
Wildlife authorities said Waters left the carcasses to rot.
Waters admitted to poaching eight trophy elk and six mule deer in Colorado, using outdated licenses and tags to disguise his trophies, and illegally killing 24 trophy-size white-tailed deer in Iowa between 1992 and 2002.
Waters pleaded guilty to two felony violations for transporting illegally taken game across state lines, one felony charge of illegal possession of a machine gun and numerous wildlife counts.
The agreement requires Waters to serve five years in federal prison without parole, pay a $10,000 fine and a $300 special assessment, and serve three years of supervised probation upon release from prison.
In addition, Waters will pay $30,000 in restitution and forfeit animal trophy mounts, skulls, firearms and other hunting items seized by authorities.
-- Rocky Mountain News