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Increased deer kills in 2013-14

Pennsylvania Game Commission statistics for the state's 2013-14 deer seasons hunters took an estimated 352,920 deer, which represents an increase of about 3 percent compared to the previous seasons' total of 343,110.

Hunters took 134,280 antlered deer in the 2013-14 seasons - which is similar to the previous license year when an estimated 133,860 bucks were taken. Also, hunters harvested 218,640 antlerless deer in 2013-14, which represents an about 4 percent increase compared to the 209,250 antlerless deer taken in 2012-13.Harvest estimates are based on more than 25,000 deer checked by PGC personnel and more than 110,000 harvest reports submitted by successful hunters. Because only about one-third of hunters report their deer harvests, the agency uses data from deer checked in the field and hunter reports to estimate the total harvest.For additional information on Pennsylvania's 2013-14 deer harvest, please go to the agency's website -

www.pgc.state.pa.us - and click on "White-Tailed Deer" on the homepage, and then select 2013-14 Deer Harvest Estimates under "Deer Management."*******Sunday's edition of "Experience The Outdoors," hosted by award-winning Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association member Doyle Dietz, at 7 a.m. on 1410-AM WLSH, at 9:30 a.m. on Magic 105.5-FM and on the Web at

www.wmgh.com by clicking the link to the program, features Schuylkill County Trout Unlimited stocking program director Randy Emerich.*******Anglers yearning for the nostalgic vintage fishing license buttons first introduced by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission in 1923 can now add to their collection. For the 2014 license year, the PFBC has reintroduced annual fishing license display buttons as an alternative to displaying the current paper licenses.After purchasing an annual, multi-year or lifetime license, anglers have the option of purchasing and displaying a button, which sell for $5 and are available through the PFBC's online Outdoor Shop at

www.GoneFishingPa.com. Buttons measure 134 inches with a high-quality, pin-back design and will feature the angler's customer identification number, and as long as an angler is carrying a valid paper license, a button is the only display requirement.*******Hawk Mountain Sanctuary will host a free talk, Gone for Another Day, by the Pulitzer Prize-nominated author and Schuylkill County native Scott Weidensaul, Saturday, March 29, beginning at 4 p.m., in the visitor center gallery. During his talk, Weidensaul will share highlights from his most recent book, "Gone for Another Day."A sequel to "Gone for the Day" by the late Pennsylvania naturalist Ned Smith, Weidensaul's book features nearly 50 years of unpublished field sketches, drawings and hand-drawn maps by Smith. A long-time board member at Hawk Mountain, he calls talking about Smith at the sanctuary a "pleasure," and that it feels "appropriate.""Hawk Mountain was a favorite place of Ned Smith's," Weidensaul said. "His connections to the sanctuary were deep, and he made annual hawk-watching pilgrimages for many years."Weidensaul spent two years scouring entries from Smith's journals, and the final selection offers a variety, stretching from the summer of 1936 when Smith was 17 years old, through his very last entry on April 22, 1985, the day before he died of a heart attack at age 65.For more information on the program visit the website at

www.hawkmountain.org.*******Honey Hole Longbeards Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation is holding its annual banquet, Saturday, March 29, beginning at 5 p.m., at Lobitz Hall, Hazleton. For information call Wayne Potts at 570-401-3730 or Mark Ferdinand at 570-788-6362.*******Woodcock Limited and Woodcock Limited of Pennsylvania will hold its annual meeting and dinner Friday and Saturday, March 28 and 29, at the Nature Inn, Bald Eagle State Park. Dinner is Friday, with doors opening at 6:30 p.m., and the meeting is Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m.Featured speaker this year is USFWS biologist Tom Cooper, who heads the federal management plan for woodcock and he will be speak on the latest research being conducted on woodcock. Highlighting his presentation is an update on the new pilot satellite transmitter program, which is the most exciting research ever to be done on woodcock.Further information and reservation forms are available at

www.woodcocklimited.org.*******Seedling orders are available online from the Pennsylvania Game Commission's Howard Nursery. Most seedlings are sold in units of 25, but 100-seedling bundles also are available in mixes to benefit deer, game birds and songbirds, as well as to improve riparian and winter-thermal habitats.Order forms and information about the seedlings for sale are available at the PGC website at

www.pgc.state.pa.us. Orders can also be placed by telephone by calling the Howard Nursery at 814-355-4434, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.