PA Game Commission to Host Annual Waterfowl Briefing

HARRISBURG, Pa., July 15

USNewswire — Representatives of the waterfowl organizations, individual sportsmen and the public are invited to attend a briefing on Friday, Aug. 10, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Northwest Pennsylvania Duck Hunters Association, on the status of Atlantic Flyway waterfowl populations and proposed preliminary federal frameworks for the 2007-08 hunting seasons. The briefing will begin at 1 p.m., in Room 112 of the Tom Ridge Education Center at Presque Isle State Park in Erie.

In addition to reviewing frameworks established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for upcoming waterfowl and migratory bird seasons, Game Commission staff will provide updates on current and planned research and management programs, as well as past hunting results.

Also, Dr. Scott Petrie, director of Long Point Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Fund, will provide a presentation at the symposium on his various scaup research projects on the lower Great Lakes.

Public comments will be accepted at the meeting; or by sending a letter to: Pennsylvania Game Commission, Bureau of Wildlife Management, 2001 Elmerton Avenue, Harrisburg, PA 17110-9797; or via e-mail (ra- waterfowlcomments@state.pa.us).

Based on public comments, Game Commission staff will prepare and present recommended waterfowl and migratory bird seasons, bag limits and related criteria to the USFWS for final approval. All migratory bird hunting seasons and bag limits must conform to frameworks set by the USFWS. States select their hunting seasons within these established frameworks.