Afield: Drought, Sunday hunting and more fall updates for PA anglers, hunters

Acorns and hickory nuts are dropping from the treetops, setting the wildlife table with a bounty of food. That is good news for wildlife and also for hunters planning to pursue deer, bear, and/or squirrels. If there are no acorns where you are planning to hunt, it would be wise to scout and locate where they are. The deer will surely locate them.

Archery deer hunters have only two weeks to plan, because the statewide archery deer season kicks off on Oct. 4 and runs through Nov. 21. New this fall — with the passage of Act 36 of 2025, and subsequent Pennsylvania Game Commission action — all the Sundays between now and Dec. 13 are open for hunting.

If you plan on hunting state park land, only Sundays Nov. 16, 23 and 30 are open for hunting. This might change next year.

Drought impacts felt across central PA

Although acorns dropping is good news, rhododendron is wilted and many tree leaves are also dropping early — particularly birch and red maple. This is partly due to the extended drought that has hit Centre and surrounding counties. AccuWeather reported that August’s rainfall was less than one third of the historical normal precipitation. September has been even worse, with less than one tenth of an inch recorded by Sept. 19. Normal for this same September period would be over two inches.

Spring Creek and the Logan Branch have been affected, but mountain freestone streams are just a trickle of the flow that they had on July 1. The cooler nights of late have helped the trout, but we need significant rainfall to replenish area streams.

Low flows limit trout movement, dissolved oxygen and food. They concentrate the fish in smaller areas, which makes the trout easier for predators to catch. If the low flows carry into October, the water levels will also negatively impact trout spawning.

Freeman Run controversy

Low precipitation helps to bring into perspective the overblown controversy over a Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission plan to conduct a limited stocking experiment on Potter County’s Freeman Run. Freeman Run is a Class A wild brown trout stream. Opponents of the plan site potential harm done to the wild trout population by the stocking.

The experiment would help answer the question as to exactly how much harm would be done, and if this harm might be outweighed by enhanced fishing opportunities.

Why is opposition overblown? A drought will do greater damage to any wild trout population than stocking over them ever would. The commissioners will vote whether to move forward with the study at their October meeting. More on this later.

Enhanced trespassing penalties

In addition to adding Sundays for hunting, Act 36 also increased the penalties for trespassing on posted ground while hunting. This includes fines and the loss of hunting privileges. Properties may be posted with signs or just purple paint.

“We continue to encourage hunters to know where they’re hunting and ensure they’re aware of the regulations that are in place for that area,” Game Commission Executive Director Steve Smith said.

Unsure who owns a particular parcel of land, onX, a cellphone app, can help.

For a limited time, Pennsylvania hunters can claim a free one-month onX Hunt Elite membership or 20% off a yearly membership. Consult the PGC website for details.

Proposed legislation

Pennsylvania Rep. Charity Krupa, R-Fayette County, released a memo detailing her plans to introduce legislation to make semi-automatic rifles legal for big game hunting in the state. This has been attempted before, and I hope that it fails as it has in the past.

Krupa contends that semi-automatic rifles are a plus for ethical hunting because they allow for faster follow-up shots. In reality, ethical hunters know that a well-aimed first shot should be the primary consideration. If necessary, one well aimed follow-up shot is better than five quick shots at a fleeting white tail.

Executive order rescinds ‘Roadless Rule’

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to rescind the Roadless Rule on federal land. The Roadless Area Conservation Rule was enacted in 2001 after years of public input. More than 600 public meetings were held and over 1.6 million public comments were received. The roadless rule protects roadless areas in national forests from new road construction and prohibits commercial logging within the area’s boundaries.

From the 2001 findings, “Inventoried roadless areas provide clean drinking water and function as biological strongholds for populations of threatened and endangered species. They provide large, relatively undisturbed landscapes that are important to biological diversity and the long-term survival of many at risk species. Inventoried roadless areas provide opportunities for dispersed outdoor recreation, opportunities that diminish as open space and natural settings are developed elsewhere.”

The Roadless Rule only pertains to a small percentage of National Forest land. Here in Pennsylvania, it affects about 24,000 acres out of the Allegheny National Forest’s 500,000 acres — or about 5%.

It is a shame that one person, with the swipe of his pen, can erase this important rule. The official comment period has ended, but you can still express your feelings about this issue through our senators or congressman.

Mark Nale, who lives in the Bald Eagle Valley, is a member of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association and can be reached at MarkAngler@aol.com.