Bear clear of the gas

Posted by By Eric Zager at 19 November, at 15 : 57 PM Print

As if hunters do not already have enough obstacles in their way to a trophy season, what with limited hunting days, amount of game they can legally take, and areas they can set their sites-on, which appears to, shrink from year to year; now they can add wells, as in gas, as in drilling, to the list of things to gnaw at before the kill.

Bear season opens in Pennsylvania this Saturday for three non-consecutive days, and Pennsylvania’s Game Commission tells Rock The Capital it has growing concerns for the safety of hunters.

“It will disrupt hunters routine and hunters are creatures of habit,” said Jerry Feaser, spokesperson for the Game Commission.

In general, people are still not accustomed to the speed of light changes to the landscape, this year alone 1,177 new wells have come on line, and some may well have popped up in fertile harvest areas. Feaser is highly encouraging hunters to take a close look at their surroundings before seizing the day.

“It’s incumbent to know what is the area where they are going hunting,” said Feaser.

Its not only the new well pads that can stand in the way, there are more trucks traveling in unexpected places.

“Our district foresters are working with companies to set restrictions and provide guidance,” said Dan Devlin. Devlin is the bureau of forestry director for the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, “we are strongly encouraging the industry to abstain from any heavy hauling from bear season through the end of deer season in December.”

The Black bear population numbers roughly 17,000 and Feaser expects a harvest of between 3,000 and 4,000.

Still for those about to bag the prize of a lifetime, the biggest surprise could end up being, well, all the new wells.

They may be in for a harsh jolt of reality,” said Feaser. Click here for more information about hunting in Pennsylvania.

This post was written by:

Eric Zager - who has written 324 posts for Rock The Capital

Eric is a national award winning storyteller. Eric’s work is credited with changing laws, saving lives, and in one instance, saving taxpayers about $2,000,000.00. Mr. Zager’s career in journalism is ripped from the pages of an adventure novel. Upon graduating from the esteemed Newhouse School of Public Communications, he headed north, about as far as one can travel and still stand in the Continental U.S. The call of journalism not a penchant to play with Polar Bears brought Zager to the ‘Last Frontier-Juneau, Alaska. Over the course of Zager’s more than 20 years in journalism, he has covered the political side of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, dodged horse manure on the backside of Churchill Downs, and has uncovered numerous scams and scam artists. Eric is constantly in search of a meaningful story to tell. - Email Eric Zager

Energy & Environment Pennsylvania Issues bear, feaser, game, hunters, new, rock the capital