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TOM VENESKY

Hunting may be on target for rebound in Pa. TOM VENESKY OUTDOORS

It’s a common lament that is heard more and more every year – hunting is a dying sport and license sales are declining.

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It’s easy to make such an assertion when license sales drop on an annual basis.

This year, however, no such lament is needed.

For the first time since 2001, the sale of adult resident hunting licenses has increased from the previous year (656,474 compared to 651,589 in 2007-2008).

Sure, it’s not a huge jump, but after seven consecutive years of decreases, the figure is significant.

And it doesn’t end there.

Compared to last year’s figures, the sales of archery, muzzleloader, furtaker, bear and migratory bird licenses have all increased.

Overall, the Pennsylvania Game Commission sold more than 2.48 million licenses as of January, almost 14,000 more than the 2007-08 season.

That’s a pretty strong number.

Despite the good news, there were still some troubling decreases.

The sale of junior licenses dropped by 929, down to 38,559, and the junior combination license (includes hunting, furtaker, archery and muzzleloader privileges) dropped 1,533 to 48,178.

Nonresident license sales also decreased from last season by 2,283.

The drop in junior license sales is a bit deceiving because many youth hunters opt to buy the combination license instead. So that makes the decrease in the junior combination sales even more of a concern. Sales of this license have declined during the last three years and clearly it’s a trend that must be reversed.

The drop in nonresident license sales is a surprise considering the increase in large bucks due to antler restrictions ought to be a draw for out-of-state hunters.

But in the grand scheme of things, there are more positives than negatives to take from the current license sales.

The increase in resident hunting license sales means more Pennsylvanians are hunting.

It means 3,821 people decided to start hunting or come back to the sport. That’s big.

It bodes well for the current state of hunting and it also takes away an oft-repeated argument used by anti-hunting factions that have used declining license sales as a platform for their message.

Still, despite the good news, things still aren’t where they should be.

In 1998, a total of 1,071,205 general hunting licenses were sold. The current figure of 905,046 is still a ways from that mark, and there are several reasons behind the drop.

From talking with other hunters and even former hunters, many people quit the sport as deer populations declined during years of concurrent buck and doe seasons and inflated antlerless license allocations.

Deer are the bread and butter of hunting in this state, and when the game commission’s new management program resulted in quick and drastic cuts in deer number, a similar effect could be seen with the sale of hunting licenses.

But the recent increase in license sales is an indicator that hunting in Pennsylvania is primed for a rebound. The game commission has taken steps to help by breaking up the concurrent season in some areas, cutting antlerless license allocations and implementing a wealth of junior hunting opportunities.

Perhaps the current path will be enough to revive hunting. We’ll have a better idea when another season of license sales is complete. After all, the numbers don’t lie.

Tom Venesky is The Times Leader outdoors writer. Email: tvenesky@timesleader.com