Pennsylvania Mixed Bag: Monroeville Outdoor Show Feb. 14-16 – Outdoor News
Pittsburgh — The USA International Sportsmen’s Show will run Feb. 14-16 at the Monroeville Convention Center near here, with about 120 exhibitors – including hunting and fishing outfitters, charters and safaris, boat and camper dealers, and sportsmen’s groups – as well as seminars and demonstrations.
Show hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Admission is cash only, not accepting debit or credit cards, however ATMs are available on site. Children under age 12 admitted free.
The Monroeville Convention Center is located at 209 Mall Boulevard, Monroeville, just two miles west of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Exit 57 and Pittsburgh’s Parkway East (I-376).
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PGC Board Elects New Officers
Harrisburg — Pennsylvania game commissioners, at their recent meeting here, selected a new slate of officers to serve in 2025-26.
Commissioner Stanley Knick Jr., of Dupont in Luzerne County, was elected president of the board. He represents District 7, which includes Lackawanna, Luzerne, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties.
Commissioner Haley Sankey, of Tyrone in Blair County, was elected as vice president. She represents District 4, which includes Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon and Somerset counties.
Commissioner Allen DiMarco was re-elected as board secretary. He lives in Lycoming County and represents District 5, which includes Bradford, Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Sullivan, Tioga and Union counties.
PGC Considers More Mentored Opportunities
Harrisburg — In new business at the recent meeting here, Game Commissioner Kristen Koppenhafer asked Game Commission staff to investigate the possibility of affording mentored hunters more opportunities.
Before the April meeting, staff will evaluate the possibility of including mentored hunters in the in the “Ag Tag” program, as well as providing them opportunities to participate in the Deer Management Assistance Program and potentially secure more than one antlerless license per year.
Agency staff will report back on possible changes, though increasing the number of antlerless licenses mentored hunters can get might require legislative action.
Some Hunters Could Hold More Tags
Harrisburg — Game commissioners, at their recent meeting here, preliminarily agreed to increase the number of antlerless licenses a hunter simultaneously can hold in wildlife management units 5C and 5D.
Hunters statewide now have a personal limit that allows them to hold six active antlerless licenses at a time. Under the proposal recently moved forward that number would increase to 15 in units 5C and 5D.
In all units, hunters still will have the opportunity to obtain additional antlerless licenses, if they remain available, to return to their personal limit as they fill and report harvests. The measure must still get final approval at the board’s April meeting.
Morris Club Gets Grant for Co-op Nursery
Harrisburg — Pennsylvania Fish & Boat commissioners at their Jan. 27 meeting voted to authorize a Cooperative Nursery Grant in the amount of $45,330 to the Morris Rod and Gun Club in Tioga County.
The cooperative nursery raises approximately 20,000 trout annually that are stocked into public waterways in Lycoming and Tioga counties.
Through this grant funding, the club plans to make major renovations to its facilities including the construction of a protective roofed structure to cover the raceway and equipment used for raising and caring for the trout at the nursery.
Certain PGC Ranges May Add Steel Targets
Harrisburg — Shooters at some Game Commission ranges might start hearing a new sound ringing out aside from gunshots: the accuracy-confirming sound of a bullet hitting a steel target.
Under a proposal commissioners preliminarily approved at their recent meeting, the Game Commission could add steel targets to some of its rifle and handgun rages in the future. That would provide shooters with the benefit of a near-instant, audible responses to confirm accurate hits.
At the same time, the commission expects the addition of steel targets at designated ranges would eliminate or substantially reduce safety risks and range downtime associated with a shooter traveling downrange to check targets for hits.
Seasons, Bag Limits Largely Unchanged
Harrisburg — Pennsylvania game commissioners, at their recent meeting here, gave preliminary approval to the 2025-26 hunting and trapping seasons and bag limits, which are nearly identical to those in place for 2024-25.
One modification proposed for the 2025-26 seasons is for snowshoe hares, in which a season limit of three hares per hunter is proposed. Presently, a hunter reaching the one-hare daily limit could harvest as many as six hares in a season. This reduction in maximum possible harvest per hunter would protect against overharvest in isolated segments of the hare population.
The public may offer comments on all proposed 2025-26 seasons and bag limits, as well as other board actions, between now and the board’s April meeting, when 2025-26 seasons and bag limits will be finalized. The board is scheduled to meet April 11 and 12.
Source: https://www.outdoornews.com/2025/02/07/pennsylvania-mixed-bag-monroeville-outdoor-show-feb-14-16/
