News From The PA Wilds

Dr. Walter Cottrell To Discuss Hazards Of Illegal Elk Feeding

According to PGC News Release #001-12: Dr. Walter Cottrell, Pennsylvania Game Commission wildlife veterinarian, will discuss the harmful effects of winter feeding of elk at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 11, at the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Elk Country Visitor’s Center at 134 Homestead Dr., in Benezette Township, Elk County.

Elk At Feeder

This is actually part of a prolonged and intense campaign against the artificial feeding of most wildlife, especially deer and elk.  As usual there are several sides to this story and the subject was explored in some depth on this blog in the post: "Elk and People Issues With Elk, on July 29, 2010. I plan to explore more aspects of this important issue in the near future.

Paul Staniszewski Featured Artist

According to a Press Release by the Elk County Council on the Arts sent to us by Paul Staniszewski, "a solo art exhibition is being planned at the gallery on Saturday, February 18th from 10:00AM until 5:00PM to coincide with the 13th Annual Ridgway Chainsaw Carvers Rendezvous. The featured artist for the month of February is Paul Staniszewski and he will be available to meet and greet visitors to the gallery on that day. Paul currently resides in Troutville, PA and spends a lot of time roaming the hills around Benezette looking for elk to photograph. His work will be on display and he will discuss the equipment, techniques employed, and share tips on how to successfully approach and photograph the elk."

Ron "Buckwheat"  Saffer and Paul Staniszewski Photographing Elk

The ECCOTA Gallery is located at 237 Main St. Ridgway, PA.

Originally posted at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

Camera Critters: Winter Bald Eagle Photography-A Growing Pastime

Bald Eagle: Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge

When I was a lad, growing up in rural Pennsylvania, eagles sightings were the substance of  tales told by the older folks, most notorious of which was the legend of "Eagle Dave", who was supposedly whisked away by a pair of eagles and raised in their nest. I have forgotten how that one was supposed to have turned out, but suffice it to say that it was a fairy tale designed to keep an adventurous youth from straying too far from the farmstead.

The bald eagle was listed as endangered in 43 states under the Endangered Species Act until 1995, when its, status was upgraded to "threatened". It was removed from the endangered species list in 2007, but is fortunately still protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

In recent years, eagle photography has become a favorite winter pastime of many nature photographers. Although there are exceptions, eagles are ordinarily quite shy birds, seen only at a distance. Favorite spots to photograph the birds in our area are Conowingo Dam (sometimes they are very close here) and Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland, I do see eagles at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in Pennsylvania, but I only go there for a few mornings in spring and fall during the waterfowl migrations and do not know if eagles are commonly seen there in winter. Most I have seen there are also too far away for exceptional photographs. 

Blackwater Eagle

Some eagles are seen near home each year, but they are very, very, shy and it is difficult to get a camera and tripod deployed. Both of the photos featured today were taken at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, near Cambridge Maryland. Both are at extremely long range and taken with the 500mm F4 and 1.4 extender. The images are heavily cropped, which works reasonably well for internet use, but is lacking in feather detail for printing purposes. The first photo was taken with the Canon 7D, while the second was with the T3i. Some assume that the 7D and T3i utilize the same sensor (they have the same megapixel count), but I have heard from a reliable source that they are not identical sensors and working with these photos served to reinforce this. The 7D seems to have less noise and a more pleasing overall look to the images-- even after color correction in Photoshop. In a strange twist, I find the T3i to have a slightly more pleasing video image--at least under certain circumstances and that is using the same picture style in both cameras.

For more Camera Critters Photographs, Click Here!

Originally posted at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

PA Governor's Conservation Elk Tag: A Brief History

Pennsylvania has one special elk license, which is issued each year in addition to the normal allocation of tags. Some refer to this as a "Governor's Conservation Tag", while others refer to it as a "Special Conservation Tag" or some combination of these phrasings.

Special Conservation Tags Are For Bulls Only

 A brief synopsis of how this special license came to be may be found in Pennsylvania Game Commission News Release #017-09, which states as follows:

"In 2001, a recommendation to provide one special elk license for wildlife conservation organizations to auction was originally included in the Game Commission Elk Hunt Advisory Committee Report as one of the concepts for promoting elk hunting. However, the recommendation was set aside at that time because it was determined that legislative authority was necessary to do so.

Rep. Marc J. Gergely (D-Allegheny) introduced House Bill 747 to grant the Game Commission authority to provide one antlered elk license to a wildlife conservation organization to auction. Of the auction proceeds, up to 20 percent may be retained by the wildlife conservation organization and the rest turned over to the Game Commission for elk management. Signed into law on Oct. 9, Act 101 of 2008 (previously House Bill 747) was unanimously approved by the House and Senate."
(Source PGC News Release #017-09)

Act 101 of 2008 states, "the auction will be open to residents and non-residents of the Commonwealth".

The first conservation tag was awarded to the National Wild Turkey Federation and sold for $28,000 at its' national convention in Nashville, Tennessee, in February of 2009. The successful bidder was Jim Nyce, of Green Lane, Montgomery County, who took a 6x6 bull on Oct. 14, in Benezette Township, Elk County. The decision to award the tag to the NWTF caused a great deal of controversy at the time as many thought that The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation would be a more appropriate organization to auction an elk tag and many were disappointed as they expected the tag to sell for much more.

The tag was awarded to the RMEF in 2010, which auctioned the tag off for $35,000 to another Pennsylvania resident Bob Ehle of Orefield. Ehle harvested a 5x6 on Oct. 7, in Shippen Township, in Cameron County.(source PGC News Release 120-10) This prompted prominent outdoor writer Bob Frye of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review to write an article, "Pennsylvania elk herd among nations finest, but for how long?", which is well worth reading. Mr Frye reports that the Boone and Crockett Club ranked Pennsylvania in the top 10 trophy bull producing states of the decade, but goes on to ask,can it sustain that ” and keep hunters' interest high” when the herd numbers fewer than 700 animals?" This article in turn was featured in an October 05, 2010 post on Field and Stream Blogs, "Pennsylvania Hunters Pay Big Money for Chance at Trophy Elk" By Chad Love, which links to Mr. Frye's article and is followed by reader comments, which encompass a range of reactions, which we will explore in the near future.

In 2011, Michael McGinnis of Lyndhurst, Virginia became the first non-resident to obtain the conservation tag. According to PGC Release #126-11 November 08, 2011, "Roe(PGC Executive Director Carl Roe) also noted that Michael McGinnis, of Lyndhurst, Virginia, who was the successful bidder for the Elk Conservation Tag, harvested an antlered elk. McGinnis harvested a 7x9 on Oct. 19, in Jay Township, in Elk County. McGinnis purchased the Conservation Elk Tag during the Safari Club International’s national conference in early 2011, and was able to hunt from Sept. 1-Nov. 5. Under the state law that created the Elk Conservation Tag, of the $29,000 that McGinnis bid for the tag, $23,200 will go to the Game Commission’s Game Fund and $5,800 will be retained by Safari Club International.

In 2012 the tag will be auctioned by the Wild Sheep Foundation at their upcoming Expo in Hunt Valley, Maryland in February. ACT 2008-101 has a sunset provision and the Governor's Conservation Tag will expire on July 1, 2013 unless renewed. Watch for a future post explaining some of the pros and cons of this concept.

Originally posted at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

Paul Staniszewski Featured Friday On VisitPA Facebook Page

Paul Staniszewski, who is a frequent contributor to this blog e-mailed me to let us know that VisitPA has a facebook presence and that they featured one of his elk photographs on  "Fab Friday Fan Foto"  The photo is also posted below with Paul's permission.

Bull Elk In Winter: Courtesy of Paul Staniszewski-all rights reserved.

Those who have a facebook account are encouraged to see the post on the VisitPA  facebook page.  Be sure to follow the links for information on The Elk Country Visitor Center.

Winter is an excellent time to visit Elk Country, especially when there is snow cover,as it can make for  exciting photo opportunities.  I especially like to film elk in the falling snow as it is easy to capture the falling snow flakes on video, and the snow creates a wild, dramatic backdrop against which to photograph wildlife.
Snow does not show up as well in still as in video in many cases, such as in the photo below of a young bull on the weekend before the 2011 elk season.

Bull Elk During Snowstorm

There was a moderate snow coming down, and while the flakes do show up in the still photograph, they are much more noticeable in video taken at the same time.

Originally posted at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill