Originally, many hunters in our region said they wanted doe season eliminated for one or two years to try to regenerate the population. On Tuesday, the Game Commission came to a sort of compromise. That compromise, very simply involves slashing hundreds of thousands of doe licenses available to hunters in the state rather than eliminating the licenses for a year or two.

The decision was announced at the Pennsylvania Game Commission meeting. Officials say they're looking into the possibility of the deer herd being depleted more than they planned when they decided to try to thin the herd several years ago. Now their resolution is to cut back doe licenses allocated from 880,000 to 720,000 statewide. A far cry from what many hunters in our region want. Some hunters are threatening to buy their licenses and burn them, while others say they just won't shoot a doe.

Hunters and Game Commission officials agree on one thing. If the habitat for deer is destroyed, meaning their shelter and food sources, there's no way to get the numbers back up. The Game Commission is confidant hunters will eventually support their decision.

John Riley of the Pennsylvania Game Commission says, "They will see where we're going. They'll see this plan makes sense. They will have a lot of anxious moments. They will have mixed thoughts, but they will stay with us and I do not see it putting the agency at risk."