Lottery for coveted elk licenses
Eighty-six applicants to be chosen for coveted Pennsylvania elk licenses.
Pennsylvania’s annual public drawing for elk-hunting licenses is scheduled to be held on Friday, Sept. 13 at the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s headquarters in Harrisburg. As a result of the drawing, 86 hunters will be selected to purchase a coveted license for the state’s 2013 elk hunt.
Preference points are awarded to hunters for every year they enter the elk hunt drawing. A hunter with three preference points and an active application would have four chances to be selected in the drawing.
The live drawing for elk licenses generates a lot of excitement. And for those who want to see the selection process, but who can’t make it to the Harrisburg headquarters to do so, the 10 a.m. drawing will be shown live on the Game Commission’s website, www.pgc.state.pa.us.
Those visiting the website on the morning of the drawing can click on the “Live Elk Drawing” icon to watch.
All hunters selected to purchase a license will be notified by mail of the opportunity. All applicants for a license also can check online to see if they’ve been selected, but the results won’t be available immediately. By Sept. 20, however, the status of all elk-license applications is expected to be updated on the Pennsylvania Automated License System (PALS).
The application period to enter this year’s elk-license drawing ended Aug. 25.
Presently, all hunters who have applied for an elk license can check PALS and see the status for their application listed as “Pending.” When the database is updated following the drawing, those selected for an elk license will see the status changed to “Awarded.” The listing also will show whether the license is for an antlered or antlerless elk, and shows the Elk Hunt Zone in which the license is valid.
Applicants who are not selected for an elk license will see their status changed to “Unsuccessful.”
To access PALS, go to the Game Commission’s website and click on the blue box titled “Buy a License” in the upper right corner of the homepage.
From there, select the “purchase license” option at the top of the page, enter your identifying information, and at the next screen, select “Check on the status of an Antlerless Deer or Elk Application.”
About 23,000 hunters have applied this year for a chance at an elk license. The first 26 applicants selected at the drawing will be for the antlered elk licenses available. Applicants then will be selected for antlerless licenses.
Those selected by drawing must purchase an elk license to hunt. License fees are $25 for residents and $250 for nonresidents. Each elk hunter also must have a valid Pennsylvania general hunting license.
Roe said while the elk drawing always is much-anticipated, this year it gives tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians something to look forward to on a day when cynics might tell you it’s best to stay in bed.
“I wish each and every applicant the best of luck,” Roe said.