Elk season begins Monday

Next week's controlled elk hunt in Cameron, Elk and nearby counties will see 40 hunters going afield, trying to fill their tag between Monday and Saturday.

The Pa. Game Commission has adjusted its "management units" to better use the hunt as an elk population control tool while broadening each hunter's opportunities

Pennsylvania's elk herd, more than 650 strong, has been expanding its range into new areas, including sections of Potter and McKean counties. It's a welcome development for agencies that have been trying

to spread the animals over a wider area and make them wilder.

Hunting activity is centered on areas where the elk are distributed broadly to make the chase a challenge, and in sections where the herd is at or above the habitat's carrying capacity.

Among the 40 hunters whose names were drawn at the Pa. Elk Expo was Paul Fallecker, 79, of Driftwood. He has his choice of hunting for an antlerless elk in the vicinity of his home on Mason Hill Road, or in any of three other elk management areas.

Fallecker, who also had his name drawn for bobcat permit this year, will be accompanied next week by his neighbor and friend, Jack Steinman.

A long-time active member of the Sinnemahoning Sportsmen's Assn., he is no stranger to elk-hunting. In 2001, he signed on as a hunting guide for a license-winner in the Tunnel Hill area.

Successful elk hunters will take the animals to the Game Commission's check station on Quehanna Highway. The public is welcome to attend the weighing and measuring of the elk.