Brian Whipkey

Pennsylvania Outdoors Columnist

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With centerfire rifles now being permitted to hunt deer in several parts of Pennsylvania during the flintlock season, an organization wants the Game Commission to create a new early flintlock opportunity that gives hunters a chance to take a buck or doe.

The Pennsylvania Federation of Black Powder Shooters has started a petition on change.org as well as a paper petition seeking a new hunting season for primitive flintlock rifles. That online version has 1,065 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon.

In 2024, the Game Commission added Wildlife Management Units (WMU) 4A, 4D and 5A to the extended firearms antlerless season that was held Jan. 2 to 20 during flintlock season. The change was made in southcentral Pennsylvania to reduce the number of antlerless deer in areas with Chronic Wasting Disease. In the past, the extended firearms season was limited to WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D in the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia regions.

With the addition of more opportunities to hunt deer with rifles during the flintlock season, the Black Powder Shooters feel too many hunters will change to centerfire rifles instead of using primitive firearms.

Jeff Warner, president of the Pennsylvania Federation of Black Powder Shooters, said he would like to see the early antlerless muzzleloader season in October that includes all types of muzzleloaders be extended from one week to two weeks. Hunters using flintlocks would be able to hunt either bucks or antlerless deer.Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

“They’ve (Game Commission) been talking for years now about changing the late season a little bit,”  Warner, who lives in Clearfield County, said. “This past year, specifically, they have allowed centerfire rifles in now six Wildlife Management Units across the state.”

He said there have been proposals to allow other types of muzzleloaders in the flintlock season. His organization is looking to preserve the sport of flintlock hunting.

“We’re pushing for the early season because, with the way the Game Commission works historically, once they’ve added a season or extended the rifle season, that’s not something you can convince them to rescind,” he said.

“Our big reason why we are not necessarily catering to any type of muzzleloader is how historically significant the flintlock is to Pennsylvania. Just the hunting season alone, we’re the only state in the country that has a hunting season that’s dedicated specifically to flintlocks. And it’s that way for a reason. Most people would consider Pennsylvania to be home to the long rifle. And as a matter of fact, the Pennsylvania long rifle is our state firearm which not many people know about,” Warner said.

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With the changes that have been happening with the hunting seasons, he said his organization is concerned for the future of flintlock hunting.

“With the allowance of centerfire rifles in the late season, we’re really scared that the history is going to go away,” he said.

He wants the late flintlock season to remain the same and expand upon the October season.

https://cd3b2c672a229e03ede6e4e2cccf754d.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-41/html/container.htmlPlan for this year: Pa. Game Commission sets tentative 2024-2026 hunting, trapping seasons, includes 3 SundaysMore: Two Pa. hunters get rare bucks with flintlock muzzleloaders. Here’s how

“The idea that we came up with is that early muzzleloader season where its any muzzleloader and you can harvest just a doe, our idea was to extend that by a week whether you start it a week early or extend it a week longer. And in those two weeks, a hunter with a flintlock could harvest a buck or a doe. To coincide with the archery season, we’re not asking for those two weeks that the archery hunters not be in the woods. We’ll share the woods with them as much as we would hope that they would share the woods with us,” he said.

“I don’t think there’s going to be so many extra guys in the woods with their flintlocks during those two weeks that it’s going to really do much of a change for archery hunters,” he said. The agency sold about 154,000 muzzleloader permits during the 2023-24 hunting year. That number includes those who hunt with all ignition types in the October muzzleloader season.

Warner’s concern for the late season is that hunters will opt for their centerfire rifles instead of their flintlocks. “I’ve spoken with people personally who said now that they can use their modern rifles in the late season, they’ll never touch their flintlock again,” he said.

“Hearing things like that drove us to what we’re doing.”

People face problems with education, health, transportation, and drinking water. Benefits do not spill over to local residents.

Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve, Nepal’s only game reserve located 126 km west of the Baglung district headquarters, has drawn hundreds of elite foreigners, who have spent millions over decades to hunt. Shutterstock

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Prakash Baral

Published at : March 27, 2025

Updated at : March 27, 2025 06:39

Baglung

Tourism can lead to economic development through direct and indirect effects. Direct effects include revenue generation and foreign exchange. Indirect effects include local employment and business activities.

Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve, Nepal’s only game reserve located 126 km west of the Baglung district headquarters, has drawn hundreds of elite foreigners, who have spent millions over decades to hunt. Yet, there is no transformation in local livelihoods.

The reserve sprawls over 1,325 square kilometres and is the only hunting space in the country available to foreigners to take blue sheep and other game animals as trophies.

The higher elevations remain under the snow throughout the year. Altitudes vary from 3,000 metres to more than 7,000 metres. The flat meadows above the treeline, known as patans, are essential for animals like the blue sheep and other herbivorous species.

The reserve is divided into six blocks for hunting management.

Foreign tourists arrive to hunt, paying millions, contributing to government revenue.

However, the spillover effect of this prized tourism product is not visible at the local level. While it is easy for tourists to travel, the locals face trouble.

Foreigners charter helicopters and lease jeeps for hunting, but the locals do not have reliable means of transport.

The roads are damaged, and most children and elderly people go to Dhorpatan, Buki, and Jaljala from Bobang on foot, using walking sticks.

The school building is also in a state of disrepair. Locals must walk when migrating to the lowlands in winter and return on foot when summer arrives. The residents face problems related to education, health, transportation, and drinking water.

No health post exists, and the community health service is insufficient. Due to a lack of medicines and doctors, patients frequently visit the army barracks for treatment. Army medics examine approximately 20 patients daily.

“The medicine arrives mainly for army personnel, but we cannot turn away local patients without help. This stretches our medicine supply,” said an army officer who wished to remain anonymous. “Residents of this area face various health problems. Most patients have uterus issues and disabilities.”

Last year, Purnima BK, a local woman requiring emergency medical attention, had to be taken to a hospital in Burtibang on an army vehicle. Many pregnant women and critically ill patients are at risk from the lack of medical facilities.

More than 3,000 households in Dhorpatan live in temporary homes.

Children are left behind when parents leave for grazing animals in the highlands. Three years ago, the army rescued a stranded child and returned him to his parents after a search. The nearest health centre is in Burtibang, 36 km away.

Without a vehicle, people must walk hours to a medical facility. To ensure safe childbirth, women must rent accommodations in Burtibang. Others involved in accidents often do not receive timely treatment and succumb to their injuries.

Around 2,000 children study in five schools in Dhorpatan Valley, but there are no proper buildings with basic facilities. Schools lack furniture and drinking water, forcing children to study sitting on a cold floor.

“Most children come to school hungry. We cannot give them lunch,” said teacher Indra Kumari Gharti Magar. “How can children study on an empty stomach?”

Aside from the families who grow potatoes, most locals do not have sufficient incomes to afford two meals a day. Those who go to the highlands for animal grazing rely on potato-based dishes. Incidents of cow slaughter are reported, with some farmers reasoning they are compelled to do so to manage their meals.

Some infrastructure exists, such as a bridge over the Uttar Ganga river.

However, children must cross forests in the rainy season, leading many to miss classes. The scenic beauty of Dhorpatan Valley alone does not alleviate people’s troubles.

Some residents have access to nearby water sources, but others rely on rivers like Uttar Ganga, Dhorkhola, and Gaprakhola for drinking water.

The municipality has invested millions in managing the Dhorbarah temple but has not allocated funds for education and healthcare.

Many locals remain unaware that education, health, and drinking water are basic facilities that the local government must guarantee.

“We have repeatedly requested the government to implement basic projects, but there is never a sufficient budget,” said Bhadra Mani Sunar, the ward chairman.

Tourists are only permitted to hunt animals if they pay for the privilege. However, wild boars, which cannot be killed, destroy farmers’ potato farms.

There is no internet in Dhorpatan, preventing tourists from posting pictures and videos immediately. A 2G service was introduced in Nisheldhor in the current fiscal year, but operating 4G is impossible without the national grid, according to Santosh Baral, chief of the Nepal Telecom’s Baglung office.

The lack of internet also creates communication barriers for the reserve office and army officials.

Electricity shortages further exacerbate issues, particularly in storing hundreds of quintals of potatoes. “If we had storage facilities, we could consume potatoes year-round and sell them during winter,” said farmer Tek Bahadur Sunar.

The Dhorpatan-Saljhadi road, overseen by the Baglung division, has remained under construction for 16 years, leaving the area poorly connected.

One year since it was discovered in Texas dairy cows, epidemiologists have their hands full tracking the virus’ spread.
https://atx.audio/41IW0Kq

By Michael MarksMarch 26, 2025 3:11 pmAgriculture & Animals, Texas Standard Original

Pixabay

A year after bird flu was discovered in Texas dairy cows, the first case in a sheep has been identified in the UK.

It’s been one year since scientists discovered bird flu in dairy cows in Texas. 

This strain of flu has decimated both wild and domestic bird populations for years. But its leap into cattle signaled a new phase for the virus. Shortly thereafter, dairy workers were found to have contracted the same strain. It also affected cats near the dairy, and a number of other species of animals.

Earlier this week, the British government confirmed that researchers identified the first sheep with avian flu.

Epidemiologists are doing their best to track and predict the virus’ spread, including Gregory Gray, professor in infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Texas – Medical Branch in Galveston. He spoke to the Texas Standard about the current risk to humans.

This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:

Texas Standard: How would you characterize this current trajectory of the bird flu’s transmission? What’s going on? 

Gregory Gray: Well, the strains that are circulating now in North America are very different, and they have not only rapidly spread in wild birds, but we’ve seen some very unusual transmission to many different types of mammals, and then most recently livestock, so it’s very odd. 

Very odd in what way? Because of the transmission to livestock or because of something else?

Well, it’s odd in the sense that there’s been so many spillovers to new species, so the viruses have adapted characteristics that make that possible. And we just haven’t seen that since the 1930s, I guess, when we first understood influenza viruses. 

I’m having a little bit of difficulty understanding how this would pop up in the U.K. Is it related to the strain that we’re seeing in the U.S.? 

I’m not quite sure about those strains, and those data are very new regarding the spread to the sheep. But through many parts of the world, there are certain groups of these viruses that have become prevalent and show the propensity to spill over to new species. 

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What sort of risk does the virus pose by mutating like this? 

Well, there’s the possibility that if multiple characteristics in the genome and multiple gene segments acquire increased markers for severe disease and markers for transmission within humans, between humans, then we’re in trouble. 

How does this seem to be transmitting? Through breath? Through the air? What exactly? 

Well, the transmission that we’ve seen recently in avian species, as well as in livestock, particularly cattle, it seems to have been through different mechanisms – and sometimes that’s been, for the birds, oral fecal transmission. So one bird species gets in contact with fecal material of another.

In the cattle, how that moved from the birds to the cattle we don’t fully know, but there seems to be transmission within the cattle through several different means, primarily through milking and maybe secondarily through some respiratory. But we don’t fully understand it all, and especially we don’t understand how it jumps from farm to farm. 

How concerned should everyday folks be about this mutating and becoming a major issue for humans?

Well, I think it’s something to be concerned about, but I wouldn’t panic just yet. I think what’s happening is we need to keep a pulse on this and monitor the strains that are moving between species and the outbreaks, if you will, that are occurring in livestock, make sure they haven’t adapted the characteristics that would make them highly transmissible to humans.

And particularly if we digest food products, whether they be poultry, eggs or milk, as long as those products are cared for in the expected ways – proper cooking andheating with pasteurization – we’re very safe.

If you ingest raw milk products or raw cheese products, that’s a different story. You could put yourself at risk.