Treasurer’s office anxious about new antlerless deer license sale system
June 26 will be reckoning day in the county treasurer’s office, Treasurer Diane Marburger said.
Not for taxpayers, but for the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s new system for selling antlerless, or doe, hunting licenses for the upcoming 2023-24 season.
For the first time in decades, hunters won’t complete doe license applications and mail them in, along with a check, in the commission’s ubiquitous pink envelopes to buy a doe license.
Hunters can buy licenses online beginning June 26 at 8 a.m. through the www.huntfish.pa.gov website or by going to the Butler County treasurer’s office in the government center at the courthouse, 124 W. Diamond St., or at other issuing agents — such as sporting goods shops and stores like Walmart. The treasurer’s office opens at 8:30 a.m.
“The big reckoning day will be June 26,” Marburger said. “Instead of us opening pink envelopes, we’ll have a line of hunters.”
Those who buy licenses at the treasurer’s office or through another issuing agent will immediately receive their licenses, but those who buy online will receive them in the mail. The commission said it may take up to 10 business days for the licenses to arrive by mail.
Commission representatives talked about the new license sales system to treasurers from across the state last week at the 74th annual convention of the County Treasurer’s Association of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg.
“The PGC (Pennsylvania Game Commission) came and talked about it. They feel the system will handle all the traffic online. They feel confident in that,” Marburger said.
However, the commission is advising hunters to consider the wildlife management unit where they plan to hunt before deciding when to buy a license, because licenses are expected to sell at a faster rate — and doe licenses for some units sell out faster than others.
When sales volumes are high, online customers will experience longer waits, according to the game commission. When sales reach a certain level, those customers will be routed to a virtual waiting room, then brought into the sales site on a first-come, first-served basis.
Hunters seeking a doe license in one of the higher demand units might want to buy one as soon as possible, even if that means waiting. But waiting might be a better option for those interested in a unit where licenses usually are available through the first round of sales, according to the commission.
The commission increased the number of doe licenses allocated for most units for the upcoming season. Most of Butler County lies in units 1A and 2D. In 1A, the allocation increased from 43,000 last year to 46,000 this year. In 2D, the allocation rose from 74,000 to 86,000.
Only state residents can buy doe licenses during the first round of sales that begins June 26. The first round for nonresidents begins July 10. The second, third and fourth rounds are open to residents and nonresidents. The second round begins July 24, the third on Aug. 14 and the fourth on Aug. 28. One license can be purchased at a time in the first three rounds.
June 20 to 23 is the window for landowners who own at least 50 acres of property open to public hunting to buy doe licenses, Marburger said.
Last year, the treasurer’s office brought in $26,965 from the sale of all hunting licenses, including 25,500 does licenses, Marburger said. Gross sales totaled $204,217, and $177,252 of that was remitted to the commission, she said.
She predicted this year’s figure will be “way south” of last year’s due to online sales.
Counties keep $1 from the sale of each license and each additional license and permit, such as those for bear, doe, trapping and archery, Marburger said.
She said the county used to hire temporary employees to help handle the influx of doe license applications under the old system.
“We were very diligent,” Marburger said. “We used to get bins and bins and bins of pink envelopes.”
The envelopes were opened one at a time in the order they were received and each application was inspected to make sure it was filled out correctly before being placed in other bins for each unit, she said.
Staff entered the permits into the commission’s computer system, printed the licenses, placed them back in the pink envelopes and mailed them to the buyer.
Before the commission established the wildlife management unit, or WMU, system in the early 2000s, doe licenses were issued by counties. Back then, Butler County hired four women who were senior citizens to help process the applications.
“It was like a sewing bee. They would process them manually,” Marburger said.
When the units were created, teenagers were hired to process the applications because they had to be entered into the system as fast as possible to give hunters a fighting chance against hunters from other counties to get a license for the unit they wanted, she said.
“We competed with other treasurers’ offices to let hunters get the most coveted WMUs,” Marburger said.
