The Pennsylvania Capitol AP file Photo

Matt Rourke

County Treasurer Diane Marburger said she believes the Game Commission’s new antlerless deer hunting license sales schedule is intended to avoid overloading the online sales system, something that occurred last year.

The commission said the new sales schedule, which begins June 24, two days earlier than last year, will reduce waiting lines and guarantees most resident hunters will get a doe license in the wildlife management unit of their choice, as long as they buy them before sales to nonresidents begin.

Beginning at 8 a.m. June 24, doe licenses for only three units, 1B, 2G and 3A, will be sold, because they tend to sell out faster than other units and drive much of the demand at the start of sales, according to the commission.

However, there’s no guarantee in getting a license for those three units because they are sold on a first-come, first-served basis until the allocated number of licenses are sold, the commission said.

At 8 a.m. June 27, residents can begin buying doe licenses for the remaining 19 units and are guaranteed to get one if they buy before 7 a.m. July 8, which is when the resident-only part of the first round of sales ends.

Nonresident first round sales begin at 8 a.m. July 8.

After that, all remaining antlerless licenses will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis until the allocated number of licenses is gone.

Last year, when antlerless sales were sold over the counter and online for the first time, only unit 2G sold out before sales to nonresidents began. Units 1B and 3A sold out in the final days of the first round, according to the commission.

“It’s an effort (by the commission) to protect the system by limiting the number of people getting online,” Marburger said. “They hope to improve performance on June 27 and avoid the system getting overloaded.”

She said last year’s sales system, which also was tried for the first time, allowed hunters to buy online or over the counter at treasurers’ offices or other sales locations.

Butler County lies within units 2D, 1A and a small part of 2B. Last year’s allocation of 86,000 licenses for 2D sold out on Aug. 25. Unit 1A’s allocation of 46,000 sold out on Aug. 14. The 53,000 licenses allocated to 2B sold out on Nov. 22, according to information the commission provided to county treasurers at the County Treasurer’s Association of Pennsylvania’s April 17 spring seminar in State College. Marburger serves as treasurer on the association’s executive committee.

The second round of sales begins at 8 a.m. July 22 and the third round begins at 8 a.m. Aug. 12. Deer Management Assistance Program permits also go on sale when the third round begins. During the fourth round, which begins at 8 a.m. Aug. 26, a hunter may purchase more than one license for any unit where licenses are available. No hunter may have more than six antlerless licenses. A hunter is limited to buying one antlerless license per round in the first three rounds.

Resident doe licenses cost $6.97 and nonresident doe licenses cost $26.97.

Landowner doe licenses go on sale June 17.