The Bradford City Water Authority is encouraging local hunters to take advantage of the state’s Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP), which is approved for hunting activities on the authority’s watershed.

As of Aug. 22, 556 permits out of a total of 800 were still available. Water Authority lands are in unit number 1996.

A Deer Management Assistance Program permit can be used to harvest one antlerless deer in the specific program area during any established antlerless deer hunting season within the appropriate license year.

Antlerless deer also may be taken on DMAP properties during the antlered-only firearms season. Hunters may not use DMAP permits to harvest an antlered deer.

Hunters may obtain up to two DMAP permits per designated area, and are required to file a harvest report regardless of whether they kill a deer.

DMAP permits went on sale during the third round of antlerless license sales (the second Monday of August).

Hunters may obtain permits directly from license the Pennsylvania Game Commissions website.

Before obtaining the permit, hunters need to get the DMAP unit number for the state forest or park area they want to hunt. The unit number for the Water Authority property is #1996.

Hunters may use the PA Game Commissions interactive map to find available DMAP areas.

This information is updated every 7 to 14 days based on permit data received from the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

DMAP provides additional antlerless tags or permits to meet site specific goals like reducing deer density, balancing the buck:doe ratio, or reducing deer impacts to agriculture or other plants. These tags aren’t “crop damage permits,” however, and are to be used by hunters during the legal hunting season.

The overall goal of DMAP is to match the available food and cover with the deer population in an effort to maintain a healthy, balanced deer herd in line with what the habitat can

provide, also known as carrying capacity. Again, the unit number for the Water Authority property is #1996.