UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Sproul State Forest again will be the focus of a joint study of deer hunter movement and behavior this fall by Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry and the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

Starting on Saturday, Nov. 30, and Sunday, Dec. 1, researchers and students from Penn State and Bureau of Forestry personnel will be visiting campsites in Sproul State Forest to solicit participation in the study. As was the case last year, researchers will ask hunters to carry global positioning satellite units and mark maps to learn how hunters move through and use habitat.

Similarly, on Monday morning, Dec. 2, through Wednesday, Dec. 4, researchers will stop hunters entering the forest to ask them to carry GPS units or to mark maps indicating their hunting activities during the day. Stations along Route 144 west of Renovo, near Beech Creek Road and near State Line Road on the western side of the forest will be open from before dawn until after dark.

"Last year the research teams enjoyed great cooperation from the hunters using the Sproul," says Jim Finley, project team leader from Penn State. "It only takes a couple of minutes to receive instruction on using the GPS units and convey information to the team, and every cooperating hunter will have his or her name entered into this year's drawing for three Garmin GPS units used in the study.

"We continue to analyze last year's data from the GPS and maps as well as the survey sent to hunters who used Sproul State Forest last year for hunting," says Finley. "We've learned that hunters use the forest in different ways. Some hunters travel long distances through diverse habitats, while others tend to find one spot and stay put. Do different hunting styles yield different success? This is the question that we will focus on this year. We hope that hunters will continue to support the project."

The Penn State research is aimed at providing information to better understand how hunters use large forested areas like Sproul State Forest. The data hunters provide, Finley points out, will move the state's deer and habitat management program into the national spotlight. "No other researchers anywhere in the country are using the type of technology that this project uses and no other studies have enjoyed cooperation like we've received from the Sproul hunters," he says.

For more information about this study, contact Finley at 814-863-0401.

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EDITORS: Contact Jim Finley at 814-863-0401 or fj4@psu.edu.

Contact: Jeff Mulhollem jjm29@psu.edu 814-863-2719 814-863-9877 fax #268