[Comments in brackets are by Jeannine and Duane]
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From the Northern Crew:
Greetings from the North.
It’s currently a few degrees below zero with enough snow to keep snowmobilers busy. However, that is going to change this week with high temps in the 40’s and rain expected. We spent last week doing our First Aid/CPR training and continuing to work on Clover trap repair. We have a broken hub on one of our trailer wheels and a dead truck battery to address, but hopefully they will get taken care of in the next day or two.
We have been testing our GPS collars and expect to have that completed by tomorrow. So far, they are all functional. We still have to load up the trucks with the basic equipment, but trap and trailer repair will take precedent this week. We are excited to get some scouting in later this week if everything goes well.
-Tom
Northern Crew Leader
PA Game Commission
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From the Southern Crew:
Hello all!
Now that we’ve been working outside for a few weeks, the Clover traps are nearing completion and we’re getting into a nice working rhythm as a crew. With our First Aid and CPR course completed, we now feel fully prepared for whatever this season may throw at us weather and deer wise! We also took a bit of time to roll out some drop nets and rocket nets to disperse to the other study areas, and it was a great refresher in proper net handling procedures.
It’s still wonderfully snowy outside with minimal ice. And even though the temperatures look like it will go up a bit next week, fingers crossed we retain some of this snow cover for ease of scouting and moving traps. Next week we’ll knuckle down on sorting through our trapping supplies, preparing the trucks for the winter trapping, and applying tire chains. We’ll keep you all posted as we scout for deer and prepare ourselves for the adventure ahead!
If anyone is driving, please stay safe. I look forward to the next chapter of the season!
-Michaela
Southern Crew Leader
PA Game Commission
