For years, farmers in Pennsylvania have watched deer tear through their crops while hunting regulations made it harder than ever to do anything about it. The Pennsylvania Game Commission has decided to change that — and the new office they've created to do it might be the most practical move the agency has made in decades.
A New Office With a Clear Purpose
The Game Commission officially launched the Landowner Resource Office, a dedicated operation designed to connect landowners — especially farmers — with hunters who can help manage deer populations on private land. The office pulls together several existing programs under one roof and adds new tools that weren't available before.
Tyler Strohecker, who previously served as the agency's landowner engagement and hunting access manager, has been named director of the new office. The office answers to Dave Gustafson, the deputy executive director for resource management, and has dedicated managers running each of its core programs.
The idea isn't just to hand out more tags or create more bureaucracy. The goal is to build a system where landowners know who to call, hunters know how to get access, and deer that are damaging crops actually get harvested instead of being left to cause more problems.
The Ag Tag Numbers Tell the Story
One look at the Ag Tag program shows why this new office is needed. The Ag Tag program gives farmers and qualifying landowners an extended hunting season that runs from August 1 all the way through April 15 — a window that goes far beyond the traditional season — specifically to address crop damage from deer.
David Stainbrook, the agency's deer and elk section supervisor, told the Game Commission board in April that enrollment in the Ag Tag program jumped by nearly 500 units in a single year. In 2024-2025, there were 1,157 units enrolled. By 2025-2026, that number had climbed to 1,651. Around 4,000 deer were harvested under the Ag Tag program during the most recent season.
In terms of the overall statewide antlerless harvest, that's only about 1%. But Stainbrook was quick to point out that scale isn't the right way to measure the program's impact.
"Although these are not large numbers, they are important at the small scale that they're used," Stainbrook said.
For a farmer losing corn, soybeans, or other crops to deer pressure every season, the difference between 1,157 enrolled units and 1,651 isn't a statistic — it's whether the deer problem gets addressed or not.
Four Core Functions Driving the Office
Travis Lau, the Game Commission's communications director, described the office as being built around four distinct areas of operation. Together, they're designed to handle everything from matching hunters with land to making sure harvested deer don't go to waste.
The first is the Certified Hunter Program. This initiative gives vetted hunters access to private lands that would otherwise be off-limits, creating a pool of reliable, accountable hunters who can carry out real management work — not just recreational hunting. The program has already moved beyond its regional pilot phase and is now a statewide offering, a transition that Commissioner Bob Schwalm had pushed for over a long period of time.
Schwalm made his position clear at the April board meeting: without programs like this, landowners who are serious about reducing deer numbers on their property have very few options.
"Other than regular hunting," Schwalm said, employing sharpshooters is the alternative for crop damage areas — something he described as "concerning."
The Certified Hunter Program gives landowners a better option: trained, coordinated hunters who understand the mission and can operate accordingly.
Landowner Outreach and the Hunter Access Program
The second core function of the Landowner Resource Office is the Hunter Access Program. This program works on the landowner side of the equation, educating property owners about their options and enrolling them in a tiered access system that opens private land to managed hunting.
The tiered system matters because not every landowner wants the same level of access or the same type of hunting activity. Some may want deer reduced in specific areas. Others may be open to broader access. The program is designed to be flexible enough to meet landowners where they are while still achieving the deer management outcomes that protect property and natural resources.
When a landowner enrolls and a certified hunter gets access, both sides benefit. The hunter gets to hunt land that's otherwise unavailable. The landowner gets deer pressure reduced in a controlled, accountable way.
DMAP: Managing Deer at the Local Level
The third core function is the Deer Management Assistance Program, better known as DMAP. This program takes a localized approach, working with landowners to develop and carry out strategies specific to their property and their situation. Rather than applying statewide blanket solutions, DMAP tries to match the management strategy to the actual deer-human conflict happening on a given piece of land.
Last season, the DMAP period was extended to run from December 26, 2025 through January 24 — giving hunters more time to put antlerless deer on the ground in enrolled areas. Enrollment in the program grew, moving from 3,016 units to 3,238 in 2025-2026.
The harvest numbers, however, dipped slightly. In the previous season, 14,535 deer were taken through DMAP. Last season, that number was 14,372. Stainbrook acknowledged the small decline but offered an explanation that anyone who has spent time in deer camp will recognize: hunters need time to change their habits.
"We found it does take several years for hunters to be aware of and fully utilize DMAP opportunities," he said.
The extended season is new. The information hasn't fully spread yet. As more hunters learn about the expanded DMAP window, the expectation is that harvests will increase to reflect the additional opportunity.
Getting Harvested Deer Off the Field and Into Freezers
The fourth core function is the Processor Program, and it's one that doesn't get talked about enough in conversations about deer management. Harvesting deer is only part of the equation. Getting that meat processed and into the hands of people who can use it is the other half.
The Processor Program builds direct partnerships with meat processors across the state to ensure certified hunters have reliable access to processing regardless of where they're hunting. The program also helps facilitate grant opportunities and coordinates between the Game Commission, processors, and nonprofit organizations like Hunters Sharing the Harvest.
Hunters Sharing the Harvest is a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit that collects donated venison and distributes it to food banks and families in need. Connecting the Processor Program with organizations like that turns deer management from a wildlife issue into a community resource. Deer that would have caused crop damage instead provide meals — a straightforward outcome that's hard to argue with.
Lau summed up what the office is trying to accomplish in broad terms.
"Built around four core functions — hunter coordination, landowner outreach, wildlife management and harvest processing — the office will take a holistic, programmatic approach to serving end users," he said.
Why This Matters Beyond Pennsylvania
What the Pennsylvania Game Commission has done is create a system that treats deer management as something more than a regulatory checkbox. For landowners who have spent years dealing with crop losses and fence damage, having a centralized office that understands their problems and has real tools to address them is a significant shift.
For hunters, particularly those who have wanted access to private land but didn't know how to get it, the Certified Hunter Program and the Hunter Access Program open doors that have been closed for a long time. Getting certified, getting enrolled, and getting on private ground that actually holds deer is now a clearer path than it's ever been.
And for processors and nonprofits who depend on consistent deer donations to do their work, having the Game Commission formally build those relationships into its structure gives those operations a more reliable foundation.
The Landowner Resource Office is new. Some of its programs are still finding their footing. The DMAP harvest numbers show that it takes time for hunters to adapt to new opportunities. But the structure is in place, the leadership is appointed, and the enrollment numbers in both Ag Tag and DMAP are trending upward.
Pennsylvania has a deer problem that's been frustrating farmers and hunters for a long time. This office doesn't fix everything overnight, but it's a serious attempt to build the kind of system that actually could.
