(Posted January 28, 2002)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Gary Alt, head of the Pennsylvania Game Commission Deer Management Section, will talk about new policies and practices for the management of the state's deer herd at Juniata College at 6 p.m., Feb. 2, in Rosenberger Auditorium in Oller Hall on the Juniata campus.

The event is free and open to the public.

Alt will speak about preliminarily approved deer hunting seasons and bag limits for the 2002-2003 hunting seasons. Every January, Game Commission officials give preliminary approval to upcoming bag limits and length of game seasons. Alt makes presentations outlining any changes at various sites across the state to gather reaction and feedback from the public before the regulations are given final approval in April.

Alt also will talk about several Game Commission research projects, including an extensive radio-telemetry study of male deer dispersal and survival in Centre and Armstrong counties. The Game Commission and Penn State's Pennsylvania Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Unit began this cooperative research project in December. Over the next three years, researchers will monitor 100 bucks per year in each of the two counties.

"Deer management influences every Pennsylvanian and impacts virtually every wildlife species," Alt said.

Alt was appointed to lead the Game Commission's Deer Management Section in 1999. Before his appointment, Alt served as a wildlife biologist for the Game Commission, specializing in research and management of black bears.

He earned an associate's degree in wildlife technology from Penn State DuBois in 1972. He earned a bachelor's degree in wildlife science from Utah State University and earned a master's degree in wildlife management from Penn State. His doctorate in forest resources science was earned at West Virginia University.

Alt also works as a freelance photographer and lecturer. He has narrated and hosted an award-winning documentary on bears. He is a member of The Wildlife Society, the American Society of Mammalogists, the International Association for Bear Research and Management and the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.