This grant proposal includes two separate projects, each inter-related to the other and oftenserving the same customers, but each with a different and specific purpose

The Pennsylvania Game Commission received $586,667 in formula grant funding from the U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service under the Wildlife Restoration and Basic Hunter Education and Safety program (CFDA 15.611) for the period July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. The award supports two interrelated projects designed to advance hunting and trapping participation in Pennsylvania. The first project focuses on hunter and trapper education, with the objective of producing safe, responsible, knowledgeable, and actively engaged hunters and trappers. The second project addresses hunter and trapper recruitment, retention, and reactivation to increase the number of active hunters annually and establish sustainable hunting participation levels for the future.

Authorized under the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937, this formula grant reflects the federal government's established commitment to supporting state-level wildlife conservation and hunter safety initiatives. The funding allocation is based on established state allocation methodologies and requires the Game Commission to maintain separate cost records for the grant period, with documentation retained for three years following submission of the Federal Financial Report.

The first is thehunter and trapper education project, focusing on producing safe, responsible, knowledgeable, and involved hunters and trappers. The second is the hunter and trapper recruitment, retention and reactivation project, necessary to increase the number of active hunters annuallyand to develop vital and self-sustainable hunting participation levels well into the future