Archer Selection Lottery Opens for City of Pittsburgh 2025-2026 Deer Management Program
Pittsburgh, PA – The City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety is calling on local archers to enter the Deer Management Program selection lottery for the upcoming 2025-2026 archery season.
The program is a partnership between the City of Pittsburgh and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) with the goal of managing the overpopulation of white-tailed deer in city parks. After two successful years of archery-controlled hunts, the program is again expanding for the 2025-2026 season. This will include expanding the current archery program from Frick, Riverview, Emerald View, Schenley and Highland Parks to Hays Woods, Hazelwood Greenway, Southside Park, and Seldom Seen Greenway.
“There were again zero public safety incidents that resulted from last year’s archery season,” said Director of Public Safety, Lee Schmidt. “We remain grateful to our diligent archers from last season and are ever thankful to our Pittsburgh Park Rangers and the USDA for their continued management of this very needed and highly successful program.”
The 2024-2025 archery season included hunts in Frick, Riverview, Schenley, Highland, and Emerald View Parks and resulted in a total of 199 deer harvested. Of those, 92 deer were donated to local food banks, resulting in approximately 3,680 pounds of venison and 14,720 meals provided to residents in need.
Interested archers can enter into a lottery system from which 65 archers will be selected, along with 65 alternate archers. City residents will be given priority in the lottery, however residents from Allegheny County and surrounding counties may apply. All selected archers must pass a criminal background check and fulfill the following criteria:
- Must be at least 18 years of age
- Have a clean criminal background check, including a clean PA Game Commission record
- Plan to purchase a 2B Antlerless Tag
- Not participating in other deer management programs
Upon passing a criminal background check, the selected archers will be required to attend an accuracy test on Sunday, August 3 from 8:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. OR Wednesday, August 6 from 3:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. If the accuracy test is passed, each hunter will be assigned a hunter ID number and a specific location within a park where they are permitted to hunt.
Additional program stipulations:
- There is a zero-tolerance policy. Any hunter who violates the guidelines outlined by the program or commits a game-law felony will result in immediate expulsion from the program.
- There is NO hunting on Sundays.
- Every archer is REQUIRED to take a doe first. This doe must be donated to a food bank program, such as Hunters Sharing the Harvest.
- Absolutely no field dressing is allowed on-site. ALL dressing must be performed at the authorized dressing location.
- Complete an online post-hunt summary within 24-hours of a successful or non-successful hunt.
Lottery registration will remain open until 11:59 p.m. on July 20, 2025. For additional information and to register for the lottery, please visit the city’s Deer Management Program EngagePGH page.
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