Pittsburgh International Airport (KPIT) holds lottery for hunting permits

It's a win-win arrangement for sportsmen and women and for the wildlife management goals at Pittsburgh International Airport.

But it's a bad deal for deer caught in the airport's designated bow-hunting zone.

The Allegheny County Airport Authority is holding a lottery to issue free, archery-only season permits for use on land owned by Pittsburgh International Airport.

Last year, the area set aside for the hunting program exceeded 2,300 acres. But this year, because of commercial development on airport property, only about 832 acres will be open to hunters, the airport said in a statement announcing the pilot program's second year.

Despite the decrease, the airport still expects to issue about 100 licenses for the season, which runs from Oct. 4, 2014, to Jan. 10, 2015.

Interested? The application deadline is Sept. 21, with a public lottery to be held Sept. 24.

Pittsburgh International isn't the only airport where bow hunting for deer is allowed on property.

Each year St. Cloud Regional Airport in Minnesota issues seven permits for bow hunters to try to bag whitetail deer on about 200 acres owned by the airport.

Last year, 79 hunters each paid $10 to put their name in the lottery, with the winners paying an additional $5 for their permits. This year, the lottery odds were much better, with fewer than 30 hunters entering the pool.

Lack of publicity may have had something to do with low turnout this year, said airport general manager William Towle, who holds a mandatory meeting each year for the seven permit winners.

"We meet to go over the rules," said Towle, "But I also want the hunters to see each other because that helps make sure everyone gets along out there."

Hunting for deer, with the goal of controlling wildlife, also is permitted at Cecil Airport, a corporate, military and general aviation airport operated by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority in Florida.

There, a license is granted to an archery hunting club restricted to no more than 20 members. The club pays the airport more than $13,000 a year for bow-hunting access from Sept. 1 through April 30 on more than 1,861 acres.

- Source:  http://www.usatoday.com