For more than 100 years, the Game Commission has managed the Commonwealth's wildlife resources for all Pennsylvanians. With the help of more than 700 full-time employees and thousands of part-timers and volunteers, the agency provides a host of benefits to wildlife, state residents, and visitors.

In the late 1800s, however, wildlife was dwindling as a result of deforestation, pollution, and unregulated hunting and trapping. From this dark period emerged the Game Commission, created by the state Legislature to protect and conserve wildlife, which was then commonly referred to as "game." The wildlife diversity we enjoy today is largely due to the agency's progressive, scientifically-based wildlife management programs and support from countless Pennsylvanians and outdoors organizations.

Funded primarily by hunting and furtaker license sales; State Game Lands timber, mineral, and oil/gas revenues; and a federal excise tax on sporting arms and ammunition; the Commission is almost entirely supported by hunters and trappers, or assets that have been procured with license dollars. The Commission does not receive state General Fund appropriations. More than half its annual revenue comes from license sales, a relatively fixed income source. License fees cannot be increased without approval of the General Assembly, and fee increases have historically come only about every 10 years.

MISSION:
Manage and protect wildlife and their habitats while promoting hunting and trapping for current and future generations.
VISION:
Recognized and respected as the leader in innovative and proactive stewardship of wildlife and their habitats.

Contact Us

• Region Office Locations
  

PGC Staff

• Board of Commissioners
  
• Executive Staff
  
• Careers & Volunteers
  

What We Do

• Strategic Plan 2020-2023 (PDF)
• Vision for the Future (PDF); Vision for our Future (video 7:37)
• Upcoming Events
• The Story of Joseph McHugh – Game Protector killed in 1915 (PDF)

Finances 

• Overview of Game Fund Revenues and Expenditures
  
• Annual Legislative Report.