Kicking off on Saturday, Nov. 19, the regular firearms bear season will be here before you know it, and hunters in and around Lycoming County need to be aware a check station location has changed.

The check station at Trout Run Fire Hall, north of Williamsport along state Route 14, will operate as planned on Saturday, Nov. 19 and Sunday Nov. 20, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on each day. There also will be a check station at the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Northcentral Region Office, 1566 South Route 44 Highway, Jersey Shore, Pa., which also will operate on Saturday, Nov. 19 and Sunday Nov. 20, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on each day.

The check station at the Northcentral Region Office is not included on the list of regular firearms bear season check stations provided in the 2022-23 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest. That’s because it’s a recent change to accommodate hunters who ordinarily would have checked bears at the Antes Fort Fire Hall. The fire company has opted not to host a check station this year, so that check station instead will be held at the Northcentral Region Office, which is less than a quarter-mile away.

Hunters are advised that the Antes Fort Fire Hall remains on the list of check stations on Page 41 of the Hunting & Trapping Digest, but those who go there will be redirected to the region office.

Meanwhile, all bear hunters should be advised the days and hours of operation have changed for check stations statewide this year. All check stations will operate on Saturday, Nov. 19 and Sunday Nov. 20, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on each day. Hunters who harvest bears on Monday, Nov. 21 or the season’s final day, Tuesday, Nov. 22, should call the Game Commission’s Centralized Dispatch Center at 1-833-PGC-HUNT or 1-833-PGC-WILD for instructions on having their bears checked.

In the extended bear season, which overlaps all or a portion of the firearms deer season and is held in 16 of 23 Wildlife Management Units, bear check stations are open on various dates and times. Those check stations and their dates and hours of operation are found on Page 42 of the 2022-23 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest.