Commonwealth Court last week overruled the Pennsylvania Game Commission's efforts to block a lawsuit by Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania challenging aspects of the agency's deer-management plan.

The ruling requires the PGC to prepare a legal defense of the controversial program, which has intentionally reduced white-tailed deer numbers in some parts of the state.

The USP suit alleges "abuse of discretion" in managing the state's deer herd, resulting in fewer deer being available to hunters. It seeks court orders requiring the agency to quantify the state's deer population and ban antlerless deer hunting on State Game Lands and State Forest Lands until the deer can be counted.

The Game Commission maintains that research of habitat and other indicators shows a regional over-population of whitetails has decimated its own habitat and that of other flora and fauna. The plan, it claims, is correcting the imbalance by regulating deer numbers through adjustments of hunting seasons and bag limits.

On two prior occasions, in 2006 and 2007, the court dismissed Unified Sportsmen's suit, which has since been modified. The Game Commission was given 30 days to respond.

Tournament action

Joe Daveler of Dunbar and Bob Fisher of Uniontown finished 16th of 196 teams with 10 walleyes totaling 26¹/₂-pounds June 13 and 14 in the Cabela's National Team Championship tournament. The tournament was held at Lake Oahe near Mobridge, S.D. The five-fish-a-day limit allowed for just two fish of more than 20 inches.