Outdoors: Deer debate continues
Share with others:
At its meeting last week in Harrisburg, the Pennsylvania Game Commission finalized the scheduled of dates and bag limits for the 2006-07 hunting seasons. After months of pressure from legislators and some hunting organizations to adopt policies that would encourage deer numbers to increase, commissioners voted to maintain the concurrent 12-day firearms season but cut the statewide allocation of antlerless licenses.
The Commission approved the sale of 859,000 antlerless tags statewide, down from 879,000 a year ago.
Commissioners approved increased allocations in five Wildlife Management Units, lower allocations in eight units and kept the allocation the same in nine. The most significant change was in WMU 2G in Pennsylvania's northcentral mountains where hunter complaints about low deer numbers have been most strident. There, commissioners approved the issuance of 19,000 antlerless tags, 10,000 fewer than in 2005. The cut in WMU 2G continues a trend begun last year when commissioners slashed the allocation by nearly half. This season, about 36,000 fewer tags will be available in WMU 2G than two years ago.
Commissioner Russ Schleiden expressed reservations about the cut. "I've been to [WMU] 2G and seen the habitat," he said. "Where you fence it [to exclude deer after timber cutting], it regenerates; where you don't fence it, it doesn't. I am not comfortable with this allocation. I think it should be higher but I'll live with it."
The Sproul, Susquehannock, Elk and Moshannon state forests cover about half of WMU 2G. Commissioner Steve Mohr blamed failed forest regeneration on poor forestry practices by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Bureau of Forestry and commission president Thomas Boop agreed, suggesting that hunters could kill all the deer in the region and forests would not regenerate because of poor soils, forestry practices, acid rain and other factors.
Commissioners Mohr and Boop mounted an effort to reduce antlerless allocations in several more Wildlife Management Units, but were voted down repeatedly by the other six board members. President Boop also pushed for a reduction in the 12-day concurrent firearms season, moving to make antlerless deer legal game for only three days during the firearms season in most of the state.
"These are the units where the bulk of complaints [about few deer] have come from," Boop said. "I am of the opinion that the antlerless allocations recommended will accomplish our objectives [without the longer season]."
Boop's motion for the shorter season failed in a 6-2 vote.
"I know there are going to be ramifications from this vote and I hope the hunters realize they had a voice here," Mohr said.
"Hunters always have a voice here," commissioner John Riley said, "This board has taken an oath to do something positive about this problem [overabundant deer]. It has to stop or our grandchildren will never know what deer hunting is."
Before the votes commissioners listened to testimony from more than 50 speakers, most concentrating on the deer issue.
Representing the Buffalo Valley Sportsmen in Union County, Bill Yohn warned that fewer deer would result in hunters buying fewer licenses, reducing the commission's funding stream.
"Statewide, they say that one in seven hunters killed a buck last year. In Union County I would say that number was one in 35. The Game Commission is in trouble and don't think the State Legislature will bail you out. Representative Smith's efforts to introduce a hunting license increase will fall way short," Yohn said.
Most speakers supported policies to curtail deer. "We are beginning to see a response in the vegetation," said Brad Nelson, a biologist with the Allegheny National Forest. "Oak is coming up and we now have some white pine and hobblebush regeneration."
Commissioners also voted to maintain antler restrictions as they were in 2005.
In other actions the Game Commission gave final approval to an archery bear season, Nov. 15-16 in Wildlife Management Units 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G, 3A, 4A, 4B and 4D. The board also proposed to establish a Youth Mentored Hunting Program that would allow adults to take youngsters hunting under certain restrictions before they reach the current minimum age of 12. If given final approval in June the program would apply only to squirrel, woodchuck and spring turkey hunting.
First Published April 23, 2006 12:00 am
