Pa: Hunting of Does debated

[Skinny Shooter]

It's starting to heat up around here and Spring is still 6 weeks away.

http://www.readingeagle.com/re/news/1360207.asp

Hunting of does debated
A lawmaker says selling antlerless-deer licenses is more about making money than managing herd sizes.
By Kori Walter
Reading Eagle

HARRISBURG Doe hunting is such a big moneymaker that the Pennsylvania Game Commission could be reluctant to cut the number of doe-hunting licenses, a Schuylkill County lawmaker said Tuesday.

Neal P. Goodman, a Mahanoy City Democrat, said during a state House Game and Fisheries Committee meeting that doe licenses bring in nearly $5.8 million a year or about 9 percent of the agency's $63.6 million in revenue.

That makes the doe licenses about the third-largest revenue source for the agency, Goodman said.

“A lot of hunters, myself included, believe the sale of antlerless-deer licenses is more of a revenue generator than a deer-management tool,” Goodman told game commission officials during an appearance before the committee.

Vernon R. Ross, game commission executive director, said the commission would have no way of making up lost revenue other than cutting programs.

The game commission already has implemented a hiring freeze because of a projected $3.5 million budget deficit, game officials said.

And the agency is coming off a $5.75 million budget deficit from 2003-04.

Ross said the game commission will not make any changes to hunting regulations until it analyzes the number of deer killed during the 2004-05 hunting season.

“We don't know what happened this past deer season and we won't know until March when we have all the data in and analyzed,” Ross said.

The game commission has been combining buck and doe season since 2000 and targeting does as a way to control the deer population.

Lawmakers and game commission officials have been flooded with thousands of complaints recently from hunters about the policy.

Hunters have called for the game commission to reduce the number of doe licenses because of what they claimed was a lack of deer this past season.

“I think all of us who hunt can tell that it has had a significant impact on the (size) of the deer herd,” Goodman said after Tuesday's session.

But just how far the Legislature will get involved in the deer debate is unclear.

Rep. Bruce Smith, a Cumberland County Republican and chairman of the Game and Fisheries Committee, said lawmakers will hold a hearing sometime before the game commission approves the 2004-05 hunting regulations April 25.

Smith said he wants to shine a light on the issue to get some facts about the number of deer and the commission's policies.

“The game commission sets the hunting seasons and bag limits,” Smith said. “It's not my inclination or desire to have lawmakers or this committee set the seasons or bag limits.”

Contact reporter Kori Walter at 610-371-5022 or kwalter@readingeagle.com.


Hunters call for change

Issue: Hunters and conservation groups have clashed over the state's deer population. Hunters believe the population has been decimated because too many does have been killed. Conservationists maintain that deer overpopulation has damaged forests and bird habitats.

What's happened: The Pennsylvania Game Commission said it will wait for deer harvest figures and other data before making any major changes to hunting regulations.

What's next: The state House Game and Fisheries Committee will hold a hearing about the deer debate this spring. The game commission will vote on final hunting regulations April 25.