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.

[fabsroman]

How does the saying go,

"The squeky wheel gets the grease."

Looks like all the complaining you guys are doing is finally getting some results. I don't know how you guys do it in PA, but in Maryland we have 4 different zones and the doe harvest is regulated by which zone we are hunting in. Sad thing is we have deer coming out the wazoo where I have been hunting. Just driving around this area I can see the deer in the woods because of the lack of foliage and the snow on the ground. I could kill a truck load just by driving around every day.

Hopefully, they will fix your guys problem and you will have a decent amount of deer in 5 years.

[Skinny Shooter]

I don't hunt deer enough or have followed this issue enough to have an opinion. Guess you could call me a moderate.
I wonder how much pull the insurance companies have in this issue.

[Swift]

[Classicvette63]

Some areas of pa have an over-abundance of deer. Almost exclusively the suburbs, where there is little land to hunt and ALL of it is posted. In the woods where most people hunt, deer are getting scarce. The pgc can't seem to grasp this concept.

It's funny how not that long ago the trophy hunters were advocating no doe hunting at all under the auspices that doe hunting was beneath them and anyone else who was worthy of being an hunter. Now their agenda is that does should be drastically reduced. I guess it only matters how you feel the best way to get monsters bucks is. More flip-flopping than klinton and kerry put together.

I totally agree that the pgc is only interested in the $$$ generated by the doe licenses. They're not called the perpetually greedy commission for nothing.

[Swift]

It's all about $$$$$$$$$$$$$

[ol_spark]

The PGC has trouble grasping anything unless it is green. Any ordinary person would concede that the PGC has no good numbers when it comes to deer population. How can they?They have an honorary reporting system and they gestimate at the population. I've spoken to a few police officers that have used the infa red system in their helicopters to find lost or hide away hunters/criminals. They tell me this equipment does a pretty good job of seeking body heat and could be used to count deer after the foilage is off. Like after hunting season. Why would the PGC want to use this type of equipment to do a deer count. Well, it seems that they are afraid to get of their a$$ and do the check station thing. I would think that as much static that they have received over the numbers that they would be proving them. Why don't they? It's because they can't.

Clasissvette is right, there are some areas where the deer has been decimated and other areas where they need to kill more. Why would the PGC try some management technique used for a high fence ( controlled area) in an area (Pa) where they do not have total control over the land? Beats me.
Another point.. I've have yet to talk to a Pa hunter that asked for the current mangement style. This is a PGC/ timber idea and they are trying to convinvce themselves the PA hunters want it. BULL Well here's one that does not.

[skeeter@ccia.com]

FOOD FOR THOUGHT and the freezor. I am among those that love the sport of the hunt and all that goes along with it. I have had my share of complaints and opinions on how the PGC should handle different programs. Even though I don't think they should hide certain information from us and my thoughts of certain individuals within that may be getting a fat pocket somewhere along the line, I still think they do a fine job. I can still stroll in a nice plot of woods and not wonder if someone has just built a new housing plan or shopping mall over the next hill. Game Lands. I agree the numbers of deer has not been the same as in all the many years I have hunted in the past even with all the new plan of attacks that the local papers say we need in order to find these elusive deer they say are still out there in more numbers than ever. Those I hear most complain of deer numbers drop are also those I hear brag about how many doe licenses they bought and filled. The numbers are outstanding in some families...17 deer..yet they complain there are no deer out there....even one hunter I know that does not eat the harvest but still shoots to fill every tag the law will let him buy..4....says deer hard to find...Me and my daughters buy as many tags as we can get hold of.....the PGC is happy with the $$$ .....but.....we only harvest a few to fill the freezor......what do we do with the rest of the tags?..FILE G.....figure for each doe taken, probably totals 3 deer in the woods next year. given 2 hunters in a family, and 2 filled tags, that has removed 6 deer from the woods next year..times this by the numbers of tags you buy and fill these past years....NOW, WHY IS THERE NO DEER IN THE WOODS?.....It isn't the PGC..it is us hunters filling all the given tags we recieve....get the point?.
It is called greed. Sow some seeds for the next year.

born to be outdoors....thanks dad

[kt]

i dont think i have it in me to B*tch about the situation any more than i already have. i might pass out from exhaustion if i try.