This was an interesting week for me in the outdoor world of the Lake Region. A few weeks back I received a phone call from the Legislative Director to Senator Richard Alloway II, Chairman of the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee. My name was given to the senator by our state representative, Mike Peifer, as someone who may be able and willing to provide testimony for an upcoming hearing. After a brief question and answer session on the phone, I agreed to speak before the committee. The hearing was held at 9:30 Friday morning at the PPL Environmental Learning Center on Lake Wallenpaupack.



The purpose of this hearing, and others like it across the Commonwealth was to gather testimony related to the proposed hunting license fee increase. For the record, and before anyone starts objecting, the last hunting license fee that we saw, was in 1999. If you just think about that for a second, it might seem surreal that it has been that many years since the fee was raised, but it is true. Imagine if you were trying to operate your household on a 1999 budget with today’s cost of living! You would not even be able to afford the gas to drive to work.



Unfortunately for the Game Commission, they do not get to decide when they can raise the hunting license fees. This must be done by the legislature. The Game Commission has been operating this way for a decade, cutting programs that affect you and eye on a regular basis in order to try to survive. Some of the cuts backs have included the pheasant stocking program, Game News subscriptions to schools and libraries, Wildlife Conservation Officer vacancies not being filled, food and cover equipment not being repaired or replaced, reductions in habitat work, fewer educational programs and much more.



We, as hunters feel these budget cuts even if we are not aware of it. The Game Commission does not receive any monies from the general fund. Their only sources of income are from license sales, timber sales from game lands, and gas and oil leases on some game lands. (Often when the PGC obtains a game land, they do not receive the mineral rights to that property). So I agreed to provide testimony, along with several others.



First on the line was Executive Director of the Game Commission, Mr. Carl Roe. Mr. Roe discussed details about expenses of the agency, program cuts, and a lot of dollars and cents. Second to take the stand was another local individual who many of you know, Mr. Chuck Lombaerde, first Vice President of the Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsman’s Clubs. As a whole, the Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsman’s clubs is our largest body of representation for sportsmen and women, with an active involvement in the legislative process on a daily basis. If you are not a member, you should seriously consider it. Mr. Lombaerde spoke on behalf of this large faction, totally in support of a process that allows for more timely increases in hunting license fees over time, more in accord with how the rest of the real world works.



Third in line was yours truly. As one who represents the outdoors as the Chairman of the Board to the Outdoor Writers of Pennsylvania, a Director for the Northeast Chapter of the Quality Deer Management Association, I was pleased to be invited to speak. The most incite for me however, was the fact that I am now bringing along two of the futures very best sportsmen and conservationists in my own children. At twenty dollars, our hunting license is one of the cheapest in the nation, and one that is a bargain. For your dollars you can hunt all the small game you want (within the bag limits of course), take a turkey in the fall and spring, and an antlered deer to boot. As one who hunts multiple states, I would be more than willing to pay more for my privilege to hunt in Pennsylvania. And so my testimony reflected this.



Last to testify before Chairman Alloway, Senator McIlhinney as Vice Chair and local representative Senator Lisa Baker was Wes Waldron, president of the United Bowhunters of Pennsylvania. This group is the largest representation of the bowhunting community. Mr. Waldron expressed that his group, is also very much in favor of a license fee increase program that would allow for smaller incremental increases over a chronological timeline.



There were a few questions posed to each presenter by the senators, but all in all it was a fairly seamless process. There was neither testimony nor any questions from the public. In summary, I would say that this license increase is one that is needed in order for the Game Commission to continue to operate effectively. Without the proper number of biologists on staff, we will not be able to know how many black bears, wild turkeys or whitetailed deer we even have. It is impossible to set seasons and bag limits without such information. Without Wildlife Conservation Officers evenly staffed in each region, the bad guys would be able to run rampant and steal game from you and me at will. Yes, our pheasant stocking program is mostly put and take, but I can tell you that behind the scenes there has been extensive work at starting reproducing populations of ringnecks in Pennsylvania, and things are working. If nothing else, we need pheasants for the clubs to be able to hold their special youth events, such as the super day put on by the Promised Land Sportsmen’s Association each year.



Like it or not, Commission fan or not, we need this agency to be financially able to do the work we as sportsmen and women need from them. It is our turn to step up to the plate.