Why should anyone be offended Pat? Personally, I don't agree with you, but not offended.

I think it should pass, not because I know enough about our turkey population to set limits, but because I feel those decisions should be in the hands of the PGC, not our Legislature. Even if I opposed it like you do, I'd feel that way.

While we can sit and debate many of the management decisions made by the PGC, the problems we each may have with their decisions pale in comparison to the problems cropping up in many other states where politicians get involved. Folks that live upstate may not realize it but our demographics are very similar to many of those states where game management decisions are being influenced by non-hunters and the emotional, non-factual appeals of anti-hunting or animal rights organizations to people who know nothing about game management or animal husbandry. Over 40% of our population lives in the currently defined SRA's and there are a couple more counties that will probably be added in the near future pushing that number to well over 50%. At least one county in the far NE is now considered part of the Greater New York City Metropolitan Area and there's serious discussion about a commuter train line into the Poconos to turn it into an even larger bedroom community for N. NJ and NYC.

Personally, I think removing as much political control as possible from game management decisions is one of the most important steps in preserving the future of hunting in PA, that the less temptation our Legislators have to interfere, the better we will be able preserve sound scientific game management as the basis for setting seasons and limits for future generations.