Alt reflects on decision to leave Game Commission
By Bob Frye
TRIBUNE-REVIEW OUTDOORS EDITOR
Sunday, January 9, 2005

It was January of 2000 and the Pennsylvania Game Commission was having its first meeting of the year.

It was a coming out party of sorts for Gary Alt. He had just been appointed head of the agency's deer management section about three months earlier and this was his first chance to really let the public know what he was thinking.

Alt, in typical fashion, was a firebrand that day, his voice rising as he called the tolerance of an overabundance of deer "the greatest skeleton in the closet of wildlife management."

Alt also offered up a bit of prophecy that day. He said he was dedicating his life to fixing the deer situation. If he could do that as an employee of the Game Commission, he would. But if the agency or hunters wouldn't let him succeed, Alt said, he would lead the charge from outside.

That day may be here.

Alt left the commission effective Dec. 31. It was officially billed as a retirement, though Alt is just 53 years old.

Last week, Alt spoke publicly for the first time about his decision to leave. It was not about protecting his retirement or putting the wraps on a career that had run its course.

Alt said he retired because his bosses at the commission would not let him do what needed to be done to bring deer into balance with their habitat.

"It was an impossible situation. There was no way to win," Alt said.

The problem of Alt being at odds with some others within the agency is not a recent development. it began when Alt was asked -- after having spent three months touring the state talking about the need for antler restrictions -- to do an about face and drop his request for them.

It continue, he said, when his bosses, in an attempt to "rein him in," started sending representatives of the executive office to the deer section's meetings to squash biological discussions.

Alt refused to back down in either case. When things deteriorated so far that he felt he could no longer be effective, he walked away.

"I didn't want to put my credibility at stake by staying. I would rather starve than perform malpractice," Alt said. "I'm not going to do it."

Alt believes the problem of trying to raise more deer than the landscape can support will be solved. Too many people in society are aware of the issue to think change isn't coming.

The only question, Alt said, is whether the Game Commission can be the agency to bring that change about. Alt believes most hunters bought into his programs, but worries that a vocal minority will force some commissioners to back away from doing the right thing.

That would be a "lethal mistake," he said.

"I feel sad because Pennsylvania deserves better than what it has had. I feel sad about what will likely happen to the commission if they turn and run," Alt said.

Either way, Alt figures to be around to see what happens next. He's lining up work leading photo tours to sites around the world. He wants to write a few natural history books on bear and deer, too, and do some lectures.

Already, though, several groups have approached him about becoming a spokesman for deer issues on a state or national level.

"I still believe deeply in this cause," Alt said. " I don't think I'll ever walk away from it completely."

In the meantime, Alt said he has no regrets about his decision to retire. He's proud of what he and his deer team accomplished, and with how hunters adapted to things like antler restrictions when so many thought they couldn't.

"I have no interest in name calling. I have no interest in blame. I just want Pennsylvania to manage its wildlife in a better fashion than it has done," Alt said.

"That's not optional. That has to be done. If the leadership is not in place to get that done, we have to find the right leadership and put it in a position to do what's right."


Bob Frye can be reached at [email protected] or (724) 838-5148.

here's the link:
[link]http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/sports/outdoors/s_291309.html[/link]

The parts about reining him in by sending executive board reps to quash biological discussions and the part about the very vocal minority are very interesting.

BTW, I personally heard him say he would quit before committing malpractice 4 years ago. At least the guy has principals. It looks like he was up to the job of deer management, he just wasnt up to the politics.
Lets hope politics dont win in the end.