RE: The fat lady has sung in PA
 

Crazyhorse,you mentioned the agency and timber certification in the same subject.That's a spin to make people think the PGC gives a rat's behind about forest certification.Anyone with your inside USP connections should know that are game lands aren't certified.Then again,you guys think deer are pawing up the trees and mountain lions are reaking havoc on the deer population.

You then complain about cuts in the tame pheasant stocking program.You want more tame ditch chickens that are easy to hunt but you don't want to pay for them.Unbelievable.

You constantly harp on the deer management program and complain about the lack of deer.While you're at it,you saythe deer didn't damage the habitat.It must be the acid rain and lack of fires.Take a trip out here and I'll prove to you that oaks grow just fine insoil with a ph between 4-5.I'll also take you to some areaswhere controlled burns have been utilized.Those burns knock back the non preffered browse species like striped maple,birch and beech giving the oaks a chance to competebut the deer are still a primary factor.All of these things havebeen proven and documented over and over again.You can spin things any way you want but we had too dam many deer in this state for way too long.The facts prove it and they're very easy to see for anyone that wants to learn what the truth is.The constantspinningfrom the Unified spikeshooters of Pa is humerousbut eventually has the same effect as a 3 year old sitting in the back seat ,asking if we're there yet for themillionth time.

RE: The fat lady has sung in PA
 

Having a surplus now explains one of the reasonswhy the legislature is reluctant to approve a license fee increase.

RE: The fat lady has sung in PA
 

Archer58,it's a fact that we'll be losing alot of hunters over the next several years.Demographics is the biggest reason along with the fact that we have less deer and there's more distractions for young hunters.Fortunately,for those that stick it out with a positive attitude,the opportunites will be endless.I saw things bottom out around here about 2 years ago but the situation has gotten steadily better since then.The habitat is getting better,which helps all game species,there's far less hunters on public land and there's still plenty of deer with ample opportunities and seasons to hunt them.I would hardly call our deer management program a joke.

RE: The fat lady has sung in PA
 

DougF (dce) you really need to calm down. Your constant spewing of venom and name calling, disparaging sportsmen's organizations and the like will only result in the moderator giving you a warning. We wouldn't want to see you banned for infracting the rules. Your one of USP's better promotors.

I think you should hunt some of the deer depopulated areas of Pennsylvania so you can fully understand what other hunters face and experience. You've been hunting that Treasure Island honey hole and been fortunate to be able to obtain access to private land. You need to travel a bit more and see how other hunters in North Central and North East PA see things.

The fact that PA had too many deer for too long only proves my point of poor management on the part of the agency. Keep in mind that many of the executive managers of today were the managers of that period also. They did nothing then and should certainly bear some of the responsibility for those conditions as they should also be responsible for the disparity in deer numbers in vast areas of the state now.

Management is everything in todays world. By the way, has Gary Alt been hired by any other Game Management group? I can only wonder why not.

By the way, how many acres were timbered this past fiscal year?

RE: The fat lady has sung in PA
 

Crazyhorse,you have no idea what you're talking about.This was the first year Treasure lake was open to hunting.I do 90% of my huntingon publicland in 2G.These are the same areas where they hold "save the deer" meetings because hunters complain there's no deer.Every year,I find and harvest deer on these public areas.The only areas I hunt around here that are not public are either game-farm co-ops or land owned by timber companies which are open to any one.Once again,your spin continues.Take away the the 3 deer I killed in Treasure lake and I still killed 2 more on public land and one more in 3B.the deer I killed in 3B was on private unposted land that gets hammered alot worse than any state land in this part of the state.You simply have no idea what you're talking about.I travel to several places every year to hunt.I scout ahead of time and hunt where there's food and cover.It's actually very easy to find and kill deer on the Moshannon state forest because the habitat is so poor throughout most of it.All you have to do is key in onthe few places that actually have some habitat and you'll find deer.I hunt Elk state forest every year late in the season and see plenty of deer and kill my share.Last year,I saw more deer in one day up there than I've seen in years any place else.Before I went up there,people told me not to waste my time because there wasn't any deer.

RE: The fat lady has sung in PA
 

I agree. I was incorrect.

RE: The fat lady has sung in PA
 

Crazyhorse,Herd reductions should have happened along time ago but the past commissioners didn't take the advice of the foresters and biologists.We're paying for that right now in terms of degraded habitat.You're spinning this point also.Were you asking for more antlerless allocations back then or were you at some of the tag burning parties?Something tells me you weren't lobbying the PGC for more tags.

RE: The fat lady has sung in PA
 

Doug i have not seen a decrease in hunter numbers on public land in my area. so you dont make this statement for statewide but just the areas you hunt, right?

RE: The fat lady has sung in PA
 

Yes,I do make that statement for the areas where I hunt.I saw three hunters all season long on public land in three different counties of 2G.I'm talking about guys actually in the woods hunting,not roadhunters.On the first day of bear,I loads of hunters in one area but nota soul during archery,muzzleloader or either saturday of rifle season.

RE: The fat lady has sung in PA
 

man i kinda wish that was like that around here. ive seen hunters everyday out in gun season and almost every time out in bow season around here. and also back in hunting,this is not the road hunters cause i would have no idea they are there since im not near it.