RE: Pa Game Comm. Overhaul
 

4evrhntn you had me until you wrote No absolutely not. Hunters forget how to hunt, disease is easily spreadCWD etc.

Go to Ohio and look at ther POS system for license. This is mature technology, nothing miraculous or hard, PAPGC is probably using a low bidder situation who just can't do the job. Ohio has had it for years.

PAPGC officers are horrible in the field. They jump out and run to your car windows, or sneak up on you.I feel violated and guilty because of the way the attack you. They question in an accusatory manner and try to trap you w/ questions geared towards interrogation techniques that must have been taught by police. I have never heard one ask what a great day how was yours! Never! I have little respect for them and feel no pity for them. By the way I hunt Butler,Clarion and Armstrong Counties so figure out who they are .

2 weeks of buck, 2 or 3 day doe season during rifle

Archery should be open to all types of stringed weapons stick, Xbow, compound etc.

Muzzleloader should be open to all front load guns no matter what they are.]

1/2 these decisions are NO Brainers that require little brain power to complete. No wonder they are going broke, PA the state 100 years behind every other.

RE: Pa Game Comm. Overhaul
 

The Illinois system is one I have experience with and it is extremely efficient. I certainly hope we go to that once the new license vendor works out their problems and I agree it is high time to hold their feet to the fire.

As for the insurance company conspiracy theory, you are mistaken there. I worked for 30 years in the industry as both a company guy and then as an independent and never once heard a complaint about Pa deer from the many dozens of car insurance comanies I worked with. You gotta remember that insurance companies are a bit like the casinos annd racetracks. It's a carefully calculated business where the house always wins. Deer claims are something they can accurately predict and charge accordingly for sodeer accidents are actually a profit center. Anything that causes consistent claims is actually good for the insurance industry much like the fact that the casinos know some gamblers will win big but, over time, the average gambler loses.

Both industries make money when large quantities of money pass through their hands. Just like the casinos encourage play, the insurance companies do well when people pay premiums for a risk that the insurance companies know how to charge for.

RE: Pa Game Comm. Overhaul
 

Unfortunately , I don't have any good suggestions on how to influence the powers that be other than letters ,e-mails, petitions and personal contacts. One of the biggest problems is that hunters have very diverse opinions regarding deer management and the PGC, so it is hard to get a group to agree on the issues that need to be addressed. The USP is the only group that has tried to challenge the PGC , but their attempts have been condemned and belittled by many hunters who oppose the suit.

RE: Pa Game Comm. Overhaul
 

The USP is the only group that has tried to challenge the PGC , but their attempts have been condemned and belittled by many hunters who oppose the suit.

Perhaps it's because of the ludicrous nature of their lawsuits and some of the other things they propose?

One of their reasons for taking the game commission to court, was that the PGC refused to meet with them to explain the hows and whys of deer management. Oddly enough, in their response to PGC's objections to the suit, USP's attorney admitted they had never actually asked for anything.

Now, their president and former PGC commissioner, is wanting to aid Sen. Armstrong's efforts to diminish the powers of DWCOs, because his son pleaded guilty to several game code violations.

RE: Pa Game Comm. Overhaul
 

I have lived in 3 other states besides PA. WV, OH & SC all have a working POS license that I feel could work here.

Check stations are a hard sell because I have heard numerous issuing agents at PGC meetings and open houses say they will not pay for the extra staff to run a check station because the PGC will not help with their costs. Why not a Tela Check system similar to KY? I believe it cost about $300,000 to get started and they have good data to work with.

I would like to see the Board of Commissioners made an Advisory Board, not the current Regulatory Board. We are paying the salaries for trained biologists to do research and present management recommendations, yet the Board makes the final management decisions. The Biologist's recommendations are sometimes ignored or worse, carved up so bad that they will never work. Buffet-style wildlife management does not work.

As for the USP and the lawsuits...I think the money spent by the PGC to defend itself would be better spent on habitat management or the mentoring programs so that we have future hunters to fund the agency. I would hope that the USP would even agree with that.

Just my $.02

RE: Pa Game Comm. Overhaul
 

Didn't the USP request that the courts order that doe season be closed?
I would agree that there could be better uses for the money, but there is no guarantee that the money would be used for projects that promote hunting , rather than bat studies or introducing fishers.

Has anyone heard anything about the status of the proposed audit? Have the RFP's been finalized and released?

RE: Pa Game Comm. Overhaul
 

Didn't the USP request that the courts order that doe season be closed?


Yes, but that requestwas the end result of their other contentions, such as the one about the PGC having never sat down with them to explain how they arrive atestimates. After their littany of complaints pertaining to how the game commission manages deer, they demanded the court call a halt to further doe seasons, until the other complaints were answered. But you already knew that to be the case.

I would agree that there could be better uses for the money, but there is no guarantee that the money would be used for projects that promote hunting , rather than bat studies or introducing fishers.

The game commission is not required to spend all of its money, or any specificportion of it, inpromoting hunting. It is required to spend money on managing bats, as well as any other species under its control. Much of the non-game species work has been funded by wildlife grants from other sources, funneled through the PGC in implementation of funded studies and programs.

They've successly-reintroduced (or aided the propagation of) otters, elk,eagles, peregrine falcons, ospreys and apparently, fishers. Bear numbershave greatly increased in the past 30 years. Deer were essentially re-introduced, afternumbers had become scarce several generations ago.

Has anyone heard anything about the status of the proposed audit? Have the RFP's been finalized and released?

Last I'd read, only one entity had submitted a proposal to facilitate an audit. If it's another case of the low bidder getting the prize, might it turn out like the automated licensing system fiasco?

RE: Pa Game Comm. Overhaul
 

I wasn't referring to all of their money, I was only referring to the money saved if they didn't have any expenses due to the suit. While, they are required to manage all wildlife, they aren't mandated to do unnecessary studies or reintroduce species, like the Mt. Lion.

RE: Pa Game Comm. Overhaul
 

Game commission reform. Hmmmm..... wake up and smell the coffee. As long as the top spot in the PGC is a political appointee there will be no reform. The state government is run by the dummycrats from Phili and Pittsburgh with little to no say from the rest of the state. They do not care about the condition of hunting in the state because it is not a high priority in their home regions. Left up to them they would be just as happy to see hunting and gun ownership go by the wayside so that they can continue to push their antigun policies.

RE: Pa Game Comm. Overhaul
 

While, they are required to manage all wildlife, they aren't mandated to do unnecessary studies or reintroduce species, like the Mt. Lion.

It isn't up to you or I to decide which studies are necessary or unnecessary. That's why they have biololgists on the staff, to help bureau directors, administrations and BOC membersmake such decisions.

No plans to reintroduce mountain lions, that I'm aware of.

BTW, it appears that WMI will be getting the chore of doing the legislature's mandated deer program audit.

Game commission reform. Hmmmm..... wake up and smell the coffee. As long as the top spot in the PGC is a political appointee there will be no reform.

Members of the PGC/Board of Commissioners are "political appointees", as are all of the other commissions that govern state agencies. They apply, are vetted by the Gov's advisory council, then passed on to theGov for possible approval by theSenate.

If by "top spot" you mean the Exec. Director of the PGC, he was selected by the BOC.