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This is part of why I have very little faith in what comes out in news releases.

Based on an examination of Game Commission invoice, inventory and computer records, according to Ross, the inspector general concluded that, from January 1993 through April 1999, Madl abused the agency's supply system by ordering 67 pairs of black socks and 69 pairs of boot socks; 4 pairs of rubber boots, 14 pairs of summer boots, 8 pairs of winter boots and 7 pairs of dress shoes, all in a variety of sizes; and 6 insulated vests.
According to Ross, the inspector general compared Madl's ordering habits for vests and socks to those of an average wildlife conservation officer and an average Bureau of Law Enforcement officer in the Harrisburg office. The inspector general found that Madl's vest orders were 8.6 times higher than those of an average field officer and 30 times higher than those of an average Bureau of Law Enforcement officer. Madl's orders for socks were 3.1 times higher than those of an average field officer and 9.8 times higher than those of an average Bureau of Law Enforcement officer.
The report also concluded that when Madl retired as executive director, he failed to return equipment and supplies issued to him, including: 12 tires; 2 computerized Global Positioning Systems; 11 Game Commission badges; 1 Sharp Wizard Organizer; 1 Pentax camera; 1 Motorola radio; and 1 Sony voice-operated recorder. Once the inspector general initiated its investigation, according to Ross, Madl returned many of these items to the commission.
Based on interviews with agency employees, the inspector general also concluded that, between 1988 and 1998, Madl used commission employees and equipment to perform personal services during normal working hours, including: skinning 123 deer shot by Madl; skinning 52 deer shot by Madl's friends and family; plowing the driveway to Madl's house approximately 10 to 12 times; and repairing Madl's hunting trailer approximately 6 times. Additionally, the report noted, that between 50 and 60 of the deer Madl brought into the office for skinning were not properly tagged. Since the statute of limitations has expired on prosecuting any alleged violations of the Game and Wildlife Code, Ross said, the Game Commission has sent a copy of the inspector general's report to the Office of Attorney General for possible further action. In addition to seeking Madl's immediate resignation, Ross has informed Madl that the agency will be asking him to repay the Game Fund for misappropriation of commission equipment and services.

Good save. We tried turning in poachers, that really went far. It would seem wardens are far more interested in patrolling private property. Call a deputy warden? One morning in a state parking lot a deputy was checking people the first day of archery. It was dark, but he was visibly intoxicated and smelled like it too. Not long after he made the papers. Something about killing a car hit deer in front of a group of people with a shotgun and being drunk. Farmers killing deer for crop damage? The wardens look the other way. A few years ago in the Pennsylvania Game News there was a black and white map showing about 500 deer killed for crop damage in the whole state. More than 500 deer were killed by farmers in a 15 mile radius of my house! Deer defoliation? Yes, some places. The mountain I mainly hunt was losing laurel fast. You really notice it if you don't go to a certain place for a couple years. What we did notice is orange spots all over the leaves of the large plants. Underneath there is laurel about 3" high everywhere. Strange all those deer did not eat it. Oh, by the way, I saw in the game News you finally figured out the laurel is being killed by a blight. Took you long enough. Yes, we don't understand. We don't understand your train of thought at all. I did hunt Maryland until elitists such as you ruined the state lands. They are slowly turning them into parks. That is where the money is right?

Quote:

Originally Posted by bawanajim (Post 3627144)

What your report doesn’t say is that it was actually people within the Game Commission that brought Madl’s infractions to light in an effort to bring justice to any infractions or abuse. All people within the Game Commission fully cooperated in the investigation but, since it was turned over to the Attorney Generals Office it was fully in their power to make the decisions as to the way it would be resolved.

It doesn’t make what Madl did right but it also proves that the people within the Game Commission do not condone such abuse and illegal actions either.

Dick Bodenhorn

when i was official,i saw this type of thing all time.not shocking to me.
i just wish the pgc would make it 3 point rule for all of us.just to much breaking rules there......

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gunplummer (Post 3627155)

Deer shouldn't be eating laurel.In fact,if they are,they're most likley starving.No one has ever blamed the deer for the loss of mountain laurel.

Wow,500 deer were killed in a 5 mile radius,just from crop damage.You have a serious overpopulation problem.

15 mile radius. You either have a problem reading or like to change facts just like the game commission does. I live on the border of Bucks county and have deer walk through my front yard. Even if we have a deer population problem here, it is no reason to distort facts to prop up a failed program in other areas. If there is a crop damage area that requires culling a lot of deer, so be it. I don't see why the commission would lie about it. The area is unhuntable during daylight hours because the deer are laying up in housing developments. Shooting them at night, or using pro snipers in populated areas is the only option. Why do they have to lie constantly?

Deer should not be eating laurel? I have seen deer browsing on laurel during early archery season with acorns on the ground. Maybe you mean rhododendron?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gunplummer (Post 3627923)

Sorry,my mistake.Still that's over 33 dpsm dying just for crop damage which is an obscene amount.

I know the difference between laurel and rhododendron.Both are very low on the prefered list and if the deer are eating it,they simply have no other choice,which means the habitat stinks and you have too many deer.My rhododendrons get hammered very hard when we have a bad winter because our habitat is crap and we simply have too many deer.We had a bad winter this year and they didn't get touched because they just logged about 1000 acres in front of my house.With 1000 acres of fresh tops to browse on,I hardly saw a deer all winter.That's a temprary situation that won't last. If deer ate laurel,we wouldn't have a habitat problem.If deer ate beech we wouldn't have a habitat issue.Unfortunately,decades of overbrowsing by huge deer herds wiped out the prefered species and now the non-prefered species like beech,ferns,laurel,striped maple and black birch have filled in the gaps,leaving much of the state with poor habitat that will take decades to fix.

On the mountains I hunt, you would be hard pressed to find a beech tree and striped maple is almost considered an invasive species. It only pops up after a burn or cut off. Black birch has always been there and has its' uses. One mountain has plenty of oak starters in various stages another has nothing. Soil difference I would say. My favorite one to hunt was bought by the commission about eight years ago. Thank god nobody will let them cross the only accessible section to get in with logging equipment. When they were marking the boundaries there was talk of "improving" the habitat. They saw all those white oak flats on top and the old red oaks on the sides and started to see $$$$. I don't know what your area looks like, but around here it is straight up and down. I have seen what "improving" the forest does to it. I used to do logging and land clearing and you would be better off burning it every few years once you have trees 30" and over well established. Yes, I have hunted places where that actually happens. The large trees are not affected and the undergrowth comes back with a vengeance.

What use does black birch have?The deer really don't touch it.It outcompetes more beneficial trees and it's worth next to nothing as far as timber value.

I live and hunt in 2G,from the upper half of Clearfield county through Elk county and into Cameron county the majority of the time.Invasive species are a major obstacle and they're so prevelent because the deer overbrowsed the prefered species,allowing the non prefered species to take over.It's not the soil.I've walked through hundreds of exclosures and once they fence the deer out,the regeneration comes back.

Logging,absolutely,positively improves the habitat and increases the carrying capacity tremendously.

Controlled burns can be effective but they're very labor intensive and there's a very short time period when they can be done in Pa.

For a couple years deer can browse on the birch, it grows thick as grass when it gets an opening. The grouse and other small birds feed on the seeds. Logging off an area is a short term fix for deer feed and ruins it for bear and turkey. After the game commission rapes the top of a mountain, money well spent would be to do a fly over and dump acorns. Some of them would get into cracks and start to grow. That would be a lot better than flying around with a heat sensing camera to count deer. It would definitely be better than flying around dumping a deer carcass to feed an animal that should never have been reintroduced in this state anyway.