The Pennsylvania Game Commission wants to remain or at least think it wants to remain an independent entity from that of Pennsylvania Government. They may be finding out that their independence isn’t as strong as they thought.
There is much debate around the state about how the Game Commission is managing the deer herd. Hunters are voicing their disapproval and saying that they think the commission’s management policies are destroying the deer herd by reducing it to extremely low numbers. The commission will vote in the spring on any changes to the deer season and in particular the antlerless season and allocation of antlerless deer permits.
While this is going on, the Game Commission wants an increase in license fees to help offset the growing expenses of running the agency. Lawmakers are saying they won’t approve a hike in fees unless the commission does something about the deer management plans.
Pennsylvania politicians say they are getting fed up with being dunned on the street everyday by hunters over the poor management of deer population by the Game Commission. Although the legislature can’t set deer seasons or regulate the permit allocations themselves, they can through approval or disapproval of license increases make things very uncomfortable for the commission.
When the Game Commission meets in the spring to decide on whether to make changes to the current deer regulations, they will be thinking long and hard about the impact of possibly not having enough money to operate without making major cuts in programs and personnel.
Tom Remington
