HARRISBURG
History is full of instances when compromise has been an utter failure.
It was compromise that led to the shame of “The Trail of Tears,” the slaughter at Wounded Knee and the naive declaration of “peace in our time” that helped pave the road that led to mankind’s most horrific atrocities. Evidently, based upon the actions of the Pennsylvania Game Commission board of commissioners at its January meeting, it is not interested in learning from the lessons of history, serving the wishes of ethical sportsmen or obeying the instructions from the State Game and Fisheries Committee.
Cutting to the chase, this board seems intent on leaving a legacy as the first to unilaterally decrease hunting opportunity for sportsmen. In particular, its targets are the agency’s own plan for the statewide management of the deer herd and the Mentored Youth Hunting Program.
Arbitrarily, the board plans to create a 5-7 split for the firearms deer season, with the first five days for antlered hunting only and the last seven days concurrent antlered and antlerless hunting statewide except for the Special Regulations Wildlife Management Units of 2B, 5A, 5B, 5C and 5D.
As for the Mentored Youth Hunting Program, the board’s planned compromise for not putting an age restriction on participants is to require adult mentors to transfer their back tag for antlered deer and tags for spring gobbler to those younger than 7 years of age.
That the board unanimously approved these two proposals at its quarterly meeting in January reeks of behind-the-scenes deals and power plays. This “unity” has all the fingerprints of the Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania, who, it appears, has allies in commissioners Brian Hoover, whose area includes Berks and Schuylkill counties, and Tim Layton.
Hoover justified this overturning of a key element in the agency’s deer management in a dismissive tone, saying, “We all know it’s the number of antlerless tags issued, not the number of hunting days that controls the deer numbers.” Hoover neglected to mention that he and his friends hunt private land in WMU 5C, where neither the number of tags, nor the number of deer, are at a shortage.
History has shown that the Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania has earned the reputation for being the organization that sees the glass as half empty when it comes to most programs of the PGC. Its most infamous undertaking was multiple attempts to sue the PGC over its deer management program that was finally dismissed by Senior Commonwealth Court Judge Barry Feudale, a graduate of Lourdes Regional High School.
Just how much the Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania has the ear of Hoover could become evident at the board’s April quarterly meeting that finalizes seasons and bag limits and sets antlerless allocations. According to a retired state employee, he accidentally received a copy of an email apparently sent by Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania president Randy Santucci suggesting antlerless tags be reduced because of the “harsh” winter. Of course, no facts or data were presented that this winter has been more “harsh” than previous winters.
As for the attack on the Mentored Youth Hunting Program, at almost every turn the Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania has played the “safety” card in being against giving youngsters hunting opportunities — especially when those opportunities had anything to do with deer hunting. The Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania, which states on its website to “believe that our youth are the future of hunting, fishing, and trapping, and every effort should be made to enhance their opportunity” has created the myth of youngsters “in diapers” filling the woods with high-powered rifles that the board has been more than willing to run with.
In reality, crossbows — not rifles — have been adopted as the sporting arm of choice by most parents who have taken youngsters deer hunting. Furthermore, the Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania — and the board — show their hypocrisy by finding no problem with mentored youth using a rifle to shoot a coyote 150 yards away, but shooting a deer at 30-40 yards a safety issue.
Forcing parents to choose which of their children will have an opportunity to take a buck, thus denying their opportunity, is more vindictive than if the board had carried through on its original proposal to create an age limit on the Mentored Youth Hunting Program.
Most perplexing is that commissioners Jay Delaney, whose area includes Carbon and Luzerne counties and has been a champion of creating hunting opportunities for youth; Charlie Fox, whose area includes Columbia, Montour and Northumberland counties and is active in the state’s Youth Hunter Education Challenge; and Ron Weaner, whose area includes Dauphin County and teaches school; are supporting Hoover and Layton, and apparently the Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania.
A barrage of emails, as well as a letter from the State Game and Fisheries Committee stating the intent of the Mentored Youth Hunting Program was that it had no age limit, to the board before the January meeting resulted in the age limit being removed. What resulted was an arrogant and belligerent compromise that makes it clear the time has come to appeal to state legislators to clean up this mess.
(Dietz is outdoors editor)