A Couple of PGC Items

My email inbox was recently bombarded with emails regarding a raid by the state legislature on the PGC’s Game Fund. An amendment to House Bill 1300 was approved by the State Senate that would transfer $150 million from the Game Fund to the state’s Clean Stream Fund. Proponents of this move said the money would come from the PGC’s pool of $525 million in unspent oil and gas reserve money. After the Senate had approved this move, it went back to the House for concurrence.

At first this sounded like a reasonable move to assist in cleaning the Chesapeake Bay, but moving the money could have risked losing the yearly $41 million in Pittman-Robertson funds for a year or more, according to a warning from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A variety of sportsmen’s groups, including the Unified Sportsmen of PA, registered their opposition to this raid on the PGC’s Game Fund. This raid received much support in the State Senate, including from Sen. Dan Laughlin (R, Erie) who had previously supported questionable PGC policies; and, sadly, local Sen. Judy Ward. Rep. Dave Maloney (R, Berks), a PGC watchdog, fiercely opposed the bill, calling it an “egregious transfer of funds that not only undercuts the PGC’s budget but also puts at risk Pennsylvania’s eligibility to receive our share of Pittman-Robertson federal funding.” Maloney recently emailed me to note that the House just voted to remove the Senate’s amendment to HB 1300 for the “money grab,” as he called it. Since the House and Senate passed different versions of HB 1300, Maloney notes there “must be negotiations between the two chambers regarding the bill.” Anyhow, this is good news for now.

On another front is the PGC’s plan to reintroduce American (aka pine) martens. At its Sept. 16 meeting, the PGC Board approved a motion to release a draft resolution for a 10-year-strategy to reintroduce these small predators. The plan includes information concerning where they will be first released. These locations are in the northern part of the state, where Pennsylvania’s state bird, the ruffed grouse, is maintaining a modest population. The reestablishment of martens would probably jeopardize this population. Public comments about the plan are being solicited until Nov. 15. To comment on the plan, send an email to PAmarten@pa.gov. Board President Kristen Schnepp-Giger noted that the draft plan “does not mean we are putting martens on the landscape tomorrow.” Perhaps opposition to the plan could stave off placing martens in the woods and could help to protect Pennsylvania’s beleaguered ruffed grouse.