Let the fun and games begin

Wow, this really says alot and I was so glad to hear of our community getting together to challenge and voice their complaints and opinions at this meeting. I had no idea how well attended it had been and wish I could have been there too. What I would love to know is how did our local sportsmen hear about this meeting. I heard about this "after the fact". Guess I'll have to ask around. I'm so glad to see our local guys and gals trying to get some positive action for our community. Hunting tourism plays a big role in our area and it's such a shame to see how things have changed over the past few years. It's bad enough that Adelphia had their problems, but to take our hunting options away. Shoot, they might just as well put us out of our misery. OK, so I love venison and I enjoy hosting my hunters who travel here each year. In the past, I have had 13 hunters staying in my home here in McKean County. This past year, I had 3 stay with me and it has everything to do with the lack of white tailed deer. It's very unfortunate. I remember "the good ole days". It was truly something to look forward to in our area, but anymore, people from out of town (lovingly called "flatlanders") are headed out west for the big elk hunts and actually seeing deer which they can harvest to help feed their families. I don't agree at all with the hunters who kill and leave the animal there, that's JUST WRONG, but everyone I've ever met is passionate about hunting and it serves a purpose for them. Sort of like fish stories or "the one that got away". It's a guy thing I think.

Here is the article:

OUTDOORS - "The best laid plans of mice and men often go to hell in a hand basket" or something like that the old cliche tells us. We have an upcoming gubernatorial election and the battle is on for the "hearts and minds" of Pennsylvanians. Personally, I am fascinated by developing political strategies, which undoubtedly becomes a "war of words" across our media outlets.

In the years ahead political historians will look back at the DCNR meeting in Coudersport in January 2006 as a pivotal point in the outcome of this election. It was here that DCNR bureaucrats "opened the canopy" and let some sunshine hit their view of deer hunting and the PA Wilds Program. It has been damage control in overdrive for the Rendell Administration ever since that historic meeting.

Recently, I traveled to Coudersport and found those people quite upset. They now believe they have been flimflammed. They are accusing the Administration of ramming the PA Wilds Program down their throats "instead of" deer hunting, not "in addition to" deer hunting. Who could blame them? There are practically no deer in the Northcentral. The merchants have come to realize their hunting revenue is all but gone and the replacement PA Wilds Program revenue is "happy talk" for the future. To deflect the daggers the Governor went as far as releasing a long-winded press release passionately expressing he is not anti-hunting. DCNR has done the same. There's trouble in Harrisburg and the plot is thickening.

When we analyze the results of the last election we find that Governor Rendell bit deeply into the traditional Republican vote across our rural areas. I don't believe the Governor ever realized the true reason. There was a strong anti-Ridge sentiment out there. After all, it was Tom Ridge that started the entire kill the deer, forestry certification; let's see if we could merge the agencies agendas. Governor Rendell had no problem capturing Philadelphia and Pittsburg.

This time around the terrain has changed. Lynn Swann will bite deeply into our cities. The rural vote, our sporting class vote, will undoubtedly become the hinge-pin in the outcome of this election. In hindsight, CNR's rush to forest certification will play a major role in this election. Once you cut through the hype and hoopla of certification, you realize we are being squeezed into accepting 0-5 deer per square forested mile for the next 50 years or more. Certification and deer hunting have been on collision course with DCNR avoiding the subject in its entirety.

When we look back over the last four years and the Administration's forest certification, deer reduction and PA Wilds Program it has been theorized the Republicans did nothing to stop the freight train quite intentionally. It was the old "give him enough rope" to hang himself strategy. Our seasoned politicians are well aware you can propose changes in PA, but you don't mess with deer hunting, property rights and personal freedoms. Governor Rendell has ventured into these areas and his policies are impacting the social and traditional fabric of our state. His efforts have become a state version of Al Gore's "wrenching transformation of America". Predictably, our sporting class and rural residents aren't in the buying mood.

So what can Governor Rendell do to recapture the hearts and minds of our sporting class? It's quite simple. He could announce that he will sign a Constitutional Amendment guaranteeing our rights to hunt, fish, trap and shoot. I hope you noticed the word "shoot" is included. This is critical for obvious reasons. He could also agree to sign "zero loss of hunting land" legislation. In other words, if DCNR closes land to hunting, they will be forced to open land somewhere else to compensate. These concepts once again are being promoted by the premier sportsmen's advocacy group in this state, the Unified Sportsmen of PA. Unified has worked hard to promote these concepts, which will undoubtedly protect our rights for generations to come.

It has been said many times over, "actions speak louder than words". In view of the last four years, the sporting class of Pennsylvania needs more than pre-election lip service. We need legislation to sink our teeth in. The above two safeguards will insure that forest certification, herd reduction and the PA Wild Program will be throttled back and not cause a "wrenching transformation of Pennsylvania". If Governor Rendell is uncomfortable with making such commitments, perhaps his opponent will see it differently.

In an amazing twist of ironies, I believe, our sporting class will decide the next Governor of Pennsylvania.

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