Game Committee 06-08-06
Federal Legislation – Hunting Heritage Protection Act
HR 5287, John Sweeney, R-NY: To recognize the heritage of hunting and provide opportunities for continued hunting on Federal public land. This bill provides for a “no net loss” of Federal land area available for hunting opportunities, in that it requires the opening of new hunting land to compensate for any land closed to hunting.
Introduced, 5-6-06, into the House Committee on Resources
This bill is identical to S 1522, by Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), that was introduced into the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on 7-28-05, (awaiting debate}.
Game Commission
PGC Press Release # 63 May 31, 2006 (excerpts)
GAME COMMISSION POSTS FINAL URBAN DEER MANAGEMENT PLAN
HARRISBURG - In achieving another objective in its deer management plan, the Pennsylvania Game Commission has finalized its urban/suburban deer management plan to more effectively manage deer in developed areas of the state. This new plan has been posted on the agency's website (www.pgc.state.pa.us), and can be viewed by clicking on "Deer Program" in the "Quick Clicks" box in the upper right-hand corner of the homepage and then selecting "Urban/Suburban Deer Management Plan."
"Human-deer conflicts are a real, not just a perceived, problem," said Carl G. Roe, Game Commission executive director. "Pennsylvania primarily manages deer through hunting, but hunter success, especially in developed areas, is influenced by hunter access to land open to hunting and safety zone issues.
"The use of traditional hunting methods are always the most economical way to manage deer, and this plan employs traditional deer management techniques. However, it also offers non-traditional deer management approaches, as well as an educational program that incorporates current practices and possible solutions into an integrated, comprehensive approach to resolve urban/suburban deer problems."
Game Committee 6-8-06 (2)
The plan outlines four main goals: reduce deer impacts in developed areas using hunting options; reduce deer-human conflicts using non-hunting options where hunting options are shown to not be feasible or sufficient; inform urban leadership, residents, and hunters about deer management options and opportunities in developed areas; and encourage positive relationships between hunters and communities in developed areas.
To accomplish these goals, the urban/suburban deer plan includes recommendations to:
1) Expand hunting opportunities and create an "Urban Deer Control Program" that allows for the taking of deer outside of the regular hunting seasons in developed areas, similar to the Agricultural Depredation Program ("Red Tag" program);
2) Discourage deer feeding and support local ordinances that prohibit deer feeding in developed areas with unacceptable levels of deer conflicts;
3) Develop a written agency policy on the use of deer fertility control agents, then review and update the policy as needed. While, no effective deer contraceptive program has been developed to effectively manage free-ranging deer populations, such as those in urban/suburban areas of the state, a comprehensive review of current literature and reports about ongoing studies needs to be conducted so the agency and the Bureau of Wildlife Management can be in a position to address the issue when it arises;
4) Increase availability of written, electronic, and web-based informational and educational publications and presentations concerning hunting and non-hunting deer management options in developed areas;
5) Create and develop a landowner/hunter database template to be used by communities and municipalities to identify available hunters; and
6) Provide an advanced hunter education course for hunters in developed areas.
"The Game Commission is challenged to minimize the negative impacts of urban/suburban deer, yet retain the positive benefits they provide many metropolitan residents," Roe said. "Our goal is not to eliminate whitetails in urban/suburban areas. Rather, we are striving to provide options that any community with deer damage can use for relief. But communities must recognize that there are no quick fixes, or one-time solutions to reducing deer-human conflicts in urban/suburban settings.
"Communities also must recognize that they will need to take an active role in managing the deer within their community. Deer must be managed aggressively in these situations. If they aren't, years of progress can disappear over a relatively short period of time. Every community needs a deer management plan that is supported by residents and actively pursued."