A possible record, a retirement & more

Posted on: March 17, 2017 | Bob Frye | Comments

Nick Starkey with his massive 15-point West Virginia buck.
Image from West Virginia Metro News

Well, he offered anyway.

According to a story on “Metro News,” a West Virginia hunter named Nick Starkey this past season shot what could be a new state record typical buck. It was a 15-point that green-scored 191 2/8.

The existing record scores 185 4/8, so if Starkey’s score holds up when an official measurer gets hold of it, he’ll take over the top spot.

What’s really unusual is that he offered to let someone else shoot the buck.

According to Metro News, Starkey has gotten one photo of the buck on a trail camera. He offered to let his wife, Angie, hunt the spot where they thought the deer might appear, but she declined. He took his daughter, Raven, there instead, but when the buck showed up, she told her dad to shoot it.

You can see the original story here.

Retiring

The Pennsylvania Game Commission is going to have a new executive director.

Matt Hough, who’s been leading the agency for more than three years, and been an employee for more than 35 years and nine months, is retiring effective March 24.

Bryan Burhans, who currently serves as deputy executive director for administration, will take over the job.

Hough reflected on his career, calling it “a dream come true.” He told a friend way back in sixth grade that he was going to work in the conservation field. That he got to do so was amazing, he added.

Bryan Burhans, left, and Matt Hough.
PA Game Commission photo

“I’ve been blessed. I’ve been blessed to be involved with this agency. I’ve been blessed to have a family that always supported me to be able to do the job I was able to do. And I guess I have been blessed with the fantastic employees that the Pennsylvania Game Commission has had in the past and continues to employ,” Hough said.

Commissioners praised Hough for the job he did as director. Commissioner Dave Putnam of Centre County thanked him for taking over at a time when there was unrest and settling things down so the agency could move forward.

“We were going through some hard times. You were what we needed to stabilize the commission and get us moving in the right direction,” agreed commission Tim Layton of Windber.

“You’ve said that you feel blessed. I think we all feel blessed having you,” said commissioner Charlie Fox of Bradford County.

Burhans will take over on March 25. He came to the commission in 2014, having previously served as president and CEO of the American Chestnut Foundation.

Commission president Brian Hoover of Delaware County said the expectation is that Burhans will, among other things, make the commission “friendlier” with its legislative partners.

Gone

The wildlife visitor center at Pymatuning wildlife management area in Crawford County is no more.

The Game Commission tore the facility down in early March. In its place will be built a new administration building.

That had to be, said Jerry Bish, land management supervisor for the Pymatuning area. He said the old administration building was deteriorating – it even had fishers living within its concrete block foundation at one point.

The commission had hoped to build a new, larger visitor center as part of the administration building. And that may still happen, Bish said.

But that won’t be right away, given the commission’s lack of funding.

“We can kind of think of this as phase one of a Pymatuning wildlife center, if and when we get funding for a new wildlife center,” Bish said.

Stamps

Increasing the cost of duck stamps led to fewer being sold in 2015 than 2014.

But it also brought in more money.

In 2014, when stamps cost $15, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service sold about 1.71 million stamps and earned about $25.6 million. In 2015, after the price of a stamp went to $25, it sold about 1.6 million. But it earned $40 million.

Bob Frye is the everybodyadventures.com editor. Reach him at 412-838-5148 or bfrye@535mediallc.com. See other stories, blogs, videos and more at everybodyadventures.com.

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