Commissions will wait longer for replacements

Posted on: November 26, 2016 | Bob Frye | Comments

Hunter--WV DNRGame Commissioners will make decisions on seasons and bag limits in January, and decide the fate of semiautomatic and air rifles. But they’ll do it shorthanded, again.

There may be a Santa Claus.

But there will be no new members of the Pennsylvania Game or Fish and Boat commission boards for Christmas.

There are two vacant seats on each board. The eight-member Game Commission board is missing representatives from District 6, which represents Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Juniata, Mifflin, Lebanon, Lancaster, Perry, Snyder and York counties, and District 7, which represents Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming.

The 10-member Fish and Boat Commission board is missing representatives from District 6, which represents Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry and York and District 8, which represents Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia and Schuylkill.

None will be filled before January.

The Governor’s Advisory Council for Hunting, Fishing and Conservation interviews candidates and supplies the Governor with names of potential nominees. He chooses one per seat, then sends that person’s name to the state Senate for confirmation.

Senators, though, wrapped up their session on Nov. 16. Though the House of Representatives is to reconvene on Jan. 3, the Senate has not announced when it will return.

No matter what, Gov. Tom Wolf will make no recommendations until then, said spokesman Mark Nicastre.

Maybe that wouldn’t matter except some of the seats have been open quite a while. The Game Commission’s District 7 seat, for example, has been open since April of 2015.

That means the agencies that serve sportsmen and protect the state’s natural resources have been running short-handed for a long while.

Hopefully the needs of sportsmen get a little more attention than that in 2017.

There will be plenty of opportunity. In addition to those four vacant seats, several others will come open within the next12 months.

At least the Governor is seeking potential replacements.

In mid-November Wolf announced he’s seeking people interested in representing the Fish and Boat Commission in three capacities.

He’s officially looking for someone to fill the District 8 seat. That was held by Glade Squires of Chester County, who was board president until abruptly resigning on Oct. 27.

The Governor is also seeking candidates for the District 3 seat currently held by Bill Sabatose of Elk County and one of two boating-at-large seats currently held by Steve Ketterer.

District 3 represents Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Jefferson, McKean and Potter counties. Sabatose has held that position since Dec. 9, 1987, making him the longest-serving commissioner in agency history.

Boating-at-large commissioners represent boaters as a group, rather than a geographic district.

Commissioners serve four-year, unpaid terms. Candidates can send a letter of interest and resume to Governor’s Advisor Robb Miller at 400 Market St., 7th Floor, Harrisburg, PA 17101-2301. Information can also be emailed to robmille@pa.gov.

The deadline to apply for the seats held by Squires and Sabatose is Dec. 5. The deadline to apply for the boating-at-large seat is Dec. 15.

Candidates for two soon-to-be-open Game Commission seats will likely be sought early in 2017.

Dave Putnam of Centre Hall currently holds the District 3 seat representing Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Jefferson, McKean and Potter counties. His term expires on May 5.

Bob Schlemmer of Export holds the District 2 seat representing Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Washington and Westmoreland counties. His term expires on June 6.

Both Putnam and Schlemmer can serve no more than six months beyond the close of their terms if no replacements are named first.

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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