How about some nice walleyes to lead off a roundup of outdoor news?
Bob Frye/Everybody Adventures
A roundup of outdoor news for your morning reading…
The final totals are in on Lake Somerset.
Fish and Boat Commission crews did a fish salvage there in October. That was in preparation for the lake being drawn down. Its dam has to be replaced.
It’s going to be empty of water until 2020 while that work is done.
In the meantime, its fish were moved to several area lakes, including Shawnee, Quemahoning, Loyalhanna and Glade Run.
There were plenty of fish to move, too. According to area fisheries manager Rick Lorson, that amounted to 12 truckloads over three days.
Transferred were roughly 750 walleyes between 16 and 30 inches. There were also largemouth bass – some weighing more than 5 pounds – ranging from 6 to 20 inches. And channel catfish going from 8 to 30 inches were collected. Many exceeded 10 pounds, Lorson said.
“A couple dozen muskies and tigers were moved to Shawnee Lake. Muskies ranged from 18 inches to 47 inches and 28 pounds,” he added.
Additionally, crews moved hundreds of crappies, bluegills and pumpkinseeds. But, Lorson added, “most of these were less than quality size.”
“The presence and overabundance of carp and gizzard shad in the lake tied up a lot of biomass that was unavailable for preferred forage and game fish species,” Lorson said.
Some of those were left behind.
“There are quite a few of carp and shad stranded in the lake bottom that were impossible to get to,” Lorson said.
Elk harvest
And speaking of final totals, the Pennsylvania Game Commission announced how elk hunters did this season.
All 25 with a bull tag killed an animal. Seventy-nine of the 93 with a cow tag also scored.
That’s an overall success rate of 89 percent.
Ten of the bulls weighed 700 pounds or more. Three exceeded 800, with the largest going 833 pounds. That bull, which sported an 8-by-7 rack, was taken Oct. 30 by Shawn Latshaw of Franklin.
Meanwhile, Robert Cook of Earlville, N.Y. killed an 832-pounder with an 8-by-9 rack. And Alfred Hake of Manchester killed an 803-pounder with a 6-by-7 rack.
Cook’s bull had the highest green score of those measured, at 431 6/8 inches.
Nine of the 79 cows killed, meanwhile, weighed more than 500 pounds.
Fifty-nine elk – 12 bulls and 47 cows – were taken on Oct. 30, opening day of the season.
Merger bill
Legislation that would partially merge Pennsylvania’s Game and Fish and Boat commissions is officially on the books.
State Rep. Bryan Barbin, a Cambria County Democrat, authored House Bill 1895. It’s co-sponsored by five other lawmakers. It would do two things.
First, it would combine the law enforcement bureaus of the two agencies. That would create one force of conservation officers with responsibilities for game, fish and boat laws. Second, it would merge their administrative bureaus. The result would be one “director of fish and wildlife services” to oversee things.
The idea, Barbin said, is to save money.
Both commissions are – and long have been — asking lawmakers to raise license prices. Hunting and furtaking license fees haven’t increased since 1999, fishing license fees since 2004.
There’s no denying both commissions need more revenue, Barbin said.
But before giving them any, he said lawmakers have a responsibility to look for savings first. That’s where his bill comes in.
“As both agencies seek increases in fees, we owe the license buyer our best efforts to find cost savings,” Barbin said.
He noted a 2014 study by the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee suggested a partial merger could save $5 million annually.
Opposition
Speaking of legislation, two sportsmen’s groups are urging Pennsylvania hunters to oppose House Bill 1483.
It’s sponsored by Rep. David Maloney, a Berks County Republican.
Maloney says the bill would do three things. One is improve deer management and wildlife habitat. Another is reinvigorate rural economies. The third is make the Game Commission more accountable to the legislature.
It would do all that by creating an independent Forest and Wildlife Advisory Council and hiring an independent Forest and Wildlife Advisory Service. That service would, among other things, determine how many doe licenses to issue each year.
The notion has some supporters.
But, according to the Sportsmen’s Alliance, the bill is “an unnecessary and likely harmful expansion of state government that would politicize and decimate wildlife management and conservation.”
The group charges that the bill would dismantle the proven North American Model of wildlife conservation, replacing biologists with political appointees dictating policy to the Game Commission.
In short, it said, the bill threatens “wildlife, habitat and the hunting economy.” What’s more, it puts at risk the state’s ability to collect millions in federal excise taxes.
The National Deer Alliance agreed. It says the legislation puts “deer management into the hands of a few special interest groups.”
“It also proposes the implementation of a poor and impractical method of management called maximum sustained yield. This method is not based on sound science and ignores the importance of managing varying habitat types uniquely, managing for wildlife other than deer, or other human-deer interactions not related to hunting,” the group said.
“Deer management should never fall victim to misguided politics and emotions, or fall into the hands of special interest groups,” said Nick Pinizzotto, the Indiana, Pa., native who serves as the Deer Alliance’s president and CEO.
Candidate sought
The Governor’s Advisory Council for Hunting, Fishing and Conservation is seeking qualified candidates to fill an upcoming vacancy on the Fish and Boat Commission board.
The soon-to-be-open seat is for district four. It represents Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata, Mifflin and Somerset counties.
All resumes and cover letters are due by Dec. 15. Materials can be sent to Robb Miller at 400 Market St., 7th Floor, Harrisburg, PA 17101-2301. They can also be emailed to robmille@pa.gov.
