Post by pfsc on Mar 25, 2015 16:12:28 GMT -5
House Game and Fisheries Committee
3/24/14, 10:00 a.m., 60 East Wing
By Eric A. Failing, PLS
The committee held an informational hearing to receive the Game Commission’s annual report.
Matthew Hough, Executive Director of the Game Commission, presented a summary of the commission’s annual report. He stated the two biggest wildlife challenges the commission faces are Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) and White-nose Syndrome. He further explained that in terms of CWD, the commission has established three disease management areas and for the first time this year opened up disease management area 2 for hunting permits. He added that since CWD poses a major threat to both the deer heard and the hunting heritage, he would be glad to work with the committee, the Department of Agriculture, and the Agriculture Committee on creating tougher restriction on deer within captive herds as this appears to be the primary method of transmittal for the disease. With regards to White-nose Syndrome, Hough explained it has become one of the, if not the, “most devastating wildlife diseases ever documented to impact a species in the Commonwealth.” He assured the committee that the commission is working with state and federal authorities and has closed access to several hibernacula in the state in an attempt to slow the spread of the disease.
Touching on commission staff, Hough celebrated graduating 25 new Wildlife Conservation Officers (WCOs) in 2014. Overall, WCOs recorded more than 200,000 enforcement contacts this past year and issued 7,045 citations including aiding authorities in the manhunt for Eric Frein. He then stated they were very happy with the enactment of HB 2178 of last session, which allowed WCOs to use body cameras.
Hough continued, touting that the commission’s game lands have grown to 1.5 million acres and they have taken steps to manage this area through prescribed burns on more than 5,000 acres and conducted commercial timber operations on more than 6,000 acres.
In terms of addressing the needs of sportsmen, he credited a grant from the US Fish and Wildlife Services for allowing Pennsylvania to be the first state to develop a marketing campaign for re-engaging those who had hunted previously but no longer do so. This included the creation of a new smart phone app with an “SOS” safety feature. He also spoke highly of the mentored youth program saying the commission issued 35,380 permits. Hough added that in response to abuses in this system, the Board will vote soon on finalizing a proposed regulation that will require an adult supervising a mentored youth to give his antlered deer or turkey tag to a youth under the age of seven who is successful.
He stressed the deer herd is considered premier and that a decreased issuance of antlerless licenses this past season should result in more deer next season. He also called for an increase in hunting license fees stating the commission has not seen an increase since 1999 and while staff is fewer in number, staff costs are higher because they are Commonwealth employees.
Rep. McGinnis asked how to know whether a decrease in the number of antlerless tags issued will result in a larger number of deer next season. Hough replied that will not be known for sure until the harvest numbers from next season come in but stated he expects the numbers to be up.
Rep. McGinnis then stated he hears from hunters all the time that Pennsylvania are in a state of crisis with the deer herd and asked for Hough to comment. Hough assured the committee that Pennsylvania’s deer herd cannot be wiped out. He admitted that herd numbers are lower than in the 1990s but stressed that back then there were too many deer. The habitat is much better now, he argued, and therefore the commission can allow the herd numbers to begin climbing again. Asked if he had any other concerns, Hough stressed his big concern is CWD. He lamented that history has shown that once it’s in a state it cannot be eliminated.
Rep. McGinnis asked if the commission will make any license number adjustments because of CWD. Hough said the population needs to stay low in order to fight CWD, which is what the commission is doing in the disease management areas. He added that Blair and Bedford counties are the only ones where CWD has impacted the wild herd.
Rep. Mullery stated that he introduced HB 231 to allow the commission to distribute antlerless licenses and asked for Hough’s opinion on the bill. Hough stressed the commission is in favor of the legislation and said it is time for the commission to move into the 21st century for the distribution of these licenses. Asked if the commission is ready for the transition, Hough said they would be looking at implementation during 2016-2017 season and that while there are always issues with such a roll out he assured the committee that the commission would be able to handle it. Rep. Mullery asked what the fiscal impact would be to the commission. Hough replied that aside from the development of the system into the current PAL system, costs would be negligible.
Rep. Mullery then wondered how the commission decides where to do controlled burns. Hough answered that the commission would do more controlled burns if it could but explained these are very staff intensive exercises. In terms of how the locations are determined, he told the members this is all part of a comprehensive game management plan that, while still being developed for some areas, has been completed for others. He added there are a lot of factors that play into the execution of these burns including weather, time of year and available personnel. He closed his response saying that these burns are excellent for wildlife and have been missing from the Pennsylvania management plan for decades.
Rep. Miller asked for more information on the proposed license increase and how many licenses were sold this year. Hough replied the commission sold 950,000 general licensees this year not including things like licenses for bear and archery stamps. With regards to the proposed increase, he assured the representative that commission staff are developing a plan and would like to share it with the committee and explain how it fits into their overall five-year financial plan.
Rep. Emrick asked how much an out of state hunting license costs. Hough replied about $100. Asked if that is considered high or low compared to other states, Hough explained that while some states have a reciprocal agreement with Pennsylvania, in general Pennsylvania’s cost is pretty low.
Rep. Emrick then asked why fall turkey hunting is not allowed in wildlife management unit (WMU) 5C. Commission staff explained that the question of whether to have a hunting season is based upon population trends for that area and that while the upper end of 5C has a pretty good turkey population the rest does not. In particular the commission worried that the fall season generally sees more hen kills which would hurt the overall population of 5C more. Rep. Emrick referenced an idea for legislation that would create a new WMU that is more geographically appropriate. Hough said that while he is not aware of any current legislation that would do this, the commission established the WMUs and reviews them every five years. He stated he would be happy to look into this. Rep. Emrick continued, arguing that WMU 5C is not reflective of the rest of the area and that something needs to be changed. Hough commented that the next review cycle is in 2018 but reiterated his promise to look into this.
Rep. Emrick then told of how he worked with a constituent in a local sportsmen’s store to put on a class for snaring. He said the class was so packed that they had to establish a waiting list. He asked if enough snare classes are being held in the state. Hough admitted there might not be and said this is often because there are not enough volunteer instructors.
Rep. Emrick concluded by applauding the commission for reducing the number of antlerless licenses issued and stressed the commission should base decisions on empirical data.
Rep. Maloney stressed that in terms of deer management he didn’t agree with the commission on the number of deer kills and said it would place the total estimated number of the deer herd at one million. He said the commission has failed to adequately explain its “per square mile” deer estimates. Rep. Maloney did commend the commission for starting to do more controlled burns but asked why the commission is not doing more habitat work to make land more conducive for the game population. Hough replied the commission only manages 1.5 million acres and cannot control land practices on private land. He added the commission is attempting to do more succession habitat development but cautioned that this type of work takes a lot of personnel.
Rep. Maloney then asked why, if the commission is having difficulty taking care of its existing land, it is purchasing more land. Hough quipped because “they aren’t making it anymore.” He told the committee that if the Game Commission didn’t own the land it currently has, it would have been before this committee ten years ago begging for a license increase to get more money. Hough argued the only thing that has saved the commission is the discovery of Marcellus Shale deposits under its land and that it what has allowed it to continue on.
Rep. Maloney said it was his understanding that commission land being used for Marcellus Shale drilling would be turned into food plots. He stressed that habitat needs to be addressed and hopes that this would be addressed in the commission’s comprehensive plan and enacted soon. He stressed Pennsylvania has reached a crisis level in its deer population.
Rep. Maloney continued, expressing frustration that in the last two years the commission has issued reports with a lot more pages and text and that this year it is smaller and filled with more pictures. He also expressed frustration that none of the Game Commissioners were in attendance and said he was not happy with the behavior of some commission personnel. He stressed that access cannot be denied to sportsmen because of the unethical behavior of the Game Commission. He said when people are being denied access because someone from the Game Commission lives on the land that is wrong. Hough assured him they would be moved.
Rep. Maloney then read aloud the commission’s code of ethics. He asked Hough to send a message to Commissioner Schlemmer saying he violated the governor’s code of ethics and the commission’s code of ethics and wondered how he can face himself.
Chairman Gillespie asked for confirmation on whether the commission is still waiting for more CWD reports. Hough said it is, adding that he expects the number of confirmed CWD cases to increase based on what has happened in other states. Saying that it is more prevalent in Maryland and West Virginia, he speculated that it came into Pennsylvania from one of the neighboring states.
The chairman asked for more information on the types of stricter regulations the commission would like to see on the captive deer herds. Hough explained that CWD often starts in captive herds because of the movement of deer between the operations. Hough said there are about 1,200 deer farm operations right now in the state and the issue is only going to get worse.
Asked by the Chairman if the problem is that deer are escaping during transport, Hough said the problem generally arises from deer being brought in from other states that are infected. He cited one case where an infected Pennsylvania deer was sent to a farm in Ohio. Hough told the committee that the Department of Agriculture is charged with overseeing these operations yet has not been given any additional money or staff to do so and needs about 50 people.
The Chairman then said that White-nose Syndrome in bats was brought to Pennsylvania from hikers from overseas. Hough confirmed this and lamented that 99 percent of the brown bats in the state have died as a result and since there is no known cure, they are hoping that the one percent who survived have a tolerance to the fungus that causes the problem.
Asked if there are areas in North America where White-nose Syndrome has not wiped out the bat population, Hough confirmed not every area of the nation has been hit with the disease.
Chairman Gillespie then asked about reports of the muskrat population being down. Staff for the commission confirmed there appears to be a decline in the muskrat population in the Northeast but disease and contaminants have been ruled out as a cause. Staff stated that a collection of states from Virginia north are working together to investigate the cause for the decline. It was stated that actual mortality rates are difficult to determine right now because population rates are based on fur harvests which fluctuate according to market prices.
The chairman next wondered if the commission is limited to spending $400 per acre for game land acquisitions. Hough confirmed this but quickly added that the commission has not used a lot of Game Fund money for this purpose. He told the committee that the commission uses escrow money. He explained escrow money is generated when a group such as an energy company wants to use commission land for drilling. That company will then put money into an escrow account for the commission to use to purchase more land to offset the loss of land used for drilling. Asked if the $400 per acre is set, Hough told the chairman that this number is neither set under policy nor statute.
The chairman then asked about the “SOS” feature on the new Game Commission smart phone app. Staff explained the app allows the user to click on the app and have a user’s pre-stored number dialed during an emergency.
Chairman Gillespie then raised the issue of proposed changes to mentored hunting and told everyone there have been examples of abuse to the program that have led to these proposed changes. In one instance he stated a hunter with a 24-month old child in the mentored youth program was seen carrying a. 300 win mag rifle which clearly the child could not have safely shot. Staff added the commission has received numerous newspaper clippings from people around the state showing young children in pictures with harvested game along side of firearms they clearly could not have safely handled. Staff for the commission reported that 340 incidents of abuse or suspect abuse have occurred. In one case, staff related how a hunter claiming to be mentoring youth was spotted by a WCO with two car seats in his vehicle.
Rep. Maloney stated the mentored youth program is a very successful program and that it is very unfortunate that there have been abuses to the system. Hough said the Game Commission is all for the mentored youth program and that the proposed restrictions have to do with enforcement of the program.
The Chairman asked if the commission would like to consider legislation to toughen the penalties for illegal use of a mentored deer tag. Hough said yes.
He then asked if the commission is getting any royalties in perpetuity from Marcellus Shale. Hough answered the commission receives about $5 million a year but with the price of gas down, they don’t have the infrastructure to produce more and there is little incentive to build it. He said the commission is going through the budget now and is planning on making more cuts. He closed saying that these are the types of cuts that hinder the ability to produce better habitat.
Chairman Gillespie asked how much revenue was taken in through Marcellus Shale. Hough stated that over a 14-year period, 24 game lands have utilized for Marcellus Shall drilling and there are now 63 well pads in place covering 152 wells on 855 acres. Generated revenue has resulted in the purchase of 28,000 acres of land and deposits of $125 million into the Game Fund and $25 million in an escrow account. Asked if there are any new potential drilling sites, Hough replied there are three and that if one a year for the next three years is made operational they anticipate making $9 million per site per year.
The Chairman acknowledged there is a working group within the commission exploring the issue of a license fee increase but asked for an idea of how much it would be and how long such an increase would satisfy the commission. Hough said the proposal would be to increase the price by $10 and then in five years by another $10. He said that should meet the commission’s needs for the next 15 years based upon what has been done historically. According to Hough, even with this full increase, Pennsylvania’s license price would still be cheap compared to other states.
Rep. Mullery asked for Hough’s opinion on Sunday hunting. Hough acknowledged it’s a controversial topic but said the commission is for it and that it’s time for the state to move that way.
Rep. Maloney asked if the state has a coyote problem. Hough confirmed Pennsylvania does. Rep. Maloney then expressed hope the comprehensive plan that is being developed takes this into account since in some states 50 percent of the mortality rate for fawns is attributed to predation. Rep. Maloney argued that for Pennsylvania, that predation comes from coyotes and black bears and wondered why the commission does not want to identify this as a problem. Hough replied the commission has just begun a three-year study on the predation of fawns.
Rep. Maloney said that if the commission knows the number of coyotes that have been trapped there should be a formula to determine how many coyotes there are in the state. Hough replied the last coyote harvest was 40,000.
Rep. Farina reiterated the call for a discussion to begin Sunday hunting. He said the lack of Sunday hunting opportunities in Pennsylvania is what often causes him to travel out of state. He opined Pennsylvania needs to give the opportunity for Sunday hunting to those people who have to work six days a week. Hough pledged to do everything he can to help with implementing Sunday hunting.
The chairman announced the next meeting will be on April 15, 2015, at 9:30 a.m. in the Ryan Office Building. He promised that an agenda with the bills to be voted on would be distributed in advance.
3/24/14, 10:00 a.m., 60 East Wing
By Eric A. Failing, PLS
The committee held an informational hearing to receive the Game Commission’s annual report.
Matthew Hough, Executive Director of the Game Commission, presented a summary of the commission’s annual report. He stated the two biggest wildlife challenges the commission faces are Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) and White-nose Syndrome. He further explained that in terms of CWD, the commission has established three disease management areas and for the first time this year opened up disease management area 2 for hunting permits. He added that since CWD poses a major threat to both the deer heard and the hunting heritage, he would be glad to work with the committee, the Department of Agriculture, and the Agriculture Committee on creating tougher restriction on deer within captive herds as this appears to be the primary method of transmittal for the disease. With regards to White-nose Syndrome, Hough explained it has become one of the, if not the, “most devastating wildlife diseases ever documented to impact a species in the Commonwealth.” He assured the committee that the commission is working with state and federal authorities and has closed access to several hibernacula in the state in an attempt to slow the spread of the disease.
Touching on commission staff, Hough celebrated graduating 25 new Wildlife Conservation Officers (WCOs) in 2014. Overall, WCOs recorded more than 200,000 enforcement contacts this past year and issued 7,045 citations including aiding authorities in the manhunt for Eric Frein. He then stated they were very happy with the enactment of HB 2178 of last session, which allowed WCOs to use body cameras.
Hough continued, touting that the commission’s game lands have grown to 1.5 million acres and they have taken steps to manage this area through prescribed burns on more than 5,000 acres and conducted commercial timber operations on more than 6,000 acres.
In terms of addressing the needs of sportsmen, he credited a grant from the US Fish and Wildlife Services for allowing Pennsylvania to be the first state to develop a marketing campaign for re-engaging those who had hunted previously but no longer do so. This included the creation of a new smart phone app with an “SOS” safety feature. He also spoke highly of the mentored youth program saying the commission issued 35,380 permits. Hough added that in response to abuses in this system, the Board will vote soon on finalizing a proposed regulation that will require an adult supervising a mentored youth to give his antlered deer or turkey tag to a youth under the age of seven who is successful.
He stressed the deer herd is considered premier and that a decreased issuance of antlerless licenses this past season should result in more deer next season. He also called for an increase in hunting license fees stating the commission has not seen an increase since 1999 and while staff is fewer in number, staff costs are higher because they are Commonwealth employees.
Rep. McGinnis asked how to know whether a decrease in the number of antlerless tags issued will result in a larger number of deer next season. Hough replied that will not be known for sure until the harvest numbers from next season come in but stated he expects the numbers to be up.
Rep. McGinnis then stated he hears from hunters all the time that Pennsylvania are in a state of crisis with the deer herd and asked for Hough to comment. Hough assured the committee that Pennsylvania’s deer herd cannot be wiped out. He admitted that herd numbers are lower than in the 1990s but stressed that back then there were too many deer. The habitat is much better now, he argued, and therefore the commission can allow the herd numbers to begin climbing again. Asked if he had any other concerns, Hough stressed his big concern is CWD. He lamented that history has shown that once it’s in a state it cannot be eliminated.
Rep. McGinnis asked if the commission will make any license number adjustments because of CWD. Hough said the population needs to stay low in order to fight CWD, which is what the commission is doing in the disease management areas. He added that Blair and Bedford counties are the only ones where CWD has impacted the wild herd.
Rep. Mullery stated that he introduced HB 231 to allow the commission to distribute antlerless licenses and asked for Hough’s opinion on the bill. Hough stressed the commission is in favor of the legislation and said it is time for the commission to move into the 21st century for the distribution of these licenses. Asked if the commission is ready for the transition, Hough said they would be looking at implementation during 2016-2017 season and that while there are always issues with such a roll out he assured the committee that the commission would be able to handle it. Rep. Mullery asked what the fiscal impact would be to the commission. Hough replied that aside from the development of the system into the current PAL system, costs would be negligible.
Rep. Mullery then wondered how the commission decides where to do controlled burns. Hough answered that the commission would do more controlled burns if it could but explained these are very staff intensive exercises. In terms of how the locations are determined, he told the members this is all part of a comprehensive game management plan that, while still being developed for some areas, has been completed for others. He added there are a lot of factors that play into the execution of these burns including weather, time of year and available personnel. He closed his response saying that these burns are excellent for wildlife and have been missing from the Pennsylvania management plan for decades.
Rep. Miller asked for more information on the proposed license increase and how many licenses were sold this year. Hough replied the commission sold 950,000 general licensees this year not including things like licenses for bear and archery stamps. With regards to the proposed increase, he assured the representative that commission staff are developing a plan and would like to share it with the committee and explain how it fits into their overall five-year financial plan.
Rep. Emrick asked how much an out of state hunting license costs. Hough replied about $100. Asked if that is considered high or low compared to other states, Hough explained that while some states have a reciprocal agreement with Pennsylvania, in general Pennsylvania’s cost is pretty low.
Rep. Emrick then asked why fall turkey hunting is not allowed in wildlife management unit (WMU) 5C. Commission staff explained that the question of whether to have a hunting season is based upon population trends for that area and that while the upper end of 5C has a pretty good turkey population the rest does not. In particular the commission worried that the fall season generally sees more hen kills which would hurt the overall population of 5C more. Rep. Emrick referenced an idea for legislation that would create a new WMU that is more geographically appropriate. Hough said that while he is not aware of any current legislation that would do this, the commission established the WMUs and reviews them every five years. He stated he would be happy to look into this. Rep. Emrick continued, arguing that WMU 5C is not reflective of the rest of the area and that something needs to be changed. Hough commented that the next review cycle is in 2018 but reiterated his promise to look into this.
Rep. Emrick then told of how he worked with a constituent in a local sportsmen’s store to put on a class for snaring. He said the class was so packed that they had to establish a waiting list. He asked if enough snare classes are being held in the state. Hough admitted there might not be and said this is often because there are not enough volunteer instructors.
Rep. Emrick concluded by applauding the commission for reducing the number of antlerless licenses issued and stressed the commission should base decisions on empirical data.
Rep. Maloney stressed that in terms of deer management he didn’t agree with the commission on the number of deer kills and said it would place the total estimated number of the deer herd at one million. He said the commission has failed to adequately explain its “per square mile” deer estimates. Rep. Maloney did commend the commission for starting to do more controlled burns but asked why the commission is not doing more habitat work to make land more conducive for the game population. Hough replied the commission only manages 1.5 million acres and cannot control land practices on private land. He added the commission is attempting to do more succession habitat development but cautioned that this type of work takes a lot of personnel.
Rep. Maloney then asked why, if the commission is having difficulty taking care of its existing land, it is purchasing more land. Hough quipped because “they aren’t making it anymore.” He told the committee that if the Game Commission didn’t own the land it currently has, it would have been before this committee ten years ago begging for a license increase to get more money. Hough argued the only thing that has saved the commission is the discovery of Marcellus Shale deposits under its land and that it what has allowed it to continue on.
Rep. Maloney said it was his understanding that commission land being used for Marcellus Shale drilling would be turned into food plots. He stressed that habitat needs to be addressed and hopes that this would be addressed in the commission’s comprehensive plan and enacted soon. He stressed Pennsylvania has reached a crisis level in its deer population.
Rep. Maloney continued, expressing frustration that in the last two years the commission has issued reports with a lot more pages and text and that this year it is smaller and filled with more pictures. He also expressed frustration that none of the Game Commissioners were in attendance and said he was not happy with the behavior of some commission personnel. He stressed that access cannot be denied to sportsmen because of the unethical behavior of the Game Commission. He said when people are being denied access because someone from the Game Commission lives on the land that is wrong. Hough assured him they would be moved.
Rep. Maloney then read aloud the commission’s code of ethics. He asked Hough to send a message to Commissioner Schlemmer saying he violated the governor’s code of ethics and the commission’s code of ethics and wondered how he can face himself.
Chairman Gillespie asked for confirmation on whether the commission is still waiting for more CWD reports. Hough said it is, adding that he expects the number of confirmed CWD cases to increase based on what has happened in other states. Saying that it is more prevalent in Maryland and West Virginia, he speculated that it came into Pennsylvania from one of the neighboring states.
The chairman asked for more information on the types of stricter regulations the commission would like to see on the captive deer herds. Hough explained that CWD often starts in captive herds because of the movement of deer between the operations. Hough said there are about 1,200 deer farm operations right now in the state and the issue is only going to get worse.
Asked by the Chairman if the problem is that deer are escaping during transport, Hough said the problem generally arises from deer being brought in from other states that are infected. He cited one case where an infected Pennsylvania deer was sent to a farm in Ohio. Hough told the committee that the Department of Agriculture is charged with overseeing these operations yet has not been given any additional money or staff to do so and needs about 50 people.
The Chairman then said that White-nose Syndrome in bats was brought to Pennsylvania from hikers from overseas. Hough confirmed this and lamented that 99 percent of the brown bats in the state have died as a result and since there is no known cure, they are hoping that the one percent who survived have a tolerance to the fungus that causes the problem.
Asked if there are areas in North America where White-nose Syndrome has not wiped out the bat population, Hough confirmed not every area of the nation has been hit with the disease.
Chairman Gillespie then asked about reports of the muskrat population being down. Staff for the commission confirmed there appears to be a decline in the muskrat population in the Northeast but disease and contaminants have been ruled out as a cause. Staff stated that a collection of states from Virginia north are working together to investigate the cause for the decline. It was stated that actual mortality rates are difficult to determine right now because population rates are based on fur harvests which fluctuate according to market prices.
The chairman next wondered if the commission is limited to spending $400 per acre for game land acquisitions. Hough confirmed this but quickly added that the commission has not used a lot of Game Fund money for this purpose. He told the committee that the commission uses escrow money. He explained escrow money is generated when a group such as an energy company wants to use commission land for drilling. That company will then put money into an escrow account for the commission to use to purchase more land to offset the loss of land used for drilling. Asked if the $400 per acre is set, Hough told the chairman that this number is neither set under policy nor statute.
The chairman then asked about the “SOS” feature on the new Game Commission smart phone app. Staff explained the app allows the user to click on the app and have a user’s pre-stored number dialed during an emergency.
Chairman Gillespie then raised the issue of proposed changes to mentored hunting and told everyone there have been examples of abuse to the program that have led to these proposed changes. In one instance he stated a hunter with a 24-month old child in the mentored youth program was seen carrying a. 300 win mag rifle which clearly the child could not have safely shot. Staff added the commission has received numerous newspaper clippings from people around the state showing young children in pictures with harvested game along side of firearms they clearly could not have safely handled. Staff for the commission reported that 340 incidents of abuse or suspect abuse have occurred. In one case, staff related how a hunter claiming to be mentoring youth was spotted by a WCO with two car seats in his vehicle.
Rep. Maloney stated the mentored youth program is a very successful program and that it is very unfortunate that there have been abuses to the system. Hough said the Game Commission is all for the mentored youth program and that the proposed restrictions have to do with enforcement of the program.
The Chairman asked if the commission would like to consider legislation to toughen the penalties for illegal use of a mentored deer tag. Hough said yes.
He then asked if the commission is getting any royalties in perpetuity from Marcellus Shale. Hough answered the commission receives about $5 million a year but with the price of gas down, they don’t have the infrastructure to produce more and there is little incentive to build it. He said the commission is going through the budget now and is planning on making more cuts. He closed saying that these are the types of cuts that hinder the ability to produce better habitat.
Chairman Gillespie asked how much revenue was taken in through Marcellus Shale. Hough stated that over a 14-year period, 24 game lands have utilized for Marcellus Shall drilling and there are now 63 well pads in place covering 152 wells on 855 acres. Generated revenue has resulted in the purchase of 28,000 acres of land and deposits of $125 million into the Game Fund and $25 million in an escrow account. Asked if there are any new potential drilling sites, Hough replied there are three and that if one a year for the next three years is made operational they anticipate making $9 million per site per year.
The Chairman acknowledged there is a working group within the commission exploring the issue of a license fee increase but asked for an idea of how much it would be and how long such an increase would satisfy the commission. Hough said the proposal would be to increase the price by $10 and then in five years by another $10. He said that should meet the commission’s needs for the next 15 years based upon what has been done historically. According to Hough, even with this full increase, Pennsylvania’s license price would still be cheap compared to other states.
Rep. Mullery asked for Hough’s opinion on Sunday hunting. Hough acknowledged it’s a controversial topic but said the commission is for it and that it’s time for the state to move that way.
Rep. Maloney asked if the state has a coyote problem. Hough confirmed Pennsylvania does. Rep. Maloney then expressed hope the comprehensive plan that is being developed takes this into account since in some states 50 percent of the mortality rate for fawns is attributed to predation. Rep. Maloney argued that for Pennsylvania, that predation comes from coyotes and black bears and wondered why the commission does not want to identify this as a problem. Hough replied the commission has just begun a three-year study on the predation of fawns.
Rep. Maloney said that if the commission knows the number of coyotes that have been trapped there should be a formula to determine how many coyotes there are in the state. Hough replied the last coyote harvest was 40,000.
Rep. Farina reiterated the call for a discussion to begin Sunday hunting. He said the lack of Sunday hunting opportunities in Pennsylvania is what often causes him to travel out of state. He opined Pennsylvania needs to give the opportunity for Sunday hunting to those people who have to work six days a week. Hough pledged to do everything he can to help with implementing Sunday hunting.
The chairman announced the next meeting will be on April 15, 2015, at 9:30 a.m. in the Ryan Office Building. He promised that an agenda with the bills to be voted on would be distributed in advance.