>X-Sender: sweidnsl at mailhost.pottsville.infi.net
>Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 16:08:24 -0500
>Reply-To: Scott Weidensaul <sweidnsl at POTTSVILLE.INFI.NET>
>Sender: BirdHawk - HMANA Hawk Watching Exchange
> <BIRDHAWK at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU>
>From: Scott Weidensaul <sweidnsl at POTTSVILLE.INFI.NET>
>Subject: [BIRDHAWK] Hawk and owl hunting
>To: BIRDHAWK at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
>
>Folks,
>
> My apologies to those who may have already received information (via PA
>BIRDS and elsewhere) on this issue. Next Thursday, Feb. 25, the
>Pennsylvania Game Commission will hold a special meeting to consider a
>proposal offered by board president Vernon Shaffer that seeks to remove
>protection on red-tailed hawks and great horned owls at two large wildlife
>management areas, Middle Creek and Blue Marsh. The proposal is contained in
>a plan to restore ring-necked pheasant populations in these two locations.
>Shaffer has, in fact, already written to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
>petitioning them to rescind federal protection on these two species, and it
>appears he may have majority support among his fellow commissioners for the
>plan.
>
> While it is unlikely that the USFWS will grant this request, this is a
>terribly damaging development -- the image of the president of the state's
>wildlife agency blaming raptors for the decline in small game, and calling
>for an open season on them. This is also a reversal of the Game
>Commission's excellent record over the past 20 years on raptor protection
>issues, and sends an extremely disturbing message to the public as a whole.
>(It is worth noting that this proposal did not originate with the staff of
>the PGC, and most are privately appalled by Shaffer's actions. However,
>under state law the eight-man board of appointed commissioners runs the
>show, not the staff.)
>
> It is essential that the conservation and birding community send a very
>strong, unmistakable message that this kind of behavior is unacceptable.
>For those in the area, I would urge you to attend the meeting, at 4 p.m. in
>the PGC's headquarters, 2001 Elmerton Ave. in Harrisburg. (If you need
>directions, drop me a line.) If you wish to speak at the meeting, I suggest
>you call executive director Donald Madl's office at (717) 787-4250 and ask
>to be put on the speakers' list. Those who cannot attend should write a
>letter of protest; perhaps the fastest way would be to fax it to Mr. Madl's
>office at (717) 772-0502.
>
> Scott Weidensaul
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> You read it right. What Shaffer wants is an open season on great horned
>owls and red-tailed hawks at those two locations, coupled with massive
>stocking programs, to bolster ring-necked pheasant populations.
>
> It's unlikely he could succeed in this; all hawks and owls are protected
>under federal statute, and the only way they can be legally killed or
>trapped is with a federal depredation permit -- the sort issued on occasion
>to someone having trouble with a marauding owl at a gamebird hatchery, for
>instance. There is no way I can foresee that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
>Service is going to approve this kind of 19th century, buckshot approach.
>
> That doesn't mean we should ignore Shaffer's hare-brained proposal,
>however. In recent years, many of the more progressive policies and
>attitudes at the PGC have been reversed, thanks to what I consider some
>very poor appointments to the PGC board by Govs. Casey and Ridge, and weak
>leadership by the top administrators. Shaffer, however, is the worst of the
>worst, a fact that became clear during my years covering the agency for the
>Harrisburg paper.
>
> Every wildlife manager and biologist agrees that the major cause for the
>decline in pheasant populations is massive habitat and land-use changes
>over the last 40 years, especially development, "clean farming" techniques
>that remove cover, and increased chemical use that reduces insect and weed
>seed abundance.
>
> Conservationists of all stripes -- birders, hunters and everyone else --
>needs to send a _very_ clear message in this case. If you can be at the
>meeting (4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25, in PGC headquarters at 2001 Elmerton
>Ave. in Harrisburg), then be there. Otherwise, I urge you to send a letter
>to PGC executive director Donald Madl, Penna. Game Commission, 2001
>Elmerton Ave., Harrisburg Pa. 17110-9797, or call his office at (717)
>787-4250.
>
>
> Scott Weidensaul
> sweidnsl at pottsville.infi.net
> Schuylkill Haven, Pa.
>
> ---------
>
> Here's the text from today's press release. What's interesting, I think,
>is that even the public information office seems to be distancing
>themselves from Shaffer's proposal:
>
> "The Pennsylvania Game Commission will hold a special meeting February 25
>at its Harrisburg headquarters to consider a proposal being advanced by
>Commission President Vernon Shaffer to close two state game lands to
>ring-necked pheasant hunting and dog training for two years.
>
> Shaffer's proposed plan intends to determine whether changes in sporting
>activities, pheasant stockings and predator management can spur pheasant
>recoveries in Berks County's State Game Lands 280, near Reading, and SGL
>46, which includes the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in Lebanon and
>Lancaster counties. Shaffer is forwarding his plan for the consideration of
>both fellow commissioners and agency staff.
>
> The proposal will be discussed in detail and considered for proposed
>rulemaking at the February 25 public meeting, which will begin at 4 p.m. in
>the auditorium of the PGC's Harrisburg headquarters.
>
> Details of Commissioner Shaffer's plan include releasing 1,000 game farm
>pheasants and about 50 wild pheasants from the Midwest, on each SGL study
>area. The proposal also looks to reduce stress on the released birds by
>banning pheasant hunting and dog training on the release areas and removing
>protection on certain avian predators.
>
> The Game Commission has been wrestling with the state's pheasant decline
>for some time. As recently as the early 1970s, the state's wild pheasant
>population topped a million birds. Today, it's a fraction of that. Most
>wildlife managers agree the decline was caused by land-use and agricultural
>technology changes, habitat loss and increased use of herbicides and
>pesticides. Some people attribute the decline to increasing numbers of
>predators.
>
> The Game Commission has experimented with pheasant recovery projects on
>several study areas over the last decade. Biologists concluded from that
>work the problem with pheasants -- both ring-necked pheasants and Sichuans
>-- in Pennsylvania was a lack of large blocks of quality habitat. About the
>only change that could cause a pheasant resurgence, according to
>biologists, would be large-scale habitat improvement and set-aside projects
>on private land.
>
> Commissioner Shaffer's plan aims to determine if there's something more
>the Game Commission can or should be doing for pheasants. It could serve as
>another chapter in the agency's running history with the ring-necked
>pheasant. It's a relationship that began in 1915 and seems likely to
>continue for some time."
>
>
>--
>For other Audubon lists, visit <http://www.audubon.org/listserv/>.
>
>------
>Scott Weidensaul
>sweidnsl at pottsville.infi.net
>778 Schwartz Valley Rd.
>Schuylkill Haven, Pa. 17972 USA
>TEL: (570) 739-2874
>FAX: (570) 739-4573
>