Independent Deer Audit Coming to PA

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Independent Deer Audit Coming to PA ©

By Jim Slinsky
04/19/08

At some point in our lives we have all come across a situation that conclusively confirms that old cliché` “truth can be stranger than fiction”. Try this one on for size; after 102 years an independent deer audit is coming to PA. House Resolution 642 authorizing the audit passed on April 7, 2008 by a vote of 201 to 0.

This was not an easy undertaking. It took fourteen months to put this together. The PGC claimed over the months that they welcomed an audit. “Bring it on” were the words we heard from a few Commissioners and a few Agency employees. The core problem was the Agency’s concept of an audit and our sportsmen’s concept of an audit were miles apart. The Agency was looking for an endorsement of their ongoing deer reduction plan. Our sporting class is looking for real population numbers by WMU and statewide totals. Our representatives saw the potential for a whitewash. The audit is quite comprehensive. A quick search on the Internet should reveal this document for your review.

Some of the key elements of the audit prove that our legislators are listening even if our PGC Commissioners are not. A twelve-year look-back at our deer populations and deer harvests are incorporated. This is critical because our deer population took a mysterious leap to 1.6 million when Dr. Gary Alt became involved. If done objectively many will be in shock at how few deer are left in this state. Converting the PGC’s “qualitative” deer management into hard, believable, quantitative numbers is a major objective of this audit. We must manage by numbers, just as every state in the nation manages their deer herd.

Forest regeneration problems and the effects of acid rain are weaved into this resolution. This is also a major victory because after killing millions of deer, forest regeneration did not occur as promised. The understory did not explode to provide food for those monster bucks. DCNR and the PGC are beginning to quietly lime their timber cuts. Dr. William Sharpe of Penn State advised Dr Alt eight years ago that deer reduction would not cure our regeneration problems.

Analysis of our deer modeling techniques, a review of our reproduction data as an indicator of herd health and the questionable size of our WMU’s are all in this document. Our legislators on the House Game and Fisheries Committee and the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee members have done an outstanding job. Granted, we must find qualified, objective people from across the nation to execute the audit, but the framework is excellent.

Once again, this landmark resolution would not have occurred if it wasn’t for the hard work and tenacity of Dr. Charles Bolgiano and the Unified Sportsmen of PA. This 84-year old crusader can outwork many half his age. Charlie deserves an award for his tireless efforts.

It is easy to predict where we are headed. I am seeing a scenario that neither the PGC and/or DCNR will appreciate. In early 2007 State Rep Tim Mahoney proposed legislation that required the PGC to maintain a minimum of ten deer per square forested mile on all state land. Think about that, one deer for every sixty-four acres of forestland. The point being if you can’t get regeneration with one deer for every sixty-four acres, deer are not your problem. The soil is your problem. If regeneration does not occur at ten deer per square mile, the agencies should be forced to stop killing deer and remediate the soil.

Removing the PGC’s and DCNR’s absolute discretion to take us to zero deer is the next logical piece of legislation. Taking us to zero deer is not the moral high ground in the name of saving our forests. It is the coward’s way out of refusing to recognize the effects of burning coal and its impact on our environment. Liming our timber cuts to accelerate regeneration and create a diverse forest habitat for all wildlife and all the people is the true moral high ground. Furthermore, fencing is more costly than liming and requires expensive maintenance to be effective.

The audit if executed objectively will prove this all to be true. It may even force some early retirements. It may even usher in some new management at both agencies.

Jim Slinsky is the host and producer of the “Outdoor Talk Network”, a nationally syndicated, outdoor-talk radio program. For a station near you or to contact Jim, visit his website at www.outdoortalknetwork.com.

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