Mr. Carl Roe, Executive Director

Pennsylvania Game Commission

2001 Elmerton Avenue

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17110-9797

 

Dear Executive Director Roe:

 

Thank you for the chance to comment on proposed changes to regulations for the 2006-2007 hunting seasons. The Pennsylvania Chapter-NWTF continues to support scientifically based decisions on the management of our important game species. Our members are especially pleased to help support the first statewide wild turkey research project in the history of the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the tri-state gobbler banding initiative. Thank you for participating in this project and congratulations on the success of the banding operations this winter. Many Game Commission staff members contributed to the capture and marking of 242 gobblers for the study and they deserve much credit for their hard work.

 

Our members and board of directors urge the commissioners to approve and sign the revised Management Plan for Wild Turkeys in Pennsylvania as soon as possible. Changes within the revised plan provide decision making criteria for harvest strategies that will be vital to the proper management of this species for the next decade. Our membership supports the plan as it appears in its latest revision and we request that it be finalized in that version. The only area our members would suggest changing would be to incorporate criteria for spring gobbler bag limit decision making on the Wildlife Management Unit level. We are anxious to see the revised plan completed and incorporated into the agency strategic plan.

 

At the January meeting, the commission was provided with data on wild turkey population trends in several Wildlife Management Units. The Bureau of Wildlife Management proposed a one week reduction in fall turkey hunting season length for Wildlife Management Units 1B, 2F, 2G and 3B. This proposal was based on trends in spring gobbler harvests and summer brood sighting indices. The Pennsylvania Chapter-NWTF supports the proposed changes in season length for those units as presented by Wild Turkey Biologist Mary Jo Casalena at the January meeting. This is a classic example of the value of using quality data to make management decisions.

 

The change in spring gobbler bag limits for the 2006 season has resulted in a mixed bag of comments from turkey hunters. Our membership supports this change and the reporting requirements developed for the second tag. We understand that sales of the second tag have been in the neighborhood of eight thousand. This small number of hunters eligible to harvest a second gobbler if they are successful at taking one bird will have minimal effect on harvest numbers. We suggest that every effort be made to evaluate the impact of this regulation change as quickly as possible after the season closes so that information on the changes can be provided to the hunting public soon after the season.

 

The Pennsylvania Chapter-NWTF continues to support increased wild turkey research and outreach in the area of turkey hunter safety education. To this end, our chapter supports the creation of a general turkey hunting license as part of the hunting license increase package recommended to the legislature by the coalition of conservation groups.

 

Thank you again for the opportunity to comment on regulatory changes and other issues affecting the commission. We appreciate the working relationship we have with this agency and look forward to continued cooperative efforts on behalf of the wildlife resources and hunter conservationists of the Keystone State.

 

Sincerely,

 

David Burdge

President