Uncategorized – Page 2

NRA LIFE MEMBERSHIP DISCOUNTS UNTIL MARCH 31ST

January 5, 2017 by BCSCL Staff

NRA LIFE MEMBERSHIP DISCOUNTS UNTIL MARCH 31ST

$600 Life Membership

Due to the popularity of current membership specials.

We are authorized to sell the NRA Life Membership for $600 fully paid through March 31, 2017!

The $600 Life Membership is not eligible using Easy Pay (EPL) and must be paid in full.

Use this opportunity to buy an NRA Life Membership for a fraction of the full price!

BUY NRA LIFE MEMBERSHIP

1/3/17

Labor Day Offers Special Fishing Opportunities

August 29, 2016 by BCSCL Staff

Labor Day Offers Special Fishing Opportunities
To introduce both children and adults to fishing, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) is offering two special opportunities on Labor Day, Sept. 5. The first is a $1 license for adult residents and non-residents for Labor Day only. The second opportunity is the Mentored Youth Pinfish Day, which provides youth anglers who obtained a free Mentored Youth Permit or purchased a Mentored Youth Voluntary License during the spring an extra opportunity to fish on 19 lakes, including Cross Creek Lake and Peters Township Lake (Reservoir No. 2). To participate in the mentored youth program, adult anglers (16 years or older) must have a valid Pennsylvania fishing license and be accompanied by a youth. Youth anglers can obtain their free PFBC-issued permit or purchase a voluntary youth fishing license at GoneFishingPA.com.

GAME COMMISSION APPOINTS NORTHWEST REGION DIRECTOR

August 29, 2016 by BCSCL Staff

HARRISBURG, PA – The Pennsylvania Game Commission has appointed a new director of the Northwest Region Office in Franklin.

Richard Cramer, who has spent many of his 25 years with the Game Commission working within the Northwest Region, has been named director of the region office.

Cramer fills the vacancy created when former region director Keith Harbaugh retired.

Game Commission Executive Director R. Matthew Hough said Cramer will fulfill his new role nicely.

“Whether through the performance of his duties as a wildlife conservation officer in Forest County, a land manager responsible for habitat management on 10 state game lands totaling more than 45,000 acres in the region, or a land management supervisor in the region office, Rich has excelled in his service to the Game Commission and citizens of the Commonwealth,” Hough said. “He has a broad range of experience with the agency, holding several diverse positions providing a rare breadth of experience found in few if any others, and I’m proud to announce him as region director.”

Cramer grew up near the small town of McKean in Erie County.

After graduating from Edinboro University in 1988 with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Cramer served an internship in marketing with the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association.

He began his Game Commission career when he was selected to attend the 21st class of the Ross Leffler School of Conservation in June 1991. Upon graduation in February 1992, he was assigned as a wildlife conservation officer in eastern Allegheny County.

In 1994, he transferred to western Forest County, where he served as a WCO for four years, and then accepted the Wildlife Education Supervisor position in the Northwest Region Office from 1998 to 2000.

Cramer served again as the WCO in western Forest County from 2000 to 2005, and then was promoted to a Land Management Group Supervisor in the Northwest Region, serving in that capacity from 2005 to 2014.

From 2014 up until he was appointed director of the Northwest Region, Cramer served as the Land Management Supervisor in the region.

“I am truly humbled to be named region director and intend to do my best to serve the public, do what is in the best interest of wildlife, and foster a great working environment for the Northwest Region staff,” Cramer said.

Article from PA Game News Web Site

http://www.media.pa.gov/Pages/Game-Commission-Details.aspx?newsid=53

License Increase Proposal

August 16, 2016 by BCSCL Staff

License Increase Proposal

The Game Commission’s mission is to manage Pennsylvania’s wild birds, wild mammals, and their habitats for current and future generations.
The agency is funded by hunting license sales and federal taxes on ammunition and firearms, not by state tax dollars. Hunting licenses support all wildlife, not just game. The Game Commission hasn’t had a license increase since 1999 when a general hunting license went from $12 to $19. Marcellus Shale money helped bridge the gap in our funding until now; those funds are now dwindling. As sportsmen and women, we know that hunting and trapping are not only vital to the state’s economy, but of utmost importance to everyone concerned with the future of wildlife management in Pennsylvania.

How will a license increase make a difference?

As your wildlife agency we will be able to continue to purchase lands, to manage habitat that will benefit our native birds and mammals, and continue to protect our threatened and endangered species. Legislation has recently been introduced that would allow the Game Commission Board of Commissioners to set license fees, and remove funding for wildlife from the legislative process. If you’re concerned about the future of wildlife conservation in the Commonwealth, we request that you contact your state Senator and Representative and ask them to support Senate Bill 1166. Find your local Senator and Representative.

Financial Briefing

The Game Commission has managed Pennsylvania’s wildlife resources for more than 120 years. And since 1913, when the state began selling hunting licenses to finance wildlife management, license revenue has been used to rebuild wildlife populations, protect wildlife through law enforcement, and assemble a 1.5 million-acre state game lands system to provide wildlife habitat and public hunting opportunities. The Game Commission currently manages 480 species of wild birds and mammals, most of which aren’t hunted. The Commonwealth is one of the best states in the country to hunt deer, bear, wild turkeys and elk, not to mention small game and furbearers.

The agency is facing overwhelming financial challenges, many of which are beyond its control and are certain to continue into the future. Hunting license fees account for almost 40 percent of the Game Commission’s revenue. The fee for hunting and trapping licenses has not increased in 16 years: the second-longest period the Game Commission ever has gone without an increase. The longest span was from the Great Depression through World War II. The agency has been operating at a deficit since fiscal year 2013-14 and projects a deficit of $12 million in the current fiscal year primarily due to large increases in personnel expenses.