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The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) manages 2.1 million acres of public forests that have been certified as sustainable under strict criteria established by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Once criteria have been met, the certification is valid for five years. In the case of DCNR, its latest certificate is valid from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2013.
To remain certified, DCNR is required to have an annual forest management certification audit during August under the SmartWood Program of the Rainforest Alliance. This year’s on-site audit will take place from August 3-6, with the auditors visiting Sproul, Susquehannock, and Tioga State Forests on August 4-5.
This annual audit will mark the thirteenth year that the state forests have been examined, and each year, they meet or exceed the
Appalachian Standard of forest certification. During the audit, emphasis is placed on how timber sales are conducted, how riparian forests are protected, and the status of forest regeneration.
The FSC standard includes 10 Principles that must be followed. Two of the principles address community involvement in forest management decisions, and well as how these decisions affect local people. As a part of the process, certification auditors invite stakeholders to offer comment and provide feedback on DCNR’s forest management in relation to the requirements of the forest management standard established by the FSC. Input can be public or confidential.
Principle 6 establishes criteria relating to the environmental impacts of forest management, specifically requiring action to protect threatened and endangered plant and animal species, and fragile ecosystems. This includes protection from exotic insects, diseases, and overbrowsing by deer. Last year’s audit noted that the DCNR Bureau of Forestry has made improvements in managing its forests with a more consistent evaluation of deer browsing studies and associated actions to control deer impacts.
DCNR Bureau of Forestry is required to “evaluate deer browse impacts in Wild Plant Sanctuaries, designated Old Growth areas, and other Natural Areas that may be particularly vulnerable to browsing, and if necessary, institute appropriate deer control measures e.g., enrollment in DMAP (Deer Management Assistance Program) to mitigate impacts.â€
But the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) Board is creating impediments to controlling the deer herd on public lands.
Every year, each forest district sends its requests for DMAP coupons to the PGC for approval. This year, some DMAP areas had their requests denied, even though the forest district followed PGC regulations of one DMAP coupon per 50 acres of forest. The PGC placed a cap on the number of coupons, which was less than DCNR needed.
Districts generally don’t enroll all their acreages in DMAP, but select areas based on browsing surveys done of the ground following transect lines. These systematic surveys done by field personnel can take a month to complete. Based on survey data, a description of each proposed DMAP unit is written that includes forest conditions and justification as to why it should be enrolled. District forests usually ask for the standard number of coupons or less, which is defined in PGC regulations.
It seems the PGC will be taking up the DMAP again at its October meeting. Since the Commissioners have already chosen to
violate their own DMAP regulations in Title 58, they may decide to go further and change the program to one coupon per 100 acres of forest, so DCNR cannot get so many coupons.
The Commissioners have already violated the application date and the no quota system, so it shouldn’t be hard for them to violate the standard number of coupons per specified acreage.
If the PGC has issues with the DCNR regarding deer management and DMAP, now is the time to voice those concerns with the SmartWood Program auditors. They will listen. We will see if the PGC Commissioners really want to learn and assist with the management of our state forests, or if they just want to continue to dismiss the DCNR’s efforts, especially those of its field employees.
DCNR has been very clear about its goals, objectives and plans for our state forests, but what does the PGC Board want? Commissioner Tom Boop, an attorney in Sunbury, would be a good representative of the PGC board to speak with auditors as he has voiced his continued frustration over how the DCNR manages its forests, and the auditors will be visiting his area in Tioga County.
However, Boop’s case to the Smartwood auditors may hold little water. At a time when DCNR foresters report seeing bigger, healthier deer, much better forest regeneration, and a reduced need for deer fencing, why would the PGC Commissioners want to destroy this progress, and at the same time jeopardize the State Forest Certification?
The Smartwood auditors realize that the district foresters don’t control how the deer herd is managed, but they are concerned that if the DMAP continues to be thwarted on public land, it will be much harder for DCNR to meet the principles specified in the Appalachian Standard.
Hunters are one of the stakeholder groups affected by how the state forests are managed. If hunters feel there aren’t any deer left on state forests, now is the time to voice that concern. If hunters feel the state forests are not being managed properly or that not enough timber harvesting is occuring, they can voice that concern to the auditors. For those of you who want the PGC to drastically cut doe licenses, then get angry because you didn’t get one, now is your chance to have someone listen.
Stakeholders who wish to meet with the auditors or provide feedback can contact Steve Grado at
sgrado@hotmail.com, (662) 617-3691. For additional information, go to
www.smartwood.org.
– Roxane Palone