Pa Deer Management Article

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wayne c
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2010/10/04 17:12:52 (permalink)

Pa Deer Management Article

It’s up to you by John C. Street

By now you should know that ……

A small, a very small, group of people, ideologically wed to the concept of “Ecosystem Management,” has succeeded in usurping authority over the management of Pennsylvania’s whitetail deer herd. This group claims a scientific mandate for their actions but even their own science refutes this claim. And they, despite overwhelming opposition, have co-opted enough political juice to have their way.

Is this simply a case, as author, Robert Hanlon, opined, where we should “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity?” Or is there something else afoot?

Well, evidence suggests we can rule out stupidity as an option. Is it maliciousness, then? That might be putting it mildly.

At the beginning of September, the Allegheny County Sportsmen’s League produced an hour-long video tape of a presentation made by John Eveland wherein he irrefutable proves that a group of people – a very small group of people at that – have completely taken over the decision making process for the management of Pennsylvania’s deer herd. (Note: this tape can be accessed through the League’s web site at www.acslpa.org)

Worse, their management program is based on the pabulum of an ideology, not the hard data of sound science.

But what is most alarming is that this group has been able to marshal up enough political cover to shield their pantheistic ideology of ecosystem management from the glaring light of public scrutiny.

As this is being written, a bookmaker would have to give better than even odds that they’ll not only escape being held accountable for perpetrating the biggest wildlife management boondoggle in Pennsylvania’s history, but will proceed without so much as a slap on the wrist.

What happens next, therefore, is entirely up to you.

In a previous column I asked, “Whatchu’ gonna’ do about it?” and promised that I’d come back to help you answer that question. The following, then, are two simple steps that you can take to help solve this problem.

First, if you have not done so already, please go to the Allegheny County Sportsmen’s League’s web site (address provided above) and access and view the eight-part series on the “Mismanagement of Pennsylvania’s deer herd.” And while you’re on that web site, print out the twenty page, printed version of this report and read it along with the background bio of John Eveland, the man who courageously brought this boondoggle to light.

As you are watching this series, it’s going to dawn on you there might be a case to be made for bringing legal action against the politician who provided cover and muscle for the perpetrators of this scam. Please do not get yourself into a tizzy over this. The only legal action that needs to be taken will most likely be done for you on November 2.

And please know there are seven people - the current members of the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Board of Commissioners - who can stop this boondoggle dead in its tracks. You only need to let one of these seven people (the Commissioner who serves your district) know how you feel about this travesty in order to have an impact.

Step two, then, is to write a brief, simple letter in your own words to the PGC Commissioner who serves your district (his name and address are available at www.pgc.pa.us).

In this letter, tell your Commissioner that you have watched the John Eveland video. Tell him you will not allow this travesty to be swept under the rug. And finally, ask him to respond to you with his personal plan to clean up the mess.

That’s it. That’s all you need to do.

But please do not forget …..

The economic carnage from this travesty has yet to be fully calculated. By all preliminary indications, however, the scale of the carnage is already enormous. And it’s growing.

Making financial sacrifices of this magnitude might be justifiable for a legitimate wildlife crisis.

Forcing these sacrifices, however, for a questionable ideology that has little – arguably nothing – to do with any of Pennsylvania’s wildlife is a travesty ….. a travesty that was planned and is being perpetrated by a handful of unaccountable people whose pantheistic view of Penn’s woods has no verifiable context in legitimate wildlife or forestry management.

At the present time, the PGC’s Board of Commissioners appear content to keep there heads down in the hope that this will blow over.

So now, it’s up to you.
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    deerfly
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    RE: Pa Deer Management Article 2010/10/04 17:29:58 (permalink)
    Well it is nice to see that at least one PA Outdoor writer acknowledged the fine work done by ACSL in documenting the background behind this debacle. Now that all the behind the scenes activity has been revealed , it will be interesting to see how the PGC resolves the lawsuit by the USP
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    tull66
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    RE: Pa Deer Management Article 2010/10/05 08:08:29 (permalink)
    Thanks for posting this. Sounds alot like our federal gov't. I will make contact with the comissioner today. Again, thanks.
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    DanesDad
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    RE: Pa Deer Management Article 2010/10/05 16:00:16 (permalink)
    This is interesting but the problem with rank and file hunters is, not many will going to watch that entire video and read the entire report. The average hunter probably doesn't have the time or attention span to do this. I'm not insulting hunters. This apathy is very common among people in general. Why do you think we have the joke of the state government that we do? Most things like this happen because the perpetrators realize that, if the general public has to put in more than a minimual effort to stop it, most couldn't be bothered. So, the message, and subsequent actions required on the part of the hunter have to be reduced to get the point across with as little effort on the part of the hunter as possible. Toward that end, I would suggest the following:
    1. Identify the problem.
    2. Identify the bad guys...by name.
    3. State exactly what the bad guy does or did to create the prediciment we are now in.
    4. Explain what needs to be done to reverse or at least stop the advance of the bad guys agenda.


    Keep the wording in these statements to a minimum. It's ok to site literature and/or websites so that those who are interested can do their own research, but most hunters will not. Keep it short and to the point if you want people to react, and try to make the actions required of hunters as easy and convenient for them as possible...if you want the maximum involvement. Just stating, "Do some research and you'll see!" will almost never sway anybody. You have to break it down for people. And by break it down, I dont mean an 8 part video or a 20 page report. This is the MTV generation! KISS theory will succeed where unabridged research information does not.

    IMHO.
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    wayne c
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    RE: Pa Deer Management Article 2010/10/05 22:24:04 (permalink)
    You bring up some good points dd, but i think as far as the internet goes anyway, there are many who've followed this stuff and have been posting about it on message boards etc. for some time now. What it needs is to be distributed to the general hunting ranks, many of which dont follow internet message boards etc. and arent politically active. Not sure if its even possible to reach those hunters.

    But this is, imho, a good thing to be presented now in the manner that it has been, provided by the study of a very credible figure who happens to be a credentialed ecologist/biologist who has also DOCUMENTED this, and not just thrown out unsupported very basic allegations. It should be pretty hard for legislators or any pgc commissioner who cares at all about hunting to ignore.

    I know what you mean about guys for the most part having a short attention span, but its a bit more complex than giving one sentence statements. I also would imagine it was meant more for hunters who might actually do something about it and are more politically active + legislators + possibly some commissioners. Im sure the ones distributing this report realize a large portion of our ranks, even those who care & complain loudly, are apathetic when it comes to taking action.
    post edited by wayne c - 2010/10/05 22:27:31
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    DanesDad
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    RE: Pa Deer Management Article 2010/10/06 20:33:13 (permalink)
    Are you happy with the state of deer hunting today??? Deer hunting is being destroyed! Joe Blow and his cronies are influencing the PGC to wipe out the herd! (provide link to Joe Blows site or some other study to discredit him). We must take action! Please email your district commissioner and tell him NOT to support Joe Blows policies! (provide link to individual commissioners emails and a list of which commissioner oversees which district) Only hunters acting together can stop this travesty! Please act now!


    This is an example of how I would do it. Short, and simple but providing a link so the casual guy can look into it more if he wants to (most will not look or only give a cursory look). A link to email the commissioner from the hunters district and a short statement of what to say in the email. This could be placed on any message board or even printed on fliers and distributed at sportsmens show or gun clubs.

    You see, the credibility of the research isn't even important. What matters is getting the largest number of hunters to act in the way that you want them to. You just have to make it easy for them while playing on their dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs in Pennsylvania deer hunting.
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    deerfly
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    RE: Pa Deer Management Article 2010/10/07 08:06:18 (permalink)
    I agree there was too much extraneous info in the videos. He should have eliminated most of his bio ,since that is what the opposition is using to attack his credibility.
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    CrossForkWookie
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    RE: Pa Deer Management Article 2010/10/07 15:02:24 (permalink)


    I'm having a hard time reading the article from my perch way atop this "grassy knoll".




    .
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    DanesDad
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    RE: Pa Deer Management Article 2010/10/07 21:22:11 (permalink)

    ORIGINAL: deerfly

    I agree there was too much extraneous info in the videos. He should have eliminated most of his bio ,since that is what the opposition is using to attack his credibility.

    Some people might find that interesting and informative, but for the average guy, it's too much information. Most guys who are unhappy dont need extensive proof that things are bad. They go by their own experience. They'll act if they dont have to do too much or pay anything.
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    wayne c
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    RE: Pa Deer Management Article 2010/10/08 14:36:16 (permalink)
    "I'm having a hard time reading the article from my perch way atop this "grassy knoll"."



    Must be in a failed clear-cut. Grassy knoll has no saplings on it... Guess the evil deer ate 'em all. lmao.

    #10
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