GAME COMMISSION URGES VOTER SUPPORT FOR GROWING GREENER BALLOT INITIATIVE

HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Vern Ross today urged all hunters and trappers registered to vote to remember to vote "YES" on the Growing Greener II bond issue that will appear on the May 17th primary ballot.

If approved by voters, the $625 million bond issue will fund Gov. Edward G. Rendell's proposed renewal and expansion of the state's Growing Greener program.   

Under the proposal, Gov. Rendell would fund parks, open space and farmland projects; environmental cleanup; water quality improvements in the state's rivers, streams and lakes; and revitalization projects for older Pennsylvania communities.  As part of the initiative, the Game Commission and Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission would share a portion of those funds for infrastructure needs.  The agencies will not be required to pay back any portion of the bond debt, nor will there be a matching-fund requirement as was rumored earlier.

Ross noted that the Game Commission would benefit from the funding - estimated at $6 million per year - targeted for infrastructure by using the monies to repair and inspect dams, impoundments and bridges; upgrade and repair buildings; and maintain shooting ranges on State Game Lands.

In addition, Growing Greener funding would enable the Game Commission to move forward with its plan to implement a point-of-sale system for licenses that would improve customer service and increase the agency's ability to gather more public input.

"With a point-of-sale system in place, hunters would swipe their driver's license through a magnetic reader and have all of their personal information filled in on the application automatically," Ross said.  "Hunters would then select the licenses and stamps they wanted to purchase.  After the first time a hunter purchases a license this way, he or she could be assigned a permanent license number that would be stored in an electronic file so in subsequent years the hunter would only need to enter changes in the types of licenses or stamps wanted.

"Also, by having a system that audits while it works, issuing agents won't need to put up as much bond money to secure the licenses that they will need to serve their customers.  Their bond will, most likely, only need to cover the costs of the computer system."

Besides fulfilling the Game Commission's goal of making the agency and its programs user-friendly, Ross noted that the point-of-sale system finally will create a computer database of all license buyers.  Such a database would enable the agency to conduct more surveys of license buyers on a regular basis. 

"We would no longer need to pay to have the names, addresses and telephone numbers manually entered into a database," Ross said.  "We also could prevent people from purchasing more than one license per year, and we could prevent people who have had their hunting or trapping privileges revoked from purchasing a license."

Combined with legislation that recently passed the House to remove the requirement that hunters and furtakers display their license on the back, the Game Commission, through the point of sale system, could eliminate the current heavy-stock license cards it purchases and replace them with a wallet-sized card.  Sponsored by Rep. Keith Gillespie (R-York), House Bill 856 unanimously passed the state House on May 9, and now goes to the Senate for further consideration.

Also, Ross noted that a point-of-sale system and the elimination of the backtag would enable the agency to link the license purchasing system with its disabled person permit and crossbow permit systems so that hunters would no longer need to keep track of separate permits as this information could be printed on their license - similar to how a driver's license indicates whether a driver needs to wear corrective lenses.

Legislation sponsored by Rep. Gillespie and signed into law by Gov. Rendell on June 23, 2004, removed the requirement that hunters mail in their big game harvest report cards and cleared the way for the Game Commission to establish an on-line reporting system and/or a toll-free telephone reporting system.  Coupled with a point-of-sale system, the agency could fully implement the cost-savings potential and customer-benefits of this new law.

"As always, one of the greatest challenges the Game Commission continues to face is maintaining its infrastructure," Ross said.  "In the past, the Game Commission has paid for capital improvement projects from hunting and furtaker license revenues - the agency's chief source of income.

"We currently maintain a large number of buildings, parking lots, shooting ranges, roads, dams and other structures that support the recreational activities of hunters and trappers, as well as those who do not purchase a hunting or furtaking license."

Ross pointed out that the Game Commission received some funding in the 1960s and the 1970s through two previous bond issues - Project 70 and Project 500 - which it used to buy important wildlife areas threatened by development, and to build roads, parking lots, shooting ranges, bridges, impoundments and other utilities on State Game Lands.  The agency also used some of the Project 500 monies to pay for construction of environmentally-controlled pheasant brooder houses.

A summary of the agency's infrastructure maintenance requirements includes:

* 410 buildings, including the Harrisburg and six Region Office headquarters; State Game Land, game farm and radio buildings; Howard Nursery; Middle Creek and Pymatuning visitor centers; and an educational complex at the elk viewing area.  Several of these buildings host public education and outreach programs concerning wildlife diversity and habitat;

* 41 rifle ranges and 11 pistol ranges, which are open to hunters and others who enjoy shooting sports.  Earlier this year, the agency was forced to close four ranges due to its inability to fund necessary repairs to address safety issues;

* More than 1,000 dams and other water impoundments, including eight high-hazard dams and 135 others that require permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection;

* 2,275 public parking lots;

* 2,652 miles of administrative roads; and

* 6,417 miles of boundary lines.

Annual maintenance costs for Game Commission buildings continue to increase due primarily to the age of many of the structures. 

Four regional office buildings are all more than 40 years old and require major renovations or, in the case of the Northwest Region Office in Franklin, Venango County, complete replacement of the building. Along with replacement of the heating/ventilating/air-conditioning system at the Harrisburg headquarters, the cost for necessary work at these five buildings alone is estimated at more than $2.3 million.  Overall, including the normal annual maintenance costs, the agency estimates that it needs $2.5 million per year during the next 10 years to eliminate its project backlog. 

Like buildings, the Game Commission must maintain dams, bridges, culverts, roads, parking lots and other man-made facilities, all of which require regular maintenance and upkeep.  Unfortunately, many of these facilities have reached or exceeded their design lifespan and represent unsafe conditions to the public and employees.  For example, four high-hazard dams had been found to be unsafe.  The only options available are to repair/replace the dams or drain and breach them. 

Without a direct funding source to repair or replace the dams - estimated at between $1 million to $3 million per dam - the Game Commission decided to pursue the drain and breach option.  On State Game Land 156, the Upper and Lower Rexmont dams were drained and breached.  On State Game Land 308, the Game Commission is continuing to pursue options regarding Lofty Reservoir Dam in Schuylkill County.

On State Game Land 127, Bradys Lake Dam was initially scheduled for draining/breaching during the summer of 2003.  The Legislature approved and Gov. Rendell released $2 million in funds for the state Department of Environmental Protection to repair this dam.

Over the past three years, the Game Commission was forced to remove three small dams on State Game Lands.  Also, the agency had to drain Siegel Marsh Dam until repairs - estimated to cost more than $250,000 - can be made.

In addition to the normal maintenance requirements of its overall road and stream crossing system, the Game Commission owns about 50 bridges that require inspection once every two years under the federal National Bridge Inspection System program.  Scheduled to begin in 2004-2005, these inspections alone will cost about $175,000 for the first two years, and about $125,000 per year thereafter, and, through inspection results, will likely accelerate the major repair or replacement schedule for these larger bridges. The ongoing repair and/or replacement of bridges and culverts is required not only for public access to State Game Lands, but also is needed for timber harvesting and other land management access requirements.

"Pennsylvania's abundant natural resources are being effectively and efficiently managed by the state's two independent resource agencies - the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission," Ross said.  "However, the expansion of the state's current Growing Greener program would provide much-needed funding for the agencies to maintain their facilities and properties.  Many sportsmen and sportswomen, appreciate Gov. Rendell creating this opportunity for the Game Commission to benefit from Growing Greener.

"But, for any of these improvements to be realized we need voter support of the ballot initiative on May 17. So I urge every hunting and furtaker license buyer to please join me in voting 'Yes!'"

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