Loss of whitetail deer here at home

Dear Editor:

I found the advertisement by the Coalition of Concerned Sportsmen to be very informative regarding the extremely low number of deer we now see. This situation occurred rapidly over the past 10 years due to the deer management plan in place, lengthening seasons, and being too liberal with tags, which was very tempting not to oblige by many of our fellow hunters, achieved to this end.

Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Mr. Carl G. Roe and his staff are destroying the statewide deer herd and our tradition of hunting in favor of the foresters who sell to the European market and the Audubon Society at the expense of us sportsmen. The Game Commission is responsible for 480 species of wildlife, 414 birds and 66 mammals and many plant species, supposedly in competition with deer for existence, resulting in the need to reduce the deer herd.

This is purely political in nature with no scientific biological reason to do so. In an article in the June 2012 Pennsylvania Game News, Mr. Roe stated that as recommended in the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee's report on Deer Management, we moved away from the Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC's) as a measure for public input on deer levels and conflict issues. In it's place we contracted with Responsible Management to conduct a survey based on Wildlife Management Units. In other words, PGC does not want the sportsmen's input on what's going on with our hunting heritage. They are shoving us aside to cater to the special interest groups that want less deer.

We sportsmen are the best conservationist because we also care about the 480 species as well as the deer and spend enormous amounts of time and money on the environment. Our ranks are larger than the tree huggers and bunny and birdie kissers. We are not just a bunch of Rednecked twitts. I say we scrap the current PGC Deer Program and start a new one based on Biology and Science. One to serve the sportsmen masses and not the fewer special Interest Groups.

Mr. Roe also said that they significantly expanded their social media environment this year into Facebook and Twitter in what they hope will engage more youth to "connect with wildlife." I'm afraid they care little about youth as far as hunting because with the low number of deer how can they keep interested? They would rather sit at home playing computer games. How about we give the PGC a Tweet from all us twitts?

PLEASE contact your local PA Legislators to vote to change Policy. Please do something. The worst thing a good man can do is nothing.

A fellow sportsman who misses the good old days.

Henry Long Jr.

Lehighton