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DePasquale talks to hunters amid Commission audit

2 min read

HAZLETON – Whether hunting license sales declined faster in Pennsylvania than nationwide numbers and whether gas drilling payments met expectations are questions that state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said are central to his review of the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

DePasquale said it’s clear to him that the Legislature won’t vote to increase prices for hunting licenses, as the commission requested, without understanding the finances of the commission, which he began auditing in February. On Wednesday, DePasquale and six hunters met privately for about an hour and then recapped their conversations with the media.

Wayne Haas, president of the Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania, said decisions to reduce the deer herd 20 years ago led to fewer hunters. That reduced revenue for the commission and depleted the state’s economy by hundreds of millions of dollars, said Haas of Howard, Centre County.

Hunting license sales declined nationwide, providing a backdrop against which DePasquale will evaluate state figures. In 1982, more than 1.2 million people bought hunting licenses in Pennsylvania. Since then, sales have dropped, with 914,224 licenses purchased in 2016, the most recent figure available.

A survey of hunting and fishing between 2006 and 2011 showed a decline in nationwide sales of 9 percent. In Pennsylvania during that period, sales of residential hunting licenses fell 25 percent. DePasquale said his team will delve into the numbers.

Phil Wagner, a director of Unified Sportsmen and resident of Mifflinburg, Union County, wondered if the commission would have gotten more money if it asked gas companies to submit bids for the rights to drill on game land.

“How much money did they leave on the table by the way they negotiated?” asked Wagner, who hopes the auditor general can find out.

DePasquale said he will check whether gas sales met projections and whether the money was spent in accordance with laws and regulations. DePasquale plans to hold more talks with hunters around the state. People also can contribute information or comments about the game commission through his website, paauditor.gov, or by calling his office’s hotline toll free at 800-922-8477.

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