by Jim Foster, Secretary, KTA Board of Directors
On March 17, Butch Davey and I represented the KTA at a meeting at the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) headquarters. The subject was concerns the PGC has about the use of State Game Lands (SGLs) by individuals it calls “secondary users” (hikers, trail bikers, bird watchers, snowmobilers, equestrians, and others) who are not the primary intended users of SGLs—hunters and trappers. Other invitees included the following KTA affiliates: the Appalachian Mountain Club, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC), the Blue Mountain Eagle Climbing Club, the Cumberland Valley Appalachian Trail Club, the Pennsylvania Chapter of the Sierra Club, the Pennsylvania Forest Coalition, and the Susquehanna Appalachian Trail Club. Other invitees included the the International Mountain Biking Council, the Pennsylvania Equine Council, the Pennsylvania Snowmobile Association, PennFuture, the Central Pennsylvania Conservancy, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, and some primary user groups such as the Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs, the Pennsylvania Trappers Association, and the Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania.
The meeting was led by Bill Capouillez, director of the PGC’s Bureau of Habitat Management. Bill pointed out that the PGC’s primary purpose is to manage wild bird and mammals and their habitats for current and future generations. PGC receives the majority of its funding from hunter and trapper license fees plus Pittman-Robertson funding, which is a federal excise tax on guns, ammunition, etc. The PGC receives no regular funding from the state’s general fund. He mentioned that the term “secondary users” is not intended to denigrate these other uses of SGLs. It simply reflects the distinction between primary and secondary intended uses of SGLs. This language appears in certain laws and regulations.
Bill said the PGC must deal with a number of challenges, including inadequate funding, inadequate enforcement resources, and difficulty in reaching secondary users. Hunters and trappers must obtain licenses and agree to obey the various game laws. He said the idea behind the secondary user permit proposal was for notifying the secondary user community about the game laws applicable to them in the hope that this knowledge results in more compliance. He acknowledged that the proposals were not handled well, and the PGC hoped to "hit the reset button" by this meeting.
He said the PGC has experienced significant problems on SGLs as a result of improper behavior by secondary users. These include habitat destruction, sedimentation, erosion, and making nondesignated trails by trail bikers; gate and other structure damage by snowmobilers; and bank destabilization, sedimentation, and making nondesignated trails by equestrians. He mentioned few such problems caused by hikers. The PGC has expended considerable resources to keep trails open for secondary users. Bill emphasized that the people at this meeting are not causing these problems, but the problems are nevertheless occurring.
The PGC has examined various options for dealing with these problems. Proposed options include requiring permits for all nonlicensed users on all SGL acreage and all infrastructure and designated routes; permits limited to all infrastructure and all designated routes; and permits limited to designated horse, bike, and snowmobile routes only.
Participants at the meeting were given ample opportunity to comment and suggest solutions. I will highlight some of the comments that relate particularly to hiking. A joint publicity campaign conducted by the PGC and different hiking groups was suggested as a better solution than a hiking ban and hiking permits. It was pointed out that conservation, hiking, and other nonhunting groups have contributed thousands of acres to the SGLs and that these want this partnership to continue. Some commented that the PGC has simply mentioned anecdotal evidence of damage to trails. There should be a more systematic study before proposing solutions that will result in less access to SGLs by hikers and other secondary users. Regular meetings by the PGC with secondary user groups to discuss problems and possible solutions was also suggested.
At the end of the meeting, Bill proposed that this dialogue continue. Specifically, he wants to organize a focus group of users willing to meet regularly. The group would include 1 representative each from the conservation, equine, snowmobilers’, and mountain bikers’ groups and 2 representatives each from the hikers’ and sportsmen’s groups. This proposal was met with general approval. After an informal discussion among the hiking groups present, it was suggested that the hikers would be represented by the KTA and the ATC.
My personal take is that the meeting was worthwhile. I was pleased that the PGC representatives listened well and made an effort to understand our concerns. Since the meeting, Bill and I have discussed a proposal I made—I would write an article to appear in both the Pennsylvania Game News and the KTA newsletter and would also be offered to our affiliates for publication. The article would emphasize that hikers and hunters have much more in common than our differences—we’re united in our love of the outdoors and passion for conservation of wild spaces and creatures. We should try to understand each other better and advocate together on issues we can both get behind.
There is certainly more to come on this important subject. The KTA will keep its members and affiliates informed. As always, we solicit and welcome your input.