During a habitat coordination meeting with the Pennsylvania Game Commission on August 31, the Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society learned of action taken in the State Senate that would transfer $150 million from the Pennsylvania Game Fund and divert it to other uses. The Game Fund is a long-standing trust established to fund wildlife, habitat management and hunter access in the Commonwealth.
The last-minute amendment was added to HB 1300 with little advance notice. It sets a dangerous precedent for a fund paid into by nearly a million hunters annually through hunting license fees. The Game Commission operates without tax dollars or General Fund support. In short, our state wildlife agency depends solely on the Game Fund to implement programs ranging from hunter recruitment to habitat management.
The diversion could also impact Pennsylvania’s eligibility for Pittman-Robertson funds derived from sporting arms and ammunition sales. In 2023 alone, PGC will receive nearly $42 million from the program that forms the basis for the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. This raid is occurring on sacred ground, violating a long-standing trust established with hunters in Pennsylvania and beyond.
Together with RGS & AWS, like-minded groups have rallied behind a support letter encouraging our legislators to change course. Let’s do our part as the organization whose namesake, the ruffed grouse, exemplifies the need for conservation action and the funding to do it.
We urge you to communicate with your legislators and ask that they not pass HB 1300 with this amendment.
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