Study: Wind Turbines Kill Bats

A recent study confirms the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s fears that wind turbines kill a significant amount of bats every year.

Game Commission Wildlife Biologist Tracey Librandi Mumma says the turbines kill more than 10,000 bats and about 1,700 birds each year.

While songbirds are dying by colliding with the windmills, Librandi Mumma says the bats, mostly the high-flying migratory species, are dying in a different way.

“A lot of the bats that we’re finding underneath turbines have no visible lacerations, broken bones, anything like that,” says Librandi Mumma. “They’re actually dying of barrow trauma, which I equate to getting ‘the bends’ when you scuba-dive, when you come up too fast. There’s a pressure difference when the blades are moving on a wind turbine, and that pressure difference is causing the bats’ lungs to explode.”

She says most energy companies with turbines in the state are now voluntarily seeking input from the Game Commission, to better decide where to place them.

Librandi Mumma says it's possible turbines will be equipped to emit high-frequency sounds that would deter bats from coming near them.

Bill Would Allow Deer Hunting on Sundays

A group representing Pennsylvania farmers is opposing legislation to extend deer hunting to Sundays.

The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau says its members own about 80% of the "huntable" land in the state, and the proposed expansion is opposed by the "vast majority" of the landowners.

Farm Bureau spokesman Joel Rotz says most farmers simply don't want to be disturbed by hunters on Sundays.

Foxes, coyotes, and blackbirds are fair game on Sundays already. But Rotz says some hunters argue there aren't enough opportunities to hunt large game on Sundays.

"If you look at the current seasons and bag limits of the Pennsylvania Game Commission, there's actually some type of deer hunting available 103 days a year in the state of Pennsylvania right now," says Rotz. "While that does not include any Sundays, that's 103 days, [including] 18 Saturdays."

The bill's sponsor, Representative John Evans, says he disagrees with the Farm Bureau's position because the bill would not change the hunting season or infringe on landowners' rights.

"Any private landowner can post their land, saying that they do not wish to have Sunday hunting. That can be done at any time," says Evans. "So the restriction they're making, by not supporting Sunday hunting, doesn't bring into account private landowners who are non-farmers. They are not allowed to hunt on their land on a Sunday."

The Erie County Republican says the "moratorium" is also contributing to a decline in the number of youth hunters in the state, because school schedules leave only Saturdays available for hunting.

Evans says the state is losing close to $1 billion a year that would be generated by more and longer hunting trips. Rotz says the Farm Bureau is skeptical of that number.

Evans says he'll introduce the bill to the House Game and Fisheries Committee soon.

Legislature Considers Shifting Gaming Investigative Duties

Pennsylvania’s acting Attorney General supports a bill moving an investigative unit from the Gaming Control Board to his department, but tells lawmakers the transition would be difficult.

The measure, which has passed the House, would move the Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement (BIE) into the Attorney General’s office. The unit conducts background checks on casino license applicants, among other duties.

Acting AG Bill Ryan told the Senate Appropriations Committee it makes sense to move BIE to his department or the State Police, but conceded the switch would take time and cost money. “To me, and this is my opinion, it would best be done from the ground up,” he said. “I honestly don’t know, Senator, if we could just graft what’s there to our office. I see a lot of issues that could be problematical if that was done.”

The Gaming Control Board says the transition would cost 2 million dollars. Sponsor Mike Vereb, a Republican, is skeptical of the estimate. “They are saying that’s because of computer systems and hardware,” he said. “Let it be known that there is no independent assessment of how much this would cost. We’d have to cut bureaucracy out, and one would think that if we couldn’t cut that at least in half, we could eliminate a better part of it.”

Meantime, confirmation hearings for Ryan’s potential successor, Linda Kelly, will likely be held in April. A vote could come in April or May, according to Senate Republican spokesman Erik Arneson. Kelly needs the support of 2/3 of lawmakers to be confirmed.

Nemacolin Among Four Casino Applicants

Representatives from Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and Isle of Capri will go before the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board this week to plead their case in their effort to be awarded the last remaining Pennsylvania Category 3 casino licenses. A Category 3 licenses must be awarded to an established, year-round resort. Pennsylvania state law allows for two such licenses. The first is held by Valley Forge Convention Center Partners.
Nemacolin Woodlands Resort Manager Chris Plummer says their application is the only application that lives up to the spirit of the Category 3 Licenses. “Nemacolin is, no doubt about it, Pennsylvania’s most well established, year-round resort,” says Plummer, “we are adding an amenity to our resort to help the resort, to help tourism in Pennsylvania, to generate jobs, generate taxes.” Plummer says the other three applicants are just creating “mini Category 2 casinos.” Category two licenses are awarded to stand alone casinos such as the Rivers in Pittsburgh. Category 1 licenses are reserved for racetracks.

Also pleading their case at the November 16th and 17th hearing will be Mason-Dixon Resorts, which plans to operate out of the Eisenhower Hotel and Conference Center in Adams County; Penn Harris Gaming at the Holiday Inn Harrisburg West, Cumberland County; and Bushkill Group, which will operate out of the Fernwood Hotel and Resort in Monroe County. Plummer says none of those applicants are running facilities like he is running. “People come to Nemacolin to play golf, to eat in 5 star, 5 diamond restaurants, stay in five star lodging, enjoy the spa, and maybe gamble at night,” says Plummer.

Several current casino licenses holders plan to contest one or more of the licenses applications. Among them is the Meadows Racetrack and Casino. A spokesperson at the meadows did not make an official from the company available for an interview. The Meadows is less than an hour and a half drive from Nemacolin. Plummer says the business model they have does not rely on taking player from the Meadows. He says his casino would be a destination for travelers from around the country with 70% of expected guests being from outside of Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Plummer says the casino would create 600 new jobs and could be open within 6-9 months of the licenses being granted. Nemacolin has teamed up with casino operator Isle of Capri to file the application under the name Woodlands Fayette. Isle of Capri was part of the failed attempt by the Pittsburgh Penguins to land a license to operate a casino out of the new arena.

Legislation to Ban Unemployment Benefit Debit Cards from Casinos

Under current Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) regulations, debit cards for welfare recipients will not work in ATM machines located in any Pennsylvania casino. However, the rule does not stop those with unemployment benefit debit cards from withdrawing money inside casinos.
State Senator Lisa Boscola is urging the PGCB to expand its policy so that unemployment compensation debit cards are also unable to be used in Pennsylvania casinos.
She says there are a handful of people wasting these unemployment benefits on gambling, instead of what they’re intended for. “A lot of times, these individuals are losing in their first round and they’re drawing down again and again while they’re at the casino, which leaves them no money to pay for other things that we think are essential for them to live.” She says the money is intended to pay for shelter, food, clothing, child support, gas and other necessities of life.
Boscola says this problem is not only hurting those unemployed, but also business owners and workers, since a portion of their pay covers 95 percent of all unemployment compensation. “I feel that those that are using their unemployment benefits should take into consideration others that are paying for it. [Employers and workers] just don’t appreciate that they’re using it at the casinos and wasting it away.”
The senator says just two years ago, lawmakers extended unemployment benefits because so many of them were complaining that they didn’t have enough to cover living costs. “Unemployment is at a record high, and we want to help them. But we don’t want them wasting their money…while they’re seeking new employment.”
Boscola says this legislation will make wasting unemployment compensation at casinos as difficult as possible.
She says she’s working with PGCB and it’s very probable that this will go into effect in the near future.

Falcons Must Move to Cliffs to Complete Recovery

State ornithologists say peregrine falcons must repopulate their natural cliff habitats before they can be taken off the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s endangered species list. However, the process is slow and sometimes frustrating, as past relocation efforts have failed.

While Pennsylvania’s peregrine nesting sites have increased from zero in 1964 to 29 today, only four of those nests are on cliffs, where peregrines lived before repopulating in cities.

The Game Commission’s peregrine management coordinator Arthur McMorris says the birds now occupy buildings, bridges, and smokestacks. He says while that’s fine for rebuilding the falcon population, fledglings falling from their nests has become a problem.

“If they fall out of the nest and the nest is on a cliff ledge, what typically happens is they will slide down to a lower ledge, and their parents take care of them there and everything’s fine,” says McMorris. “In the city, if they fall out of the nest, they end up on the sidewalk, in the street, in the river, whatever, and they perish.”

McMorris says it’s not a simple matter of introducing young falcons bred in captivity into cliff habitats. Past efforts to do so have resulted in all of the peregrines being eaten by great horned owls.

Adults are also resistant to relocation, so ornithologists are simply hoping for a migration to more natural habitats. McMorris says while it’s bound to be a slow process, cliff populations will increase more rapidly as more falcons populate cities as well.

PA Game Commission Posts New Deer Plan

The 10 year deer plan has been finalized and posted on the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s website.
Press Secretary Jerry Feaser says the plan has several goals:
• To manage deer for a healthy and sustainable deer herd
• To keep deer-human conflicts at levels considered safe and acceptable to Pennsylvania citizens
• To administer deer impacts for healthy and sustainable forest habitat
• To maintain and create deer-related recreational opportunities
• And to improve the public’s knowledge of deer and the deer management program.
Feaser says not much of the plan has changed from the previous one. However, a new goal of managing deer to provide recreational opportunities has been added. He says the changes people are going to see will be reflective of the annual establishment of seasons and bag limits for deer hunting, which will occur each January and April when the board meets to discuss the previous years data.
Throughout the year, hearings were held for the general public to make comments and suggestions for the deer plan. Feaser says more than 200 citizens came, many of whom made suggestions on how to provide more recreational opportunities. He says some adjustments were made according to the feedback.
Feaser says there are some issues of concern with high deer populations, particularly in urban/suburban areas. With this deer plan, the commission is trying to address those issues through individual approaches, working with municipal officials to make deer hunting available when and where possible. “If hunting is not feasible given safety zone issues,” Feaser says, “then we need to look at other approaches that will help provide relief to the community.”
To view the full deer plan, click here.

Fines, Jail Time to Increase for PA Poachers

The Pennsylvania House and Senate have passed legislation which would increase the sanctions for hunting out of season or killing off-limits animals. Governor Ed Rendell is expected to sign the bill soon.

PA Game Commission spokesman Jerry Feaser says this would be the first boost in poaching fines since 1987. Feaser says the Game Commission has wanted the increase for years.

The fine for shooting a deer out of season would increase from $200-300 to at least $1000. Shooting multiple deer or other big game would be a misdemeanor or a felony, rather than a summary offense. Also, poachers could be jailed for up to a year.

Feaser says an “enormous” black market trade of animal parts may cause some of the poaching in Pennsylvania.

“In most cases, you’re talking about antlers from either elk or deer. You’re talking about bear paws or bear gallbladders. You could be talking about feathers or parts of bald eagles, or other endangered or threatened species,” says Feaser.

Feaser says the measure would put Pennsylvania’s poaching laws on par with those of other states.

Flight 93 Victim Honored With Memorial Gamelands

More than 665 acres of gamelands adjacent to Somerset County's Flight 93 National Memorial have been dedicated to Richard Guadagno, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist who was killed in the Flight 93 crash of September 11, 2001.

Pennsylvania Game Commission spokesman Tom Fazi says the gamelands will act as a buffer to help prevent unsightly development from building up around the memorial. Fazi says PA Game Commission crews worked over the past few years to acquire the land and convert it from a strip-mined parcel to a beautiful wetland that Guadagno would have loved.

The dedication of the gamelands and a granite memorial stone came during a national conference of wildlife officers, so Guadagno's father had an assembly from many states and Canadian territories honor his son during yesterday's ceremony.

Guadagno was the refuge manager for Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Eureka, California. The visitors' center there has also been named in his honor.

Bald Eagle Population Continues to Grow

The Pennsylvania Game Commission reports 192 bald eagle nests in 50 of the state’s 67 counties this year—a huge comeback since 1983, when there were only 3 nests, largely because of DDT. At that time, the Bald Eagle Restoration Project introduced 88 bald eaglets from Canada.

Allegheny County is on the list with a confirmed nest for the first time, says Game Commission Press Secretary Jerry Feaser, although it produced no young. It's not uncommon for young eagles' first nests to fail, and it's hoped the pair will return and succeed next year.

Although Feaser says they will eat carrion and other animals, eagles’ favorite meals are fish, so nests occur most often along river corridors or near lakes. It’s a little surprising, therefore, that no nests have been identified in Washington, Beaver or Greene Counties, where there would seem to be ideal habitat. Fayette County went on the list last year, so Feaser expects more nests will appear in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Anyone who sees a huge nest—they can be six feet wide and four feet deep--is invited to notify the Game Commission so they can take a look.

PA Treasurer Sues To Go To Meeting

State Treasurer Rob McCord says the Gaming Control Board is barring him from public and private meetings – and he’s filing a lawsuit in Commonwealth Court in order to gain access to the sessions. As Treasurer, McCord is an “ex officio” member of the board without voting privileges. McCord says Gaming Control Board staffers are keeping meetings secret, and have rejected his attempts to play a more active role in their deliberations. “I think the board is trying to keep a closed culture. I think the culture of the board is flawed. I think the idea that the board thinks it’s up to them to give permission is a dangerous one. Really dangerous. It’s an illegal one’” says McCord. He says his presence is needed in the meetings to bring more oversight, “There’s a huge amount of money here. Billions of dollars. I think there’s plenty of reason to be skeptical about the process. Plenty of reason to be skeptical about why things took so long. Plenty of reasons to ask questions about whether or not insiders with steep connections were given special permission in ways that cost taxpayers money.” In a statement, Board spokesman Doug Harbach says he is “mystified” by McCord’s lawsuit. Harbach says McCord can attend sessions if he signs a non-disclosure form. Governor Ed Rendell agrees with the Board position.

Game Commission Changes Purchase Rules

The Pennsylvania Game Commission has taken the first step in allowing Commission staff to purchase land and mineral rights between meetings without board consent. Spokesperson Jerry Feaser says often tax sales are announced and held between board meetings and the commission has been unable to act. Feaser says over the years the commission has acquired lands from individuals and businesses without getting the rights to the oil, gas and other minerals under the land and now that owners are looking to cash out, companies are going out of business and individuals are dying, the rights are being auctioned off or sold at tax sales. He says the commission needs to be able to act quickly to protect the integrity of the game lands it has acquired. Feaser says there are also situations where property adjacent to existing game lands or completely surround by game lands, have come up for sale and developers have been able to purchase them. He says that can impact the usability of the remaining state owned property for hunting and trapping. The board must take a second vote on the rule before it is implemented. Feaser notes there are still controls on the purchases. Under the regulatory change, the executive director must notify the Board of Commissioners of the pending auction sale date and verify that, due to time constraints, it is necessary to act immediately. Also, the purchase price at auction may not exceed $500,000, and successful bids must be put on the agenda of the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Commissioners to make sure the public remains informed of the purchase.

State's Goose Population Marked

Some of the state’s Canada geese population had bands placed on their feet by the Pennsylvania Game Commission early this morning, as an attempt to track hunting rates and population growth. Every three to five years, about 1% of the birds’ population is banded; this means about 2,500 to 3,000 geese will be marked this year. Game Commission biologist Kevin Jacobs says the state worries more about overpopulation than sparseness, and the testing is done to determine how much the geese should be hunted. “There are very few natural predators of Canada geese. Coyotes are one that we have. So, hunting is a very important tool that we have in Pennsylvania,” says Jacobs. He says the population of the geese has nearly tripled since the 1980s, with about 290,000 of the birds nesting in the Commonwealth this year.

Chronic Wasting Disease Testing in PA Deer

Although Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has never been found in the state's deer and elk population, the Pennsylvania Game Commission believes it is important to test these animals for the brain degenerative disease. Testing begins this week, during the state's deer hunting season. The disease has been found in animals across 14 states, including West Virginia and New York. Game Commission spokesperson Jerry Feaser says there is currently no cure for the disease, and there is no practical way to test living animals. Also, Feaser says it is not transmissible to humans. The testing is done in attempts to contain the disease, rather than letting it run wild. The Game Commission has conducted tests on almost 19,000 hunter-killed deer and elk in Pennsylvania over the past six years. This year's testing plans to test approximately 4,000 deer heads for CWD. Feaser says test results are to come out in early 2009. If anybody sees a sickly-looking deer with CWD symptoms, such as lowered ears, uncoordinated movement, excessive drooling and weight loss, Feaser suggests calling the Game Commission's South Western Regional Office at (724) 238-9523 to file a report.

Deer Poaching enforcement

Deer poaching has been an ongoing issue in Pennsylvania, but the Pennsylvania Gaming Commission (PGC) hopes to further aid in the problem. PGC Press Secretary Jerry Feaser says residents play a big role in reporting incidents. Now there are commissioned officers located in areas that were previously vacant. They will also help enforce hunting laws.

To report a poaching incident, submit a tip by either calling toll-free 1-888-PGC-8001, or by going to . From the Web site, scroll down and select the "Turn in a Poacher" icon in the right-hand column, and then click on "'TIP' Reporting Form."

Representative Mike Turzai introduces new gaming legislation

Representative Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) has introduced legislation to help bring integrity, honesty and accountability to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board's (PGCB) awarding of gaming licenses taking over licenses, if need be.

"Whats the remedy when someone you gave a license to proves to be unsuitable?" Turzai asked a former New Jersey gaming regulator. "[He] said a trusteeship was the remedy most often used in New Jersey."

Turzai added this was something that is simply putting language into law. It has been done in the state before, but it is not a regulated law.

Chronic Wasting Disease not found in states deer and elk

The Pennsylvania Game Commission has announced that there have been no cases of Chronic Wasting Disease found in Pennsylvania Deer and Elk. Chronic Wasting Disease of CWD affects the brains of Deer and Elk and is always fatal. This year marks the fifth consecutive year of testing for CWD, and the fifth year where there has not been a single case found. The Game Commission took 3,800 samples of brain tissue from hunter killed dear and had them tested. CWD has been found in the past in New York state and West Virginia so the game commission has instituted a policy where PA hunters who hunt out of state can only bring back the meat of the animal they kill and not the whole carcass.