Here is another one from our friendly ANF folks:

The Hellbender Chronicles: Rendell Comments on Eco-Tourism
Send Secretary Veneman an Earth Day Message | Main | FR 191 Salvage Comments » April 23, 2004 Rendell Comments on Eco-Tourism. Does Governor Rendell get it?

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As an actually resident of the NC area that spends most of my summers enjoying the outdoors and the Wilds Region  I welcome the influx of money.  It brings a few jobs and keeps the seasonal businesses afloat selling equiment.  It does effect how the habitat is looked at but it also helpes a lot more than deer. Why is it all about hunting and deer.  S-10 you even stated you don't hunt here any more so what the hell do you have invested in it I guess you never went to see the elk or drove along the Clarion or camped somewhere in the area.  I am sure at one point in your life you have been some kind of eco tourist.  Eco does not mean flower power or hippie revolution.  Not all tourist are bunny huggers or tree huggers and they don't all smoke reefer and wear hemp.  It is all about promoting the Wilds and bringing the tourism industry to the area.  Times are tuff over here and jobs are not that easy to come by any industry that brings in some stimulis to the economy is a welcomed thing.

    At last,Finally--It's not a matter of Eco-tourism being good or not for the economy and enviroment. It's a matter of the hunters being lied to for 8 years. It's a matter of everytime we said the forests were being managed for the enviromentalists and not multiple use we were called conspircy nuts or worse. When we said the PGC was bowing to the wishes of the Audubon and other enviromental groups we were ignored. the hunters were told the reason there wasn't timbering done is because of the deer. We are being told the deer herd will be allowed to increase when the current forest plan will not allow the regeneration to support it. Everytime I posted something to prove that wrong I was blasted by a couple on here as  a tinfoil hat nut or worse. Apparently I have posted enough information on here to finally get you, RSB, and others to at least start talking about what is really going on and not hide behind the "we are only doing this because of the destructive deer excuse". What is going on in Pennsylvania is a complete reversal of priorties on the ANF, State Forests, and State Game Lands from multiple use to as near total protection as the enviromentalists can get. Even the PGC is steering their resources in that direction as evidenced in the latest 112 page report showing the projects that got attention and the ones that did not. I'am not even saying that is a bad thing. I am just tired of all the denials and conspiriacy accusations against me when I bring it up and knew the members on this board would would be hard to get to admit it was happening and hunting was going to  lose out as a recreational activity as a result. At least now the discussion is on the merits of what is actually happening and not on on denying it. That's a start.

S-10 its a balance.  I by no means agree with any of your crap.  I mentioned from the begining that its not about deer I just think you are pulling crap that is flat out nuts! I have never felt like they were pulling wool over my eyes.  Don't go patting yourself on the back i still think you comming from some other planet with your ideas.  ET phone home!

Sorry Fly but it's too late to go back now. You have already started the discussion on whether what they are doing is right or wrong.After reading everything that has been posted on the subject and starting to say you agree with what they are doing you can't go back and start denying it's happening.Besides the only people that use attacks like you just tried are the ones that have nothing to support their own position.

I do agree with what they are doing and i honestly hate the what about the deer ideas.  That has always been my point there is more than just deer!  I am all for anything that is geared towards bringing tourism.  You played they lied to us by not saying the deer herd would suffer. You and guys like the USP fail to look at the bigger picture and want to see more deer no matter what the cost is to the overall environment.  I agreed with what the state was doing from the first post I made on page one.  I think the PGC and the National Forest are doing nothing wrong they are moving toward protecting the resouces as a whole.  I

Ok-that's better, if that's your position based on your needs and desires I can accept that. It is not necessarly mine and I hope you can accept that- my bigggest problem is the hunters were lied to to sell a concept and we are still being lied to. The CAC's are apparently just a tool to give the PGC some cover.With the Democratic governer appointing the commissioners, the commissioners hiring the director, the politicans changing anything the commissioners do that they don't like, the DCNR secretary controlling some of the PGC's purse strings and the politicans controlling much of the rest, why are we still calling it "Independent" and how much longer before they are just "absorbed" into the enviromental movement. Or is that just me with my tinfoil hat on again?

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s-10 wrote : Ok-that's better, if that's your position based on your needs and desires I can accept that. It is not necessarly mine and I hope you can accept that- my bigggest problem is the hunters were lied to to sell a concept and we are still being lied to. The CAC's are apparently just a tool to give the PGC some cover.With the Democratic governer appointing the commissioners, the commissioners hiring the director, the politicans changing anything the commissioners do that they don't like, the DCNR secretary controlling some of the PGC's purse strings and the politicans controlling much of the rest, why are we still calling it "Independent" and how much longer before they are just "absorbed" into the enviromental movement. [g]Or is that just me with my tinfoil hat on again?[/g]

Yes, I believe it is.

There is no question that many aspects of the various government agencies are forced to work within the political system. Good or bad that is the way it is and yes there are times it probably isn’t the best or most affective system for dealing with the best management of our resources. The failure of the State Legislature to provide adequate funding for wildlife management is a prime example of how politics frequently doesn’t work for the best benefit of our resources, but it is also what many people want.

All of the various State and Federal resource agencies do the best they can with the funding and personnel available to manage ALL of our resources for the benefit of all of the State citizens of today and the future, just as they are mandated by law.

There simply is no conspiracy, plan of intent to do anything that harms the future of sound wildlife management or hunting by anyone other then the same anti-hunting groups that are and always have been sitting in the wings looking for an opportunity to show hunters in a poor light. I don’t know of anyone in any governmental agency that is trying to do anything that harms the future of our resources or hunting.

I have read all of the links you have posted and I don’t see anything that causes me any real concern. Show me where that Boggy-man that you say is out there exists, I just don’t see it.  

Dick Bodenhorn  

Wellll--All I can say is that if I ever decide to start doing some wildlife outlawing I am going to move to Elk County. I will sleep a lot easier knowing who is trying to sort through the evidence and follow the trail to my door.  And with that, I think this horse has been beat to death and this will be my last post on the thread. I'am sure there will be others.