GAME COMMISSION SUPPORTS REP. LEVDANSKY'S FUNDING PROPOSAL

HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania Game Commission Deputy Executive Director Michael W. Schmit today offered testimony on behalf of the agency before the House Finance Committee in support House Bill 1676 to provide for an alternative funding stream for agency operations.  Rep. David Levdansky (D-Allegheny) sponsored HB 1676, and serves as House Finance Committee chairman.

Following is the testimony delivered by Schmit.

"Of all the issues the Commission faces in the years to come, no issue is more critical than securing adequate sources of funding," Schmit said.  "The Pennsylvania Game Commission wishes to recognize Chairman Levdansky for his leadership and vision in sponsoring House Bill 1676, and to thank him for allowing us this opportunity to testify.

"As you may know, the Commission's current funding structure is largely dependent upon hunting and trapping license revenue.  The Commission's duty, however, extends far beyond managing game and furbearers for sportsmen.  In Pennsylvania, the preservation and protection of natural resources, including wildlife, is a constitutional mandate, and the Commission is the state agency tasked with fulfilling this mandate.  It is the Game Commission's responsibility to manage all wildlife, and their habitats, for the benefit of current and future generations.  The alternative source of revenue provided for in HB 1676 would provide the Game Commission with a new, reliable long-term source of revenue, something absolutely vital if the Commission is to fulfill this state constitutional mandate.  

"While the Commission is commonly associated with management of a dozen or so game species, it is actually responsible for managing all of the state's 467 species of wild birds and mammals, for all citizens, not just those who hunt or trap; everyone.  The Commission strives to manage for healthy, sustainable wildlife populations at levels socially acceptable to Pennsylvanians and their communities.  We monitor wildlife populations, study the relationships between wildlife, habitat and people and their communities, and develop and implement species and habitat management plans. We apply the management tools of hunting, trapping, habitat management, enforcement, communications and education to achieve a balance between biological and social acceptability.  

"Among the 467 species the Commission is charged to protect and manage, 22 are either threatened or endangered, including our national symbol, the bald eagle.  From 1983 through 1989, the Game Commission implemented an aggressive bald eagle reintroduction program that greatly expanded the eagle's range throughout the Commonwealth.  In 1980, we had three pairs nesting here.  Today, we have more than 140.  As a result of this magnificent recovery, the bald eagle's status has been changed from endangered to threatened, and its future within the state is brighter than ever.  We need to do the same for our other threatened and endangered species and the nearly 80 bird and mammal species of greatest conservation need identified in Pennsylvania's Wildlife Action Plan.

"In addition to managing wildlife, the Game Commission is also tasked with preserving habitat considered critical to wildlife's survival.  We pursue this by acquiring, protecting, maintaining and enhancing an array of habitats on public and private lands.  Thanks to an aggressive land acquisition program that began in 1920, the Game Commission today owns a network of State Game Lands totaling approximately 1.4 million acres on more than 300 tracts of land. State Game Lands can be found in every county but two: Delaware and Philadelphia.  On our State Game Lands, Food and Cover employees and land managers plant warm season grasses, provide nesting and escape cover for wildlife, perform wetland restoration, make habitat improvement timber cuts, erect waterfowl nest structures and much more.  To assist in this habitat management effort the Commission has for more than fifty years owned and operated the Howard Nursery in Centre County and has produced as many as 8 million seedlings per year for wildlife food and cover on Game Lands and on private properties.

"It should also be noted that while State Game Lands are used primarily for hunting and trapping, they remain open to the general public for other uses.  State Game Lands are home to 31 public shooting ranges, as well designated trails for horseback riding, bicycling, snowmobiling, and hiking.  All these activities are available to the non-hunting public at no cost, yet the Commission is mandated by law to pay counties, municipalities and school districts in which State Game Lands are located almost $2 million annually as Payment In-lieu of Taxes (PILT).  Because the Commission does not currently receive any state tax revenue, the entire PILT payment comes directly from and only from hunters and trappers.

"The Commission also works to slow the deterioration of wildlife habitat on private lands by helping private landowners develop and maintain wetlands, riparian areas, old-field shrub/grasslands, and contiguous blocks of forest.  The Game Commission works hard to develop these areas, mainly through the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), wherein the Commission is currently involved in the establishment of 265,000 acres of wildlife habitat in the Susquehanna and Ohio River Basins.  The Commission has also recently hired six wildlife biologists to better focus on assisting private landowners in restoring and enhancing wildlife habitat on their properties.

"Another important aspect of the Commission's mission is educating our youth about the importance of wildlife conservation.  Game Commission Wildlife Education Specialists, Information and Education Supervisors and Wildlife Conservation Officers provide teacher training workshops and student programming throughout the state.  These programs are designed to complement classroom activities while helping teachers meet Pennsylvania's Environmental and Ecology Standards.  On any given day you may see a Game Commission employee in the classroom conducting activities on a variety of topics such as wildlife adaptations, species identification and predator/prey relationships to name but a few.  In fact, recently during a youth program held in the House of Representatives, a Wildlife Conservation Officer presented a program about wildlife to approximately 150 school children. The Commission arranged that each child would receive a seedling at the program's conclusion for them to take home to plant.  

"Not only does the Commission provide services intended to benefit all Pennsylvanians, but the revenue generated by wildlife-associated activity in Pennsylvania is spread throughout the Commonwealth.  Recently, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies issued a report indicating hunting in Pennsylvania is more than a $3 billion industry and generates more than $214 million in state and local taxes.  The 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation showed that wildlife associated recreation expenditures (including hunting) in 2006 totaled $5.4 billion.  Nearly 43 percent of Pennsylvanians 16 years old and older participated in wildlife-associated recreation activities including wildlife watching, photography and bird feeding.  However, none of the millions in state and local taxes generated by hunting, trapping and wildlife recreation activities is reinvested back to the agency charged with protecting and ensuring a secure future for the wildlife resources that generate these revenues.  Because wildlife recreation is an undeniably significant factor in Pennsylvania's travel and tourism economies, it stands to reason that some of the revenue generated by wildlife recreation should be reinvested in wildlife management and conservation.  HB 1676 provides an important and historic opportunity to correct this long-standing funding gap.

"The Game Commission's current financial situation underscores the importance of creating an alternative funding mechanism.  By the end of June 2008, the Commission anticipates a Game Fund balance of approximately $32 million dollars. We have continued to take a very conservative approach to spending, particularly on the personnel side, where we maintained approximately 110 vacancies through 2007.  These vacancies represent 15 percent of our authorized workforce, including 32 Wildlife Conservation Officer vacancies as well as 30 food and cover vacancies.  

"Although the Commission has a strong track record of managing its fiscal resources very responsibly, expenses the Commission cannot control present an ongoing challenge.  For example, the Game Commission annually pays various state agencies or departments, such as the Department of General Services, the Office of Administration and the Budget Office almost $1.7 million dollars for support they provide.  The new state labor contract that went into effect on July 1, 2007, will increase our personnel costs by an additional $2 million in its first year and in year four, 2010, the annual increase in personnel costs will be around $9.5 million.  The total increase in personnel costs over the life of the four-year contract is over $23 million.  

"While a Game Fund balance of $32 million may on the surface sound like a lot, it falls short of covering anticipated expenses for the next three years.  The Commission needs approximately $22 million in the Game Fund to open its doors each July 1st, the first day of the new fiscal year.  This balance is needed to carry the agency through the first few months of the fiscal year while awaiting the new hunting license year's license revenue's to reach the Game Fund. If you take the $22 million from our anticipated fund balance of $32 million, it leaves $10 million to cover any additional expenses for the next three years.  As you can see, the balance does not even cover the increased personnel costs, let alone the inflationary effect on day-to-day operations.  When the Commission last received a funding increase, in 1998, gasoline cost approximately $1 a gallon. Today it averages well over $3 a gallon, with some reports forecasting $4 a gallon by this summer.  

"The fiscal situation just described is not unique to Pennsylvania, as changing demographics and interests, and the resulting nationwide downward-trend in hunting license sales, have resulted in decreasing revenues for wildlife agencies across the nation.  Unfortunately, the issue of alternative funding for wildlife agencies is an area in which Pennsylvania has lagged noticeably behind many others.  States such as Missouri and Arkansas have been at the forefront by adopting constitutional provisions guaranteeing state funding for wildlife conservation through an allocation of state sales and use taxes.  And very recently the Iowa legislature approved an amendment to its constitution allowing for the same.  

"Other states have adopted legislation creating alternative sources of funding for their wildlife agencies.  At the Federal level the Pittman-Robertson Act has provided since 1935 for all state wildlife agencies to receive a percentage of excise taxes collected on the sale of sporting arms and ammunition as well as certain archery equipment.  State programs similar to the Federal Pittman-Robertson Act exist in Texas, North Carolina and Tennessee, and a proposal is currently under consideration in Vermont.  Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, sportsmen and women continue to shoulder the cost for the benefits and amenities all enjoy.   A 1999 State-by-State Fish and Wildlife Funding Report Card issued by the Izaak Walton League ranked Pennsylvania 47th in the nation in terms of providing funding to the state's wildlife agencies.

"HB 1676 would not radically alter Pennsylvania's current fish and wildlife funding structure, as sportsmen will continue to pay the lion's share; however HB 1676 addresses the fact that it is inequitable and unrealistic to expect sportsmen to remain the only source of funding for wildlife conservation and protection in Pennsylvania.  And more importantly, HB 1676 provides much needed assistance to our wildlife and their habitats.  HB 1676 will allow the Commission to work harder to preserve the things we value, as well as to better fulfill our constitutionally mandated responsibility to manage all wildlife on behalf of all citizens.  

"Mr. Chairman, thank you again for your leadership in sponsoring House Bill 1676."