From: Charlotte Stephenson
To: pgccomments pgccomments@pa.gov
Subject: Mt. Lebanon PA Deer Management, Southwest Region
Date: Wed, Feb 4, 2015 11:52 pm
To Whom it May Concern of the Pennsylvania Game Commission:While I was looking on the PA Game Commission website, I stumbled upon the contact information of the PA Game Commission press secretary.
I am a resident of the Mt. Lebanon Municipality in Pittsburgh where a permit application has been submitted to bait, corral and shoot deer. I cannot obtain any detailed information from our local Commissioners regarding the specific plan for this in terms of where, when and exactly how such activity will occur. I live near one of the main parks and have noticed deer over the years. They are not a nuisance to our family. I have not seen as many deer this year as I did a few years ago. I do understand the deer population issue in general, but I do not believe that it is as problematic here as it has been stated by our community leadership.
Our neighboring park is visited frequently by my family, grandson and neighbors who enjoy walking their dogs there or simply enjoy the nature trails and creek all year round.
I am deeply concerned that when I, my grandson or other residents encounter the trapped deer knowing that they are doomed, it will have a lasting emotional impact. As you know, we don't all share the same perspective when it comes to animal rights or hunting. Hunting in Pennsylvania is permitted in areas where it makes sense, but permitting such activity in our densely populated community has the potential to frighten and disgust anyone who believes that this is an inhumane idea. Here is a possible scenario: Child asks "Mommy, why are those deer in that fence jumping around and why can't they get out?". Mom says "Well honey, they are a nuisance to our community so they are in a trap and will be shot and killed as soon as someone shows up to do it". Are we to avoid our public parks so we don't have to deal with this fallout?
Our municipality plants numerous flower beds throughout the community and the varieties they plant attract deer and yet the Commissioners passed an ordinance against feeding deer. There has never been community outreach to help residents understand what they can do to deter deer from visiting their gardens in terms of plantings or deer fences, nor has there been any instruction regarding specific locations or times of day when deer may be moving around or crossing roads for those who may encounter a deer on the road from time to time.
Our leadership is in disarray given the constantly changing direction regarding this issue combined with their actions that are in direct conflict with practical deer management concepts.
Please request that our Commissioners perform their obligatory due diligence to submit accurate information on the numbers of deer we have (this information has been incorrect so far), and demonstrate that other solutions have been fully investigated before permitting such a potentially unsettling program in our densely populated community to move forward.
Thank You,
Charlotte M. Stephenson
Travis Lau, PA Game Commission press secretaryI also saw that the PA Game Commission was considering a hiking ban during hunting season. The plan has been tabled for now. Game Commission tables idea for hiking ban, permits on state game lands Here in Mt. Lebanon, our illustrious commissioners won't tell us where the hunting will occur. We will have to rely on reports from children, dog walkers, hikers, and neighbors to keep us informed.
717-705-6541
trlau@pa.gov
Stop the deer culling! The petition now has 1,400 signatures. Thank you!
32 comments:
Signatures are now at 1,776, one of my favorite numbers. Thanks for signing!
I sent an email to both Travis Lau, as well as the contact for PA Game Commission comments.
Elaine
By the time this ordeal is over, the whole country is going to be saying: "Who is in charge there?", "They should be investigated", "Where's Bubba?", "Why are they so cruel?" and "What is WRONG with Mt Lebanon?".
Are there any solutions? They can't just be about deer because the cruelty just moves over to the next topic.
Help! I’m hearing that there have been trail cameras set up in the potential baiting locations to confirm whether there are deer there, and that baiting will begin as soon as the permit is approved.
Has anyone spotted trail cameras and if so, where are they?
Elaine
There is a primary reason it is called the PA "Game" Commission.
From The Free Dictionary--
"9. a. Wild mammals, birds, or fish hunted for food or sport.
b. The flesh of these animals, eaten as food.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/game
Being humane or fair or protective isn't there key function. Neither is coexistance, conservation or safety unless it make the "game" better for the hunters.
Correction - their key function
2:53 I'm glad you have access to a dictionary but the dictionary does not define the goals of the Pennsylvania Game Commission. In some cases, a title is meaningful and other times it's not. Think about the Blue Devils... what does the dictionary have to say about devils?
I hope to heck that some of you who are disgruntled over this situation will put your feet and your mouths before the Commissioners and state your objections and concerns. In case you're not paying attention to what's been going on, it's been the same few (think THREE or FOUR) concerned citizens taking up the charge at Commissioner Meeting after Meeting. You don't have to be a public orator to stand up there, give your name and address, and state that you are opposed to this killing in your community. This situation is only made worse by the fact that the community leaders have done next to nothing with a host of non-lethal options available to them to lessen the severity of their perceived "deer problem". I know that there are folks working behind the scenes and we are thankful for every effort being made to restore sanity to our community. But, we need a collective voice, too...WE NEED TO BE SEEN AND TO BE HEARD, LOUD AND CLEAR. ISN'T IT TIME FOR YOU TO SPEAK-UP?
1:34 -
If you search for "deer" on Change.org there are over 2,000 petitions from all over the country about deer, most of them asking that deer reduction efforts be stopped.
https://www.change.org/search?q=deer
Mt. Lebanon won't stand out.
3:05 from the Game Commission website--
"Mission
To manage Pennsylvania's wild birds, wild mammals, and their habitats for current and future generations
Vision
To be the leader among wildlife agencies, and champion of all wildlife resources and Pennsylvania's hunting and trapping heritage"
Nowhere in either their mission or vision statements do you see the word 'humane.'
2:53 Why not read the PA Game Commission's Strategic Plan before making such an erroneous statement? Refer to page 12 where it states that conservation efforts had lead to a rebound of our elk population. Also, check out Objective 1.6.
Also, the letter from the executive director:
"We want you to connect with wildlife. If you are in your backyard watching your bird feeders or on a mountaintop waiting for that first deer, bear or turkey to pass by, there are many ways to enjoy our tremendous wildlife resources. We want you to value and get involved with our wildlife resources.
Get outside and connect with wildlife."
-Charlotte Stephenson
3:27 You haven't read the strategic plan either. On page 32:
Strategic Objective 3.2: Promote the safe, responsible and ethical behavior of hunters and trappers
Outcome Measures
• Improved hunting safety • Improved hunter and trapper behavior • Improved public perception of hunting and trapping • Improved training and education programs
I don't believe that baiting, corralling and shooting deer at close range aligns with "Improved public perception of hunting and trapping".
-Charlotte Stephenson
Send an email to the Executive Director of the PA Game Commission (PGC)
Elaine, I think Charlotte Stephenson's letter is excellent, and deserves to be read by the top decision maker at the PGC.
However, I'm afraid that letters sent to pgccomments@pa.gov go into a big black hole and no decision makers ever see them. Even letters sent to Travis Lau, their press secretary, will have no impact - he's not a decision maker, just a Public Relations spinmeister like our PIO.
The Pa Game Commission is run by a Board of Directors. I think 8 directors, headed up by an Executive Director. These are the decision makers. FYI, they're all hunters.
They do not give out their email addresses or make it easy for upset residents in Mt. Lebanon to contact them.
However, I did some research, and I believe I found Matt Hough's, the Executive Director< email address. It is rhough@pa.gov .
I think Matt is a nickname for Robert, which made the searh a little more difficult.
So please tell Charlotte to send her email directly to Matt Hough, the Executive Director of the Pa Game Commission.
Also, anyone else that wants to send the PGC a message, please send it to Matt Hough directly.
We are running out of time.
Thanks!
Anyone up for a protest? If so, email me. I am getting calls from the media. They want to know.
Elaine
Petition count is up to 1,983.
Elaine
Pa Game Commission Board of Directors
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=1096069&mode=2
Thank you, 3:46. I tried to find e-mail addresses and you are correct, they do not make it easy to contact them. - Charlotte Stephenson
Charlotte, you have completely misread my comments.
I agee with you on what SHOULD BE the Game Commission's strategy or primary function, but unfortunately if they grant permission to this senseless killing, spmething else is in play.
They state in the strategic plan's last two sentences: "We want you to value and get involved in with our wildlife resources. Get outside and connect with wildlife."
Perhaps their approval of this corral and kill should require corral bleachers and kill times so that we can really connect with the wildlife.
Now I'm not opposed to hunting (not in densely populated areas) or humane management of the deer population, but this corral plan is just plain inhumane.
At 4:10 PM, the petition hit 2,000!
This is not enough. I hope people come to the commission meeting on Tuesday night and tell the commissioners how bad this idea is.
Plan a protest. I will help get the word out. The media is very interested!!!
Elaine
3:09 Mt Lebanon *will* stand out. Rounding up 150 deer into corrals after baiting them and then shooting them pointblank in the brain... yes that stands out. They plan to kill almost the entire deer population, when less than 2% of car accidents with injury involve deer, AND they won't tell us where or when? Prior to this there was the failed muni only archery extended hunting season and prior to that there was the failed muni archery program due to a shortage of permits...
4:03:
Yes, your statements were confusing. The statement that I previously mentioned "We want you to value..." is actually the Executive Director's message. The thing is, the signature on it looks something like "Carl S..." The listings for the Executive Staff and also Commissioners only have one name (Charles Fox) that is even close to that but he is only a Commissioner, not the E.D.. It appears that the website information is out of date.
I used to hunt with my father in designated hunting zones in Moon Township. I enjoyed being in the woods and sitting quietly with him for hours. If we got a deer (many times we did not) we had it processed and made use of the venison. I agree that this plan is inhumane and it will be a black eye on Mt. Lebanon for a long time to come.
-Charlotte Stephenson
Charlotte, what is really infuriating is that this corral & kill will not achieve necessarily anything.
Benner stated that the reason for the loss of 146 deer in the 2014 vs the 2013 aerial was due to the fact that the deer might have roamed out of Lebo in 2014.
So for all the killing, all the expense, in the end we may Not reduce vehicle/deer accidents or save one damn tulip.
It's a dumb plan, sounds like a plan, but in the end we won't even be able to measure whether it worked or not!
Of course, Linfante will probably talk to some expert who will have told her that post-cull we have 10 deer/square mile and evedybody will be happy.
If that is the case, 146, 170, 200 or morecould just as easily roam INTO Lebo as well.
Rather than spinning wheels searching for the proper contacts at the PA Game Commission, why not use the resources that we pay good money for already to serve constitutions.
Every government official from the Governor on down to the local commissioners have staffers that should have access to contacts.
Email them and ask for them to provide the appropriate contact information.
Hey, the commissioners must have the name of the person or office they must submit their permit request to.
Is it a super, secret address that PA taxpayers can't communicate with?
How about it MTL's PIO, how about sharing some public information for a change.
As of 7:42 AM, there are 2,333 signatures on the petition.
Someone wrote this on the petition, which really got to me personally.
"I am from the South Hills and believe the area would be less without the abundance of these mysterious, funny and cute animals. They used to sit in my front yard like pets, and I loved watching them. Everything felt right, pure somehow when they did this. It was good to know nature had not been molested by human cruelty and evolution. And then came the culling. Honestly, if this has come about partly because of car accidents, there's no excuse. People just have to drive more carefully."
The corral killing permit, as of yesterday, is still pending.
The commission meeting is Tuesday evening at the Municipal Building, across from Sesame Inn on Washington Road. A silent protest is in the works. Please contact me at EGillen476@aol.com for details.
I understand that some high school students are pretty upset about the deer killing. Please note that I used the word "some" and not "hundreds" or even "thousands," as Kristen and PG's John Hayes choose to use. Students, with your parents' permission, we could use your help. Email me at EGillen476@aol.com, if interested.
Elaine
I dont understand that Mt Lebanon baits and traps the nuisance disease carrying Rats, but over looks the destruction of the Deer.. As a MtL Taxpayer and a homeowner who desires more than a privet hedge and grass in my yard,, dont i deserve some protection from the Deer??
8:00 AM, uh, it "isn't about gardens," remember? Get with the program.
Elaine
Of course you do 8:00 AM, we'll send a sentinel right over to protect your precious plants. :-)
Is there anything else that you require... guaranteed sunshine, a constant conmfortable 72° temperature?
How about putting up a fence, or planting stuff that doesn't attract deer? Wouldn't that be better than gunning down everything that makes your life a little unpleasant?
Also, why don't you organize your own little "private" game land and exterminate the deer yourself. The commissioners said its OK, the chief won't be looking, and the game commission doesn't care.
If you'd had rats you'd be proactive and put out traps or call your own exterminator, wouldn't you?
The other thing one would do if rats were discovered is eliminate food sources for them, like cleaning up garbage, sealing garbage cans and closing lids on dumpsters.
No, the way commissioners handle an infestation is to put out corn and continue to plant deers' favorite flowers and shrubs.
Folks, put the petition out on your Facebook pages.
Elaine, if you really want to see this thing catch fire, get some HS students to put it out on their Facebook pages. You will be shocked how it will spread.
I talked to my highschoolers and they said she doesnt care about deer or what happens to them.. other than if they are killed the meet is donated to homeless shelter..they also both feel most of the Lebo students feel this way too.. But what would expect,, from our spoiled selfish kids but think only about themselves..i feel like i have failed as a parent.
Anon 8 am: do you leave food out for the rats? Leave your trash laying around for the rats to get? I'm guessing no. But so many Mt. Lebo residents plant a virtual salad bar for deer and then want them out of their yards. Stop planting for them!
Elaine,, drove by the Township building and there appears to be some sort of meeting in the Comm Chambers.. any idea who would oonducting a meeting on Sunday? Do we rent out space to special interests groups?
Yes. http://mtlebanon.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=681
Elaine
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