More Questions than Answers

The answer as to how best manage Pennsylvania’s small herd of free ranging elk depends in part to what one considers the best use of the resource. The perspective of the ecotourist will be different than that of the hunter as will the perspective of the farmer, landowner, motorist, or local area resident.

First allow me to digress for a moment and ask the question, who owns the elk? Is it the landowners, the guides & outfitters, the PGC, or the tourist? Actually it is none of the above and all of the above with the exception of the PGC. Pennsylvania wildlife is common property belonging to all of the citizens of the commonwealth and managed by the PGC for all citizens. As citizens of the commonwealth each and every one of us has an equal interest in wildlife matters and no one individual or group should be excluded from having input on these matters. In our democratic society it is healthy to question government as to the decisions made and it should be no different when questioning matters pertaining to wildlife. The purpose of this blog is not to fight with guides, hunters, outfitters or the PGC but rather to exercise our democratic rights as citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on this very important wildlife issue. The fact that hunters pay the bills of the PGC is acknowledged but the mission of the PGC is to properly manage wildlife population for both consumptive and non-consumptive users alike.

Support Pa Elk blog was founded by a group of individuals concerned that the current elk management is not providing adequate protection for the animals that frequent the viewing areas in and around the current no kill zone. Allow me to be clear, our group is not a group of anti-hunting advocates. Of our group two are currently hunters and two former hunters. Two of our members are retired Deputy Wildlife Conservation Officers with the PGC, one a retired career PGC land management employee and one a firearms manufacturer. All members are wildlife enthusiast and very much concerned with the management of our Pennsylvania Elk.

Recently Jack Manack Jr. of Elk County Outfitters made a blog post and opened a dialog with SPE members although he appears unwilling to continue this discussion as of now.
Jack stated in a comment “the majority of bulls taken yearly are sub-par.” He goes on to state that “the reason for this is a lack of knowledge of what is out there and the inability of hunters to hold off for truly mature bulls.” Jack further states “This year’s hunt for example there were at most 5 bulls 6 years old and up. That leaves 14 bulls that were not near their mature status.” His comment goes on to say “Believe me Marci take a ride, get away from the crowds of Winslow Hill and see what is really running around up there.”

This comment of Mr. Manack’s only causes more questions to arise in my mind. As to the “why” hunters are killing “sub-par” animals Mr. Manack’s reasons are his personal opinions based upon his experience, not scientific fact. Could it really be that guides are not doing an adequate job scouting before season and in advising their clients as to these mature bulls existence and then directing them to them if indeed the numbers of mature bulls stated by Mr. Manack really do exist? As for advising Marci to get away from the Winslow Hill crowds to view mature bulls; it’s no secret that before the modern day hunt mature bulls were commonly viewed on Winslow Hill. I also must wonder why if indeed the mature bulls do exist in the other areas why on the opening morning of the season one of Mr. Manack’s guides was there guiding a client to the dominate 9x8 which I feel was included in Mr. Manack’s definition of “sub-par”. I realize that this particular client held a tag for zone 2 but there is a lot more to zone 2 than just Winslow Hill. There can be little doubt that more elk exist in the state today but if mature bulls are not common on Winslow Hill where the cow numbers appear to be as high as ever then perhaps there is good reason to conclude that too many mature bulls have been killed in this region; exactly one of the points that SPE has been making!