PA Game Commission Audit Results

I realize this may be old news to some of you but I recently had an article sent to me highlighting some of this information.  I thought I would share it with my readers.  The Wildlife Management Institute, a non-political organization based in Washington, D.C, was contracted by the state to audit the Game Commission.  The findings were released Feb. 16 to the State Legislative Budget and Finance Committee.  You can view the entire report entitled "Deer Management Program of the Pennsylvania Game Commission a Comprehensive Review and Evaluation" by clicking here.

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette ran a nice article on Sunday, February 28, 2010 that summarizes some of the findings.  It begins as follows:

A recent 2010 Whitetail Report by Quality Deer Management Association ranked Pennsylvania's deer management program second behind Vermont among Northeast states. Biologists from other wildlife management agencies have been generally supportive and complimentary of Pennsylvania's ambitious plan.  And while the Wildlife Management Institute's recent audit was critical of parts of the plan, its authors found nothing fundamentally wrong with the program.

Click here to read the full story.

The Deer Balancing Act

What does is really mean to “balance” the deer herd? Wildlife biologists use this terminology quite often. But how many of us really know just exactly what they are trying to accomplish, how we go about it, or how we know when we have gotten there. The natural resource educators from Penn State Cooperative Extension are offering a number of programs this spring that may help answer those questions.

Overabundant deer populations pose serious issues for many homeowners, agricultural producers, woodland owners, as well as the public at large. Safety issues such as Lyme disease and deer-vehicle collisions have impacted many people. A Maryland survey found that 1 in 6 citizens know someone who has experienced a deer-vehicle collision. Many agricultural producers suffer significant losses to deer. Homeowners suffer thousands of dollars in damage to their landscapes and deer have reduced the biodiversity of our woodlands by selectively browsing vegetation. Managing deer populations so they are in balance with the available habitat is essential.

To read the full story go to the Pennsylvania Forest Stewardship News release.

A web seminar will be offered by Penn State Extension may help answer some of your questions. The webinar is entitled Deer Habitat Management is offered on March 9 at noon and again at 7:00 PM. For webinar details and registration go to the PA Forests Web Seminar Center.

Penn State Extension Educators will also be offering a number of hands on workshops entitled “Deer Density and Carrying Capacity Workshops.” These workshops are designed for those interested in learning more about white-tailed deer biology and habitat. The workshop teaches how to evaluate a given habitat and how it relates to deer biology, numbers, and carrying capacity. For a listing of dates and locations go to the Penn State Natural Resources Extension Web Calendar. 

Agriculture vs. Forestry???

Traditionally this has been a complicated relationship; two formidable forces vying for the landscape, resources and, of course, our hearts and minds. Well maybe it isn’t that dramatic but there definitely is a competitive, mutually exclusive distinction out there between forestry and agriculture. Having worked in both I have heard a fair share of choice words and derisive statements that both sides have leveled against the other.

The similarities and shared interest between agriculture and forestry are obvious though; most simply that both are working lands that we cannot do without. Much of our region’s forestland is located on farms too. I wish I could say that FFB was personally going to end this rift and bring both sides together. However, many people and institutions are and have been working tirelessly to promote a sustainable landscape of both forest and farms.

Agroforesty, as the name implies, is a practice of using both agricultural and forestry technologies together to benefit the land, its productivity and the diversification of the farm operation. Agroforestry includes practices like forest farming (ie. growing or gathering non timber forest products) and silvopasturing, which is a practice that uses trees in grazed pastures to enrich soil and provide cover to livestock and create a new income stream for the farmer. For a more thorough list of practices and descriptions click here and go to the About Agroforestry heading.

Agroforestry is not new or one of these “fringe” applications, however. Along with some traditional forestry practices, for instance, agroforestry projects have been accepted practices for several USDA conservation and cost-share programs.

To read the full story go to the Forestry For the Bay News site.
(Edited from Forestry For the Bay newsletter by Craig Highfield.  February 17, 2010.)

Announcing Penn State Wildlife Webinar Series

The Pennsylvania Forests Web Seminar Center is pleased to announce a "Wildlife and the Plants They Love to Hate" short series on the first Monday of every month live at noon and again at 7 p.m. Learn how to un-invite some of your wildlife friends by planting a different menu of floral entrees while nurturing your native plants. This series begins on March 1. Each seminar will last approximately one hour.

March 1, 2010: Guess Who Is Coming to Dinner
Find out who's cohabitating in your chimney or developing an attitude in the attic or slithering through your salad greens. Check out who is dining in your den or hammering the hostas. Learn how to evict a murder of crows, a gaggle of geese or a rhumba of rattlesnakes, then you might be able to---Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.

April 5, 2010: Deer Resistant Plants
The deer are coming, the deer are coming. . . and they are staying to dine on your landscape and garden plants. Find out how to co-exist with deer by planting what they least like to eat. There is hope for your garden.

May 3, 2010: Native Plants
Be part of the Green Movement. Start by enjoying the natural beauty and learn to recreate part of it in your own landscape. Be enchanted by the showiest of the native perennials and see which of these you can identify in your area.

June 7, 2010: Rabbit Resistant Plants
Here bunny, here bunny; most of us find rabbits endearing from a very young age. However, sometimes there is just one bunny too many . . . they can easily multiply so much that sheer numbers destroy your landscape and your garden. Learn how to minimize damage from these furry critters through plant selection.

Live seminars are scheduled for the first Monday of every month at noon and 7 p.m. Each session is recorded and loaded onto the Web Seminar Center along with a copy of the presentation and any handout materials. So, if you are unable to participate in the "live" session, a recording of it will be available for you to view at your convenience. Of course, none of the interactive elements will be available when watching the recording.

To participate in the live seminars you must register and have a "Friend of Penn State" user ID. The "Register Now" page on the website will walk you through this process. If you are a member of the Penn State community, you already have your User ID, but we would ask you to register on the website so that you can receive reminders of upcoming programs.

Participation in the web seminar does not require any special software. To view live and previously recorded seminars all you need is a high-speed Internet connection and sound.