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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 14, 2013 12:03 PM |
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| From: | Representative Gary Haluska |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Legislation Regarding Elk Hunting Licenses (Former HB 1899) |
| In the near future, I will be re-introducing legislation to ensure that at least one resident of the Elk Management Area receives an opportunity to purchase an elk hunting license each year the Pennsylvania Game Commission conducts an elk hunting season. As you may know, Pennsylvania is home to several hundred free-roaming elk. These elk are found in the northern portion of the state, primarily in the region known as the Elk Management Area, as defined by the Commission. The Commission annually calculates the number of elk hunting licenses that must be issued to manage the herd. Currently, the Commission allocates the opportunity to purchase elk hunting licenses through an annual drawing, which is not restricted to residents of the Commonwealth. Each year, approximately 20,000 applications from throughout the country are submitted for a chance to purchase a handful of licenses. Since a significant portion of the Elk Management Area consists of privately owned lands, farmers in this region frequently contend with crop damage caused by elk. In addition, other residents are inconvenienced and harmed by elk/human conflicts. The annual drawing provides a means to distribute elk hunting licenses, but it fails to adequately recognize the contributions made by Elk Management Area residents in maintaining Pennsylvania’s elk herd. The legislation that I will be re-introducing would ensure that at least one resident of the Elk Management Area receives an opportunity to purchase an elk hunting license each year by means of a raffle. The raffle would be open only to residents of this area. All unsuccessful applicants for the raffle would be eligible for the subsequent drawing (or other future means of selection) conducted by the commission. By instituting this raffle, the Commonwealth would be recognizing the contributions and sacrifices made by residents of the Elk Management Area in maintaining the elk herd for the benefit of all Pennsylvanians. |
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| View Attachment | ||
Introduced as HB577