In the first-ever DCNR meeting of this type, Secretary DiBerardinis opened himself and his department to criticism from a dozen representatives of hunting and outdoors-oriented groups. Instead, he, his people and their department received, mainly, praise.

 

They nodded knowingly when DiBerardinis said DCNR has worked to preserve more than 130,000 acres in a “state where we're gobbling up open land faster than most states in the nation.”

 

They agreed with the department’s moves to promote the Deer Management Assistance Program; facilitate hunting in most of the 117 state parks; and open more state forest roads during hunting seasons—all in an effort to “support high-quality hunting," and "keep our state forestlands certified and our ecosystems in balance.”

 

Invited to the meeting at DCNR headquarters in Harrisburg, were a dozen men and women representing: Ducks Unlimited Inc., Pennsylvania Outdoors Writers Association, Ruffed Grouse Society, Women in the Outdoors, Izaac Walton League, Pheasants Forever, Quality Deer Management Association. Safari Club International, National Wild Turkey Federation, Pa. Federation of Sportsmen’s Club, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and the United Bow Hunters of Pa.

 

Secretary DiBerardinis said he was delighted by the strong turnout. “This underscores the close relationship DCNR has with hunters and anglers. We know we can do things better and this meeting is a chance to begin exploring new possibilities and broadening others,” he said.

 

Specifically, the Secretary said the meeting should help to counter claims from some circles that “DCNR is against hunting.

 

“That is ridiculous. I know and respect the fact that hunters are the best organized conservationists or all time. It is their connection to the land that is, in my mind, very critical to the future,” he said.

DCNR shortcomings? DiBerardinis threw out one for open discussion.

 

“Some critics have claim we short-changed hunting in our promotion of the PA Wilds and all that it

offered,” Secretary DiBerardinis said. “We did miss that as a promotional attraction and we, actively, are addressing it. Hunting and fishing have to be a major component of the Wilds experience.”

 

While noting that he did not hunt, the secretary said he holds a deep kinship with many who do – thanks to mornings as a child when he trapped muskrats with his brothers in then-undeveloped Chester County marshland.

 

“I still have the smells and sounds of those frosty mornings at dawn, alone out in that pasture,” Secretary DiBerardinis said. “These are the outdoor connections you never forget.”

 

The Secretary pledged future meetings with the group, as well as staff evaluation of their suggestions about future DCNR operations and programs. Meeting attendee suggestions included:

 

-- Better outreach to general public, including attending groups’ membership meetings;

 

-- Work to improve relationship with other outdoor agencies;

 

-- Streamline, improve DCNR’s partnering approach with hunting groups;

 

-- Work to combat the decline of mast-producing trees as related to deer herd balance;

 

-- More budget dedicated to insect pest eradication, more effort/staff time to same;

 

-- Create more herbaceous openings to promote certain plant and tree species while taking browse pressure off other parts of forest;

 

-- Provide more flexibility with road access – should be open in non-deer hunting seasons for trappers, others;

 

-- If forest regeneration is improving, pursue more aggressive timber harvesting;

 

-- DCNR needs to do more to reach out to hunters deliberately through the web, other communications; and

 

-- Better inform the public of closed roads and other relevant topics.