Agriculture, forest, nursery and Audubon PA testified before the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee this week that over-browsing by too many deer causes over $314 million in damages and significant habitat loss in Pennsylvania’s forests.

In his testimony, Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff provided the Committee with damage estimates by industry-- $75 million in crop damage, $91 million in damage to forests and $78 million in costs associated with over 39,000 collisions between deer and cars.

Gregg Robertson, President of the Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association, reported damages of between $5 and $8 million in what is the fastest growing segment of agriculture in the state.

PLNA recommended the Game Commission adopt policies that allow eliminating concentrations of deer outside of the recreational hunting seasons, provide DMAP permits at no cost directly to landowners and communities and permit regulated baiting by hunters to increase deer vulnerability to allow thinning of local herds.

Dr. Tim Schaeffer, Audubon PA, noted his group strongly supports hunting as a tool to bring deer into balance with their habitats.

“Hunters are critical to the success of deer population management because hunting is currently the only feasible method of regulating deer populations on a large scale,” said Schaeffer.

“Over time, high deer populations in most of Pennsylvania and across nearby states have greatly altered forest understories,” said Dr. Schaeffer. “The abundance of native wildflowers and other forest-floor plants has been greatly diminished, shrub species have been dramatically decreased or eliminated, and the variety of tree species has declined. Birds and other wildlife that depend on forest vegetation have also been affected.”

Dr. Schaeffer made several recommendations to the Committee-

· Adopt a more stable and equitable funding base for the Game Commission so it is not so dependent on hunting license dollars and timber sales for funding in order to shift the agency from single-species management to ecosystem management; and

· Encourage the Game Commission to reveal the science behind its deer management decisions and ask individuals nominated for the Game Commission board to commit to using transparent science to make their decisions.

“Our forests have been operating in the red for decades and will never be able to get back in business until we find a way to make natural resource management decisions that are truly in the best interest of the resources themselves,” said Dr. Schaeffer.

Betsy Huber, PA State Grange, echoed the comments of Secretary Wolff on crop damage reported by their members.

“In more recent years, our members have become even more concerned with the threat of Lyme disease spread by the deer tick,” said Huber. “Many of our members have been disastrously affected by this disease. It’s the Grange’s opinion that the health concerns affiliated with the deer management issue should take center stage.”

Huber made ten recommendations to the Committee, including letting communities decide what deer management tools are most suitable to their needs, engage hunters in the effort to determine what policies now inhibit their effectiveness and local deer control efforts should be allowed at any time of year, not just during recreational hunting seasons.

Craig Sweager, a farmer representing the PA Farm Bureau, said they believe damage to agriculture and “green industries” alone may exceed $90 million annually and recommended the Committee update a 1997 study done by Penn State to document damage.

The Committee hearing was cut short by the House session schedule for the day and another day of hearings on deer damage will be scheduled. Witnesses at that time will include: DCNR Bureau of Forestry, the PA Forest Products Association, the Department of Health, a homeowners’ association, a lumber mill owner and the Game Commission.

Copies of the testimony presented are available through PLNA’s website.

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4/7/2006