Dr. Douglas Austen

Connecting anglers and boaters to the water and families to outdoor activities are critical challenges that must be successfully addressed, said Fish and Boat Commission Executive Director Dr. Douglas Austen in his annual report to the House Game and Fisheries Committee this week.

In addition to highlighting the agency’s work during 2006 - such as the development of an automated licensing system, exciting new changes to trout fishing and funding for infrastructure – Dr. Austen also used his time with the Committee to discuss programmatic directions for the future.

“Even with its wealth of public lands, Pennsylvania is not immune to the trend toward privatizing access to our waterways and expanded posting of private property. The implications to fishing are clear: private lands border 83 percent of our stocked trout waters, about 70 percent of our wild trout waters, and approximately 59 percent of our class A trout waters,” Dr. Austen told the legislators.

He cited work by the Commission and other partners to secure access through purchases and fishing easements along Lake Erie and its tributaries through a special fund. He noted, however, that there is currently no viable funding mechanism for expanding such efforts to the rest of the Commonwealth.

Beyond the need to provide access for existing sportsmen and women, Austen cautioned that more work needs to be done to attract new generations of anglers and boaters.

“Traditional outdoor activities are simply not engaging youth in the right ways. We don’t have the organized activities in the schools, our teaching methods are antiquated, we don’t have enough family activities that offer well-structured programs for parents and kids, and we’re not nearly as visible in the cities as we should be,” he said.

Dr. Austen stressed the agency’s commitment to meeting the challenge, but cautioned new thinking and new revenue for youth education would be required. He renewed his call for funding in the form of an inexpensive fishing license for 12- to 15-year-olds. “

“The message is clear: We simply cannot continue doing the same things and expect different results. If we want to offer new programs we need new funding for clubs, instruction, information, family events - in short, everything that will make Pennsylvania a leader in youth fishing and the development of young people who understand the resource.”

In closing his remarks, Dr. Austen requested that lawmakers examine two other funding-related concerns: important programs supported by fishing license dollars and watercraft registration fees that aren’t directly related to recreational angling or boating and the current process for establishing license and registration fees.

He noted that the Commission takes a great deal of pride its efforts to manage reptiles, amphibians and non-game fish species and to train emergency responders in water rescue, but noted that general Commonwealth funds may be more appropriate than using sportsmen’s dollars. He also suggested that the historically lengthy time frame between license and registration fee updates lead to sizeable increases and sales declines.

The full text of Dr. Austen’s remarks is available on the Commission’s website.

Also available on the Commission’s site is a comprehensive annual report detailing strategic initiatives advanced in 2006, financial information and program specific statistics. Several highlights from the annual report include:

· Nearly 2 million people fished in Pennsylvania contributing over $1.65 billion to the state’s economy and more than 2.5 million people boated in Pennsylvania generating over $1.7 billion for the state’s economy;

· The Commission established two different opening days for trout season—March 31 for an 18 county central and southeast and April 14 for the remainder of the state;

· Sponsored 19 dam removal and fishway projects totaling $718,000;

· The Lake Habitat Section’s Adopt-a-Lake Program work with 40 cooperators and completed 35 lake habitat enhancement and installed over 1,000 habitat structures; and

· The Adopt-a-Stream Program in the Stream Habitat Section worked with 85 cooperators and completed 38 stream habitat enhancement projects, including installation of 135 habitat structures.

The Committee will hear a presentation on the Game Commission’s 2006 annual report on Feburary 15. (see Calendar of Events)

Link: Engaging Youth In Fishing

2/9/2007