Commissioners William J. Sabatose and Frederick P. Osifat were elected President and Vice President, respectively, of the Fish & Boat Commission at the board’s summer quarterly meeting this week in Harrisburg.

Commission President Sabatose, of Brockport, Jefferson County, comes from the Third Commissioner District, comprised of Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Jefferson, McKean and Potter counties. He was first appointed to the Commission on December 9, 1987, and he was reappointed in 1995 and in 2003.

Commissioner Sabatose has been a member of numerous conservation and sportsmen's organizations. He served as President of the Toby Creek Watershed Association, Inc., where he led an effort to plant almost two million trees. He has done numerous studies of acid mine drainage in the Clarion River Basin and has worked with government agencies such as the Department of Environmental Protection to reduce acid mine drainage on both the Toby Creek and Clarion River watersheds.

His efforts to work with state legislators and state agencies has resulted in major revisions of both state and federal surface mine laws, especially those with respect to siltation and acid pollution of streams. Commissioner Sabatose has received numerous awards for these projects.

This is his third stint as president, having served in that capacity from July 1990 to July 1992 and from July 2002 to July 2003.

Commission Vice President Osifat is an ardent fly fisherman and has been active in several fishing and sportsmen’s organizations over the years. He is currently a member of the Paradise Hunting and Fishing Club, Lehigh River Stocking Association, Northampton-Lehigh-Carbon Outdoor Sportsmen Association, and the Western Pocono Chapter of Trout Unlimited serving as Director.

Community interest has him serving on the Kline-Banks-McAdoo Regional Authority, Banks Township Municipal Authority, Tri-County (Carbon-Schuylkill-Luzerne) Airport Study Advisory Board, and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Citizen Advisory Board. Commissioner Osifat presently is Director of the Office of Planning and Development for Carbon County and has been employed with the County since 1993.

Commissioner Osifat, of Tresckow, resides in Commission District 7 comprised of Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties.

The newly-elected officers will serve a one-year term.

For more information about current Commissioners, visit the PFBC website.

7/20/2007