The Game Commission is calling for nominations of citizens willing to participate in one of five Citizen Advisory Committees to help gather input related to the deer management goal of reducing deer-human conflict in five Wildlife Management Units in 2009.

Those WMUs identified for next year are: WMU 1A, which consists of all of Mercer and Lawrence counties and parts of Crawford, Venango, Butler and Beaver counties; WMU 2E, comprising parts of Jefferson, Indiana, Clearfield and Cambria counties; WMU 3A, comprising parts of McKean, Potter, Tioga and Bradford counties; WMU 4A, comprising parts of Blair, Huntingdon, Bedford, Fulton and Franklin counties; and WMU 5B, which consist of part of Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lebanon, Berks, York, Lancaster and Chester counties.

Nominations are due September 15.

All nominations will be compiled and presented to the Governor's Office of Administration Bureau of Management Consulting, who will interview potential candidates, make final selections of participants and facilitate the meetings. The Game Commission does not participate in the selection process, and there is no guarantee that any nominee will be selected or even contacted for an interview.

"Citizens will serve as representatives of specific stakeholder groups and work with other stakeholders to provide a deer population recommendation for each WMU," said Carl G. Roe, Game Commission executive director. "CAC recommendations then will be considered by Game Commission personnel - along with indicators of deer health, forest habitat health and deer population trends - when making deer management recommendations to the Board of Game Commissioners.

"We are looking for nominees that are fair and open-minded; have good interpersonal skills; are not holding office in organizations related to the stakeholder group they are seeking to represent; and are willing to collect input from members of the stakeholder group they represent outside of formal Citizen Advisory Committee meetings."

Roe noted that the Board of Commissioners retains the authority to make final deer management decisions. "The purpose of the CACs is to gather input related to the deer management goal of reducing deer-human conflict," Roe said.

The objectives of CACs include providing an opportunity for the Game Commission to understand stakeholder values regarding deer management; an opportunity for stakeholders to interact with one another; an opportunity for stakeholders to have direct input concerning deer management goals that ultimately affect all Pennsylvanians; and an opportunity for the Game Commission to inform stakeholders on the mission of the Game Commission, complexities of deer management, and the importance of proper management.

Stakeholder groups needing representation in all CACs, except where noted, are: sportsmen-resident; sportsman-nonresident (WMUs 3A and 4A CAC only); business-direct impact (such as taxidermists and processors); business-indirect impact (such as sporting goods stores, hotels or restaurants); forest industry; rural non-farm landowner; homeowners in developed areas; highway safety agent; public land owner; conservationist; agriculture-nurseries/orchards; and agriculture-livestock/cash crops.

With the exception of the non-resident sportsmen in WMUs 3A and 4A, nominees must live in the WMU in which they apply and must complete a CAC Nomination Form to be considered.

Visit the Game Commission’s Citizen Advisory Committees webpage to download a nomination form or contact the Game Commission at 717-787-5529.

7/18/2008