THE EXPRESS (Lockhaven Pennsylvania) 22 January 06 Fish and Boat Commission to meet on snake-hunt proposals (Scott Johnson)
Harrisburg: As the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission readies for its meeting early next week regarding proposed changes to snake-hunting regulations, a local lawmaker has added his opposition.
In a letter dated Jan. 18 to Dr. Douglas Austen, executive director of the Fish and Boat Commission, Rep. Mike Hanna, D-Lock Haven, states he is in “fervent disagreement” to the proposals.
Commission members will hear the proposals during their meeting this Monday and Tuesday in Harrisburg. State officials said any proposals that are ratified won’t go into effect until next year.
Hanna, a minority member of the House Game and Fisheries Committee, joins the Clinton County commissioners and officials with the Kettle Creek Hose Co. in opposition to the proposed changes.
The fire company’s annual snake hunt and sacking contest is its largest fundraiser and goes toward building maintenance and repairs and for maintenance of its four firefighting vehicles that serve Leidy Township in Clinton County and Stewardson Township in Potter County.
Specific proposals the the groups are opposed to:
- Raising permit fees for individual hunters from $5 to $50 for residents and $100 for non-residents
- Increasing the permit to sponsor the events from $25 to $100
- Requiring the caught snakes be a minimum of 42 inches long
- Limiting the hunt permits to a particular vicinity or time period at the will of the executive director of the Fish and Boat Commission
- Prohibiting the importing of timber rattlers or the sub-species of the timber rattler, including western diamondback rattlesnakes.
Hanna agrees with the two groups that the economic hardship the proposed changes would place on the participants and sponsors of such events are “unacceptable.”
“In today’s fiscal environment, the sponsors who are traditionally non-profit fire companies are in need of every dollar they can raise to maintain their facilities and the services they give to their members and communities,” the legislator states.
Hanna added that he believes the commission’s proposal to increase the license fees is “particularly egregious,” and supports Kettle Creek’s proposal to increase the fees to $15 for residents and $25 for non-residents for tagging, permit catch and release.
He is also opposed a proposed regulation on tagging snakes that commission hopes will assist it in the development of management units and associated bag limits for timber rattlesnakes.
“The proposal on the tagging regulation is oppressive and approaches a limitation on individual rights,” Hanna states.
Regarding the 42-inch minimum length, Hanna states he believes that number “appears arbitrary,” and supports the fire company’s recommendation of a 36-inch minimum with female rattlesnakes excluded.
Hanna is also opposed to proposal to give Austen the authority to limit the amount of hunts in a particular region. Those limits curt hurt Kettle Creek’s events due to similar events in Sinnemahoning and Morris.
He also wrote the prohibition of importing rattlesnakes for events would have a negative effect on the attraction of participants.
“The participants and spectators from not only Pennsylvania, but neighboring states and as far away as Canada contribute a considerable sum to the communities’ local economies,” Hanna states.
Dan Tredinnick, press secretary for the Fish and Boat Commission, previously told The Express the regulations are being proposed to help protect a species that is close to being on the state’s endangered list.
He said the commission received “several hundred” comments on the issue before the 90-day public comment period ran on on Jan. 15. He said comment periods usually last 30 days, but the timeframe was tripled in this case due to interest from the public.
Tredinnick said the commission may hear additional proposals concerning sacking contests held during snake hunts. Those proposals would also require an additional public comment period of at least 30 days.
Fish and Boat Commission to meet on snake-hunt proposals