Pennsylvania Game Commission presents 2023–24 annual report; lawmakers press for fiscal detail

The Pennsylvania Game Commission on an annual report to the House Game and Fisheries Committee outlined research on elk, bears and turkeys, habitat work including prescribed burns, new land acquisitions and a private shooting-range grant program — while committee members sought clearer fiscal detail about the commission's large reserve.

Executive Director Steve Smith of the Pennsylvania Game Commission delivered a roughly 15-minute summary of the 2023–24 annual report and then answered about a half hour of members’ questions. "Maintaining accurate up to date information on the health of wildlife populations is at the core of our management programs," Smith said, describing collaring, thermal-imaging aerial surveys and other monitoring efforts.

The report highlights and committee concerns

Smith and commission staff described research and management actions across multiple species and programs. Those highlights included: more GPS- and radio-collaring for elk and turkey ("more than 400 hens have been equipped with radio transmitters" for the turkey study); use of aerial thermal imagery for elk estimates; ongoing bear genetics research and a 2023 season bear harvest of 2,920; habitat restoration and prescribed fire (about 11,000 acres treated in the past fiscal year and nearly 60,000 over five years); timber harvests on roughly 25,000 acres for habitat improvement; expansion of game lands by more than 10,000 acres; and infrastructure work including 79 miles of improved roads and 21 new bridges on game lands.

Smith described disease and public‑safety work: a multi‑year study of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Bedford and Fulton counties that showed "nearly half of the hunter harvested adult deer in this region tested positive for CWD" in 2024, leading the commission to extend antlerless firearm seasons in three wildlife management units to increase antlerless harvests.

The commission also emphasized hunter education and donation programs. Smith said the hunter‑trapper education program certified more than 20,000 students in 2024, and that Hunter Sharing the Harvest has helped donate over 2.8 million pounds of venison to families facing food insecurity. He reported progress on public shooting ranges (five new archery and three shotgun ranges completed in the last fiscal year, and a total of 66 public shooting ranges across 40 game lands) and a private shooting‑range grant program that awarded 12 grants in its first year and will continue in a second round.

Fiscal questions and commission response

A recurring theme in members’ questions was the commission's fund balance and revenue outlook. Representative Haddock asked for the balance in the game fund; Deputy Executive Director Dave Gustafson said, "As of right now, that balance is at 460,000,000." Gustafson described recent oil-and-gas royalty receipts as about $38,000,000 so far in the fiscal year and said the commission expects to close the fiscal year "somewhere between 60 and 70,000,000," with a fiscal‑year projection for the next year of about $80 to $90 million.

Several members, including Representative Hohenstein, pressed for more transparency and itemized accounting. Hohenstein requested a breakdown of payments the commission makes to other state agencies and the amounts paid as payments‑in‑lieu‑of‑taxes to local governments. Smith acknowledged statutory limits on the uses of commission funds and said the Game and Wildlife Code (Title 34) confines revenues derived from license fees and assets purchased with those fees to agency administration and mission activities. "That confines our spending to in accordance with our mission," Smith said, and he agreed to follow up with members and provide additional documentation of recent spending and interagency payments.

Program changes and management decisions

Smith said he scaled back a previously proposed private‑lands program because the commission determined it would rely on hiring recurring staff funded by a one‑time revenue windfall. He described a more cautious approach: prioritize core mission activities such as habitat creation and game lands improvements while keeping a reserve to avoid future fee increases.

Members also raised programmatic issues and local examples. Representative Steele and others welcomed recent game‑lands acquisitions and praised outreach efforts. Representative Olt Sommer and others praised the private shooting‑range grants while asking how the program will be advertised and expanded; Smith said the program will continue and the commission aims to increase capacity in a second round.

Law enforcement, incidents and follow-ups

Smith highlighted recruitment gains for state game wardens and described recent responses by wardens to an active‑shooter incident at a York County hospital as an example of their public safety role. Committee members also raised two ongoing law‑enforcement matters: a Fayette County incident involving possession of a deer (Smith said the animal "is at a facility where they are properly licensed") and a hunting‑related shooting in which a police officer fatally shot a person in a duck blind. On the latter, Smith said the matter is ongoing and that it would be inappropriate to comment on specifics while the case is active.

What happens next

Committee members requested a follow‑up meeting focused on fiscal detail; Smith and staff agreed to provide additional documents and to meet again so members could review a more detailed accounting. Representative Hohenstein and others asked the commission to itemize payments to other agencies, provide county‑level payment‑in‑lieu‑of‑tax detail if available, and explain the change in oil‑and‑gas receipts. Smith said he would provide the additional information and noted the statutory restriction in Title 34 that limits how the commission may use license‑derived funds.

The committee adjourned after the scheduled time, with members continuing to press for greater transparency on the commission's finances and with the commission committing to follow up with more detailed fiscal materials and site visits for members who requested them.