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| Much Of Raffle And Auction Proceeds Are Used For Elk Management And Habitat Enhancement |
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Since it seems likely that many readers do not return
to a post to check the comments on subsequent visits to the blog, I am
basing today's post on two comments that were made on the last post.
Woody
Meristem has worked over forty years in managing natural and
human-modified ecosystems and also photographs wildlife and wildflowers.
He is the author of the "
In Forest and Field" Blog
Woody commented, " It's hard (impossible?) to defend auctioning a public resource to the
highest bidder when so many folks of ordinary means will never get a
chance to obtain a permit -- not to mention that the raffle raised more
money."
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| Extensive Funding Is Required To Maintain Food Plots |
Jack Manack of Elk County Outfitters responded as follows,
Willard and readers,
Recently on a hunting website the talk of
"Governors Tags" came up and many voiced similar opinions as Woody above
did. In stead of retyping or rewording my response I cut and pasted it
here. I apologize if it repeats some of the stats that Willard covered
in his post.
I have had the opportunity to share a camp and
spend time with the last four out of the total six hunters that have had
the PA Conservation tag, plus the KECA raffle tag winner. I admit when
the tag was first introduced in 2009 I had mixed feelings and didn't
know what to think. I soon realized that any hesitations I had to these
types of tags were my own problems and nothing more.
This past
year the Keystone Elk Country Alliance got their own tag and decided to
raffle it off. I agree that this is a great way to have this type of
tag, and as was proven, it is also a great way to raise funds for a
great cause. The fact that almost $160,000.00 was raised in four weeks
is unbelievable. Everybody at Elk County Outfitters enjoys chasing the
elk around every fall, enjoys all the people that we have met and gotten
to be friends with, but most of all we enjoy the elk range and the area
surrounding it. We don't just hunt elk there. We hunt deer, turkeys,
bears, coyotes, and so on. The list is almost as long as the species of
animals that benefit from the money raised to improve the habitat. That
is why we donated the guiding, meals, lodging, etc to go along with that
tag. We felt like that was a small way to give back for all of the
enjoyment we get out of the area year round.
The elk hunt is
constantly under scrutiny and attack, not all of it comes from
non-hunters either. The other side of the hunting debate has an
extremely loud voice and like it or not extremely deep pockets. When an
organization like the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation gets awarded a tag
like this, before you complain remember that just in Pennsylvania alone
they have completed 351 conservation projects with a combined value of
over 22 million dollars. So if they want to take that tag and auction it
off to the highest bidder, don't get upset about it. Try to remember
who the real winner is. It's the sportsman of PA. But maybe that is why
some are upset, because they don't fall into that group.
I for
one want to thank the organizations that help conserve, improve, and
keep the great tradition that is hunting going forward. Whether someone
buys a general hunting license, a single raffle tag, or a conservation
tag for a couple hundred thousand dollars they are contributing toward
the betterment of hunting and they should be thanked not insulted.
Jack Manack
Elk County Outfitters
My Response
First
off, I would like to say I thank both gentlemen for their comments and
to try to clarify who is responsible for the way licenses are issued and
who decides if a raffle or an auction will be used to award special
licenses.
Personally I do not like the idea of
auctioning tags, but I do not consider that this auction reflects
negatively on The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation nor does the fact that
KECA tag is raffled off reflect bring either credit or discredit to that
organization as the method is proscribed by State Law.
In
this case HB 2169 amended Section 2706.2 of Title 34(Game Law) of The
Consolidated Pennsylvania Statutes to re-authorize the original special
conservation tag and establish the raffle.
First
it establishes how the normal licenses issued each year shall be
awarded and it plainly states, "The commission shall hold a random
drawing of applications for the issuance of elk licenses under this
subsection at the Elk Country Visitor Center in the Township of
Benezette."
The Special Conservation Tags
The Auction
Next it establishes that the PGC is authorized to auction
off a special license to hunters interested in the opportunity to
hunt one elk subject to the following:
(1) One license shall be
auctioned annually.
(2) The auction shall be open to
residents and
nonresidents of this Commonwealth.
(3) The commission may, under 62
Pa.C.S. Pt. I (relating
to Commonwealth Procurement Code),
contract with a wildlife
conservation organization to implement
and conduct the
auction. The commission shall
promulgate regulations for the
use of the license, remitting funds to
the commission and
conduct of the auction.
(4) [The contracted organization shall
retain no more
than 20% of the proceeds from the
auction.
The Raffle
Special-license fundraiser.--In
addition to any other elk license provided for under this
section, the commission may hold a special-license fundraiser for
hunters interested in the opportunity to hunt one elk, subject to
the following:
(1) The commission may enter into a
contract with a
Pennsylvania-based nonprofit
organization whose primary
mission is the advancement of
education, stewardship and
habitat for the elk population in this
Commonwealth and that
is a participant in a public-private
partnership for the
management and operation of the Elk
Country Visitor's Center
in Benezette Township, Elk County, to
auction or raffle one
elk license annually.
(2) The entity which contracts with the
commission under
paragraph (1) may conduct a fundraiser
for the opportunity
for interested hunters to purchase the
elk license. The
fundraiser shall be open to all
residents and nonresidents of
this Commonwealth who wish to obtain
the license. The
subsequent use of the license must meet
Federal and State
hunting regulations.
(3) The entity which contracts with the
commission under
paragraph (1) may retain administrative
costs associated with
the auction.
(4) The proceeds remaining after retention of
administrative costs under paragraph (3) shall be returned to
the commission and shall be used pursuant to the contract
under paragraph (1) in a manner consistent with the
commission's elk management plan.
The Bottom Line
In
the interest of brevity I have left out some parts that are not really
of interest to our discussion here so I suggest that you read the actual
law if you so desire. The main points I take away are:
- The Organization auctioning the tag may retain up to 20% of what the
tag brings for their own use and may also retain administrative costs,
which are agreed on in advance to the tag being awarded to the
organization.
- In the instance of the raffle- KECA retains only the administrative costs which again are agreed upon in advance of the raffle.
- RMEF returned all moneys earned from the 2014 auction to the PGC for use in elk management and habitat development.
Originally Published at
Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.
