The Continuing Saga of the PA Wilds

By Dr. N. Charles Bolgiano

The Rendell Administration, under the banner of the Pa. Wilds Project, has targeted 12 entire counties and part of another in north-central Pennsylvania (Clinton, Tioga, Lycoming, Cameron, Potter, McKean, Elk, Clearfield, Jefferson, Warren, Forest, Clarion, and northern Centre) as the Pa. Wilds Area.

They have been making radical changes that are causing residents to move out of the area; the economy is collapsing; businesses, including motels, are closing - in short, the rural character of the entire Pa. Wilds Area is destined for radical change whether we like it or not!

The Secretary of the Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) stated at the 9/13/07 Conference of Pa. Wilds held in Williamsport that all private land must come under public ownership because lands are better managed in public hands than in private ownership.

The mainstay of past economic prosperity in the Pa. Wilds Area was largely grounded in deer hunting, camp ownership, grocery shopping and the many outdoor amenities that attracted Pennsylvania's hunting community to frequently visit north-central Pennsylvania throughout the year. In doing so, they spent lots of money that supported a healthy business climate in the area. But eight years ago, the DCNR and the Pa. Game Commission (PGC) initiated a dramatic reduction in the deer herd - especially in this region - and changed the makeup of what was once the hunting capital of Pennsylvania.

Huntable deer populations are now so difficult to find and that many sportsmen have abandoned the area. The economic hardship for many businesses has become so dire that some towns are in a virtual state of collapse.

DCNR and the PGC have laid plans to establish "Monument Designation" for the 13-county area - one that is vacant of people and instead honors elk, tourism, and resource extraction (gas and timber). Much of what has transpired over the past 10 years began under the Ridge Administration, assisted by environmental activists who want a "Monument" dedicated to wilderness untouched by human hands and private ownership. Scientific wildlife management practices and hunting will now play second fiddle to non-consumptive activities promoted by DCNR.

In November of 2007, The Pa. Wilds Planning Team met in secrecy to map out strategy for future development of the Wilds region. Seven teams made up of business owners, planners, public officials and non-government organizations from counties in the area mapped out their goals and action plans. The master plan is to create "Green Communities" throughout the region, and systematically de-emphasizing the consumptive activities of hunting and fishing, which have been the primary recreational activities and income producers for decades in this region. The responsibility of DCNR to manage the future of communities and their residents through Monument Designation and Green Communities is self-serving and destructive of traditional values.

DCNR and the Planning Team fail to face up to the already collapsing economy of the region as a result of the decrease in revenues previously provided by recreational hunting. Residents in the Pa. Wilds region have strong virtues of individualism and independence, besides a strong distrust of big government - they are a citizenry that forms the bedrock of Pennsylvania's self-sufficient, rural frontier.

It is amazing how fast things are deteriorating in Pennsylvania's pristine rural frontier, which is alarmingly similar to the transfer of democracy into a totalitarian socialist state. Even a non-elected "Multi-Community Main Street Manager" will be hired to dictate the rules that "Green Communities" must adhere to.

Who could have ever imagined this 30 years ago when deer and deer hunting were king? One can only wonder where will we be in another 30 years.

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