Posted December 14, 2016 8:17 pm by Comments

By Ammoland Editor Joe Evans

Minnesota pheasant index up 29 percent from last year.
Pheasant
Pennsylvania Game Commission
Pennsylvania Game Commission

USA -(Ammoland.com)- The Pennsylvania Game Commission today announced plans to close two pheasant farms – the Western Game Farm in Crawford County and the Northcentral Game Farm in Lycoming County.

As a result of the closures, 14 employees were notified their positions are being eliminated, effective Jan. 27. The decision to close the farms strictly is a financial one.

Revenue from the sale of hunting and furtaker licenses makes up the majority of the Game Commission’s budget. Legislation that would have provided a much-needed increase in license-fee revenue was not approved in the General Assembly’s 2016 session.

The Game Commission now is preparing to enter a third decade without an increase in the cost of a hunting or furtaker license, and the agency faces an $8 million budget shortfall in the coming fiscal year.

Game Commission Executive Director R. Matthew Hough said closing the two pheasant farms figures to save the agency about $1.5 million in the next fiscal year.

“It’s a difficult decision to make,” Hough said. “Our employees at the Western Game Farm and Northcentral Game Farm have worked hard throughout their careers to make our pheasant propagation program the best it can …Read the Rest

Source:: AmmoLand

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