Tom Venesky: Selective science drives recent Pennsylvania Game Commission board votes

One of the pillars of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation is to base wildlife management decisions on scientific data.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission, along with many state wildlife agencies, operate according to the model. But recently, the agency’s board of commissioners strayed from one of the foundational pillars that defines the concept.

During the April 12 quarterly meeting, the board passed two amendments despite both lacking scientific backing. The first allows for an expansion of antlerless deer hunting under the Deer Management Assistance Program.

Proposed by Commissioner Kristen Koppenhafer and passed by the board, 7-2, the measure enacts an extended firearms season on DMAP properties from Dec. 26-Jan. 24, 2026. Participating hunters must have a DMAP coupon for the property they’re hunting.

Also, Commissioner Stanley Knick introduced an amendment for an extended firearms deer season to run Jan. 2-19, 2026, to be held in Wildlife Management Unit 4C. He cited recent detections of chronic wasting disease and the reason for the proposal, and it passed 5-4.

But during discussion prior to the votes, commissioners Dennis Fredericks and Scott Foradora each questioned if the science existed to support the measures – as outlined by the North American model.

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According to Bureau of Wildlife Management Director Matthew Schnupp’s explanation, there really isn’t any supporting science… at least not right now. He said when DMAP was established (2003), antlerless license allocations weren’t as high as they are today.

It might be a good time to evaluate antlerless license allocations and how it relates to DMAP, along with the entire deer management program, Schnupp said.

And it will take time.

Basically, give his staff a year and they’ll know more, Schnupp said.

Until the evaluation process is completed and data is revealed, however, there is no science to back expansion of a DMAP season.

But there is science that indicates such an expansion might not be a good idea right now.

Fredericks referenced an evaluation conducted by forestry professionals at the state and federal levels indicating regeneration across Pennsylvania is “acceptable.” Also, according to Fredericks, DMAP coupon redemption (harvest) has declined, from 74% in 2022 to 60% in 2024.

Why?

Well, Schnupp and his team intend to find out.

But at first glance, one has to surmise if the foresters are saying forest regeneration is doing OK, and the harvest on DMAP units (which are mostly forested areas) is going down, then the issue of deer overbrowsing the woods might be in check right now, or at least not as bad as it once was.

Basically, the science that is available right now indicates implementing an extended DMAP season – without a recommendation from staff biologists – is overkill.

Still, despite lacking any supportive science or staff recommendation, the board went ahead and approved the proposals.

Not only was it a mistake, but the move was also in direct conflict with a previous action taken by the board.

Remember in 2023 when a “proclamation” was issued during a board meeting that took away the ability of commissioners to adjust and vote on the antlerless license allocations?

It was a peculiar approach, but according to the proclamation, one that was necessary in the name of science.

Here’s a part of what it stated, in regard to science: “If board member opinions enter the decision-making process, and allocations change because of them, science no longer is guiding wildlife management.”

“Because scientific management is a principle the board believes in, it only makes sense to stand by the results of scientific work, including the development of license allocations.”

So let’s apply this to the recent votes to establish an extended DMAP season and a January firearms season in WMU 4C.

There was no scientific data presented at the meeting in support of either proposal, nor was there a staff recommendation. So, in these instances, science isn’t guiding wildlife management, but board member opinions are – and that’s the exact scenario that the proclamation issued in 2023 sought to avoid.

And every commissioner that voted in favor of the DMAP and Wildlife Management Unit 4C proposals ignored the science, or lack thereof. Lastly, the very thing the 2023 proclamation admonished – board member opinion – is what guided these particular wildlife management decisions.

Follow the science – except when there isn’t any.

And then watch one of the main pillars of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation come crashing down.