Pennsylvania Mixed Bag: New manager for Laurel Caverns State Park

Harrisburg — The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources recently announced the appointment of Corie Eckman as the manager of Laurel Caverns State Park in Fayette County, Pennsylvania’s 125th state park.

Eckman manages the 435-acre park centered around the largest and deepest limestone cave in Pennsylvania, which includes four miles of wide cave passages that go as deep as 476 feet and the largest bat shelter in the northeast.

A Warren County native, Eckman previously managed Black Moshannon State Park. She earned her bachelor’s in environmental biology from Clarion University before attending Slippery Rock University and earning a dual master’s in environmental education and park and resource management.

Brody Wins Iron Grouse Trophy at Shoot

Bradford, Pa. — Zach Brody, of St. Marys, came out on top of the 80-plus experienced shooters and grouse enthusiasts who showed up July 11 at the Bradford Gun Club for the second annual Iron Grouse Shoot in Pennsylvania, sponsored by the Ruffed Grouse Society/American Woodcock Society.

Shooters shot their choices of 25-clay trap, 25-clay skeet, 25-clay 5-stand, and 50-clay sporting clays at the facility on SR 770 south of Bradford, McKean County. The final score is a compilation of all four shoots. All shooters had a chance to win the overall top prize.

Attendees came from Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York, and Ohio. Coming out on top were: Class C winner – Kacey Zelle; Class B winner – Blake Nashadka; Class A winner – Zach Brody; Junior Class winner – Andrew Mawn; and Iron Grouse winner – Zach Brody.

PF&BC Uses Grants, Purchases New Boats

Harrisburg — The Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission recently purchased two new boats to be used for law enforcement. Some of the costs were offset by grant funding.

Among the new craft, according to Col. Jeffrey Sabo, director of the commission’s Bureau of Law Enforcement, are a 27-foot enclosed cabin patrol vessel for Lake Erie and a 21-foot patrol boat now in place on the lower Delaware River in the Philadelphia area.

For the 27-foot boat, a Port Security Grant provided $96,572 and the commission provided $98,858. For the 21-foot patrol boat, the grant provided $165,021 and the agency paid $55,008.

Lawmaker Proposes Hunting License Update

Harrisburg — Current state laws require hunting and furtaking licenses to be physically carried, but a proposed bill would change that.

Rep. Jack Rader, R-Monroe County, on July 15 proposed legislation that would change the current requirement that a person carries his or her physical license, to instead allow for a digital copy to verify that a person is properly licensed.

He called the bill “a narrow, commonsense update that recognizes the availability of modern licensing technology while preserving the Game Commission’s authority to verify licenses and enforce Pennsylvania’s hunting and trapping laws.”

“Modern technology has made the physical-possession requirement unnecessary,” Rader wrote in his memo to other lawmakers, inviting them to co-sponsor the bill. This legislation would remove only the requirement that the license itself be carried on a person.”

State regulations for fishing licenses are similar to the approach Rader’s bill proposes. The legislation had not been introduced at this issue’s deadline.