Legislative & Regulatory News

Connecting our forests leads to stronger wildlife populations.

Our wildlifein Pennsylvania is under enormous pressure. The causes are well known, and not only to state wildlife professionals. Attentive outdoor enthusiasts observe the loss of habitat due to the expansion of suburbs, exurbs, and generations of road construction. The result is habitat fragmentation, the division of suitable habitat into smaller, isolated patches. Eventually, the patches are too small to sustain biodiversity, which is vital to healthy wildlife populations. 

Connected habitat, including unrestricted rivers and streams, large blocks of forest, and patches of grassland, is important for maintaining Pennsylvania's biodiversity. Biodiversity is enhanced by creating a connected ecosystem that is bigger than the sum of its parts, one that allows animals to move. This movement is necessary daily for food, or seasonally for den sites. Youngsters must disperse to find territory and mates and to increase genetic diversity within their populations. Some species respond to climate change by seeking to migrate farther north to remain in suitable habitats. 

Conservation corridors are a key conservation strategy for protecting our wildlife. Pennsylvania House Resolution 74 (2021-2022 session), introduced into the Tourism and Recreational Development Committee by Rep. Daley (D, 148th, Montgomery County) and Rep. Kaufer (R,120th, Luzerne County), provides the legislation to begin the study of conservation corridors in Pennsylvania. A similar resolution (SR70) was introduced into the Pennsylvania Senate's Environmental Resources and Energy Committee by Senator Muth (D, 44th, parts of Berks, Chester, and Montgomery Counties).  

In 2023,  a resolution was passed to study the issue in PA:

• House Resolution 87: Directs the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to study conservation corridors' status, management, and benefits. 

Highlights of the Study

It is only through the combined efforts of Pennsylvania sportsmen, wildlife enthusiasts, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, legislators, and other stakeholders that we may identify the permanent solution to Chronic Wasting Disease here in Pennsylvania. 

  ***THE PA GAME COMMISSION HAS NO REGULATORY AUTHORITY/CONTROL OVER CAPTIVE/FARMED ANIMALS***    

The Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Pennsylvania Trappers Association have previously supported this measure and legislation to increase the penalty for illegally setting these traps from a summary offense of the fifth degree to a summary offense of the first degree. This change would increase maximum fines from $200 to $1,500. 

(Waiting For Updated 2026 Session Legislation) 

The PA Game Commission needs the same authority as the PA Fish & Boat Commission (HB808) to set fees.   The PGC does not receive state funding. Revenue comes from hunting licenses sales, Pittman & Robertson Funding, and other conservation sources.  License fees for the PGC are set by the state legislature.  The last hunting license fee increase was in 1999.

Representative Keith Gillispie
“Both of those agencies, Pennsylvania Game Commission, Pennsylvania Fish, and Boat Commission, are professional agencies,” said state Rep. Keith Gillespie (R-York), the committee chair. “They’re not going to price themselves out of the market, and they know where they need to direct those resources to and how to manage it.”

Last session, the individual bills both passed overwhelmingly in the Senate but lacked the votes in our committee. I’m planning to take another swing at this because of my strong feeling that the commissions both need and deserve the ability to set their own fees for the benefit of outdoor enthusiasts for whom they provide much-needed services.  (2019)

PFSC supports legislation allowing organizations with Small Games Of Chance club licenses to offer games of chance virtually via the internet or mobile application and receive payment electronically through credit and debit cards or other electronic mobile payment applications.