For Immediate Release
January 16, 2008
Contact: Joe Sterns
717-787-5708
(Cell) 717-497-0806
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Folmer: Time for Independent Audit of State's Deer Herd Management Program

HARRISBURG (January 16, 2007) – Senator Mike "Citizen Mike" Folmer (R-Lebanon) has sent a letter to the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee (LBFC) requesting an independent audit of the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s deer herd management program.

"I have repeatedly heard from hunters who have long been upset with a deer herd that to them is unacceptably thin," Folmer wrote in his letter. "I believe that this sustained level of concern validates the need for the General Assembly to obtain an honest assessment of this issue."

Folmer noted that deer hunting has long been a rich part of Pennsylvania's culture, and also a vital economic component, generating $5 billion of economic activity annually.

Folmer concluded in the letter, "A truly independent audit by an entity without a stake in the size of the deer herd will help to establish whether we are managing the herd while properly balancing the interests of all stakeholders, including sportsmen."