Pa. Game Commission will reduce cash reserve
Necessity, as well as legislative pressure, will result in the Pennsylvania Game Commission spending down some of its controversial cash reserve.
In agency’s 2020 annual financial report to state legislators, delivered March 3, Executive Director Bryan Burhans said projected declines in natural resource extraction leases on state game lands will force the commission to spend millions of dollars held in reserve.
The Game Commission is a semiautonomous extension of the commonwealth’s executive branch, operating on an annual budget of $100 million. In 2018, legislators said the agency held a $55 million rainy day fund. The financial reserves permit the agency to provide services without the interruptions that would likely occur during a potential bailout from the state, Burhans said.
“Like our sister agency, the Fish and Boat Commission, the Game Commission does not receive money from the General Fund,” he said. “Fortunately, the agency has a healthy financial reserve, which allows us more flexibility to deal with market-driven revenue fluctuations without immediately reducing services expected by the public.”
Burhans told legislators the agency is projecting a decrease in future revenues from oil and gas development. Those losses, he said, “will require us to pull over $11 million from our reserve so we don’t have to reduce services. We are projecting to pull an additional
$15 million from reserve for the 2021-2022 fiscal year and slightly over $9 million from reserve for the 2022-2023 fiscal year.”
In the 2019 financial report, Burhans reported that revenues from oil and gas operations had increased nearly $16 million over the previous year. A state audit released that year reported the commission’s cash reserves were “too large” but did not suggest an adequate size.
A Pennsylvania resident adult hunting license costs $20.90. Lawmakers who set the price have not increased the fee since 1998. In 2020, the Fish and Boat Commission was given conditional authority to set its own fees. Game Commissioners want the same privilege, but lawmakers have balked, citing the agency’s large cash reserve.
Student licenses
The Fish and Boat Commission is making it easier for some nonresident students to fish Pennsylvania waters. With the new license year that began Jan. 1, nonresident students 16 or older who are attending an accredited institution of higher education in Pennsylvania will pay $22.97, the same fee charged for a resident adult license. The standard nonresident adult license fee is $52.97.
Fly fishing film
The 2021 Fly Fishing Film Tour offers a fresh twist on “streaming.” As a COVID-19 precaution, the collection of short outdoor adventure films is being presented online only through April 4. Tickets are available for $20 or $40 for a family pass at FlyFilmTour.com.
Pittsburgh anglers get a $5 discount per ticket when purchased at International Angler in Robinson. A donation of $ 2 from each ticket sold at the fly shop will go to Casting for Recovery, which organizes fly fishing retreats providing physical and emotional therapy for women with breast cancer.