Maybe I shouldn't have limited it to forefathers. I caught the tail end of the small game hayday in Pennsylvania (1950-1970). Limiting out (two cockbirds, four rabbits) on any day of the season was a given. Back then my dad and his friends killed feral cats, hawks, foxes and anything else capable of eating their beloved pheasants and rabbits.

Then came federal protection of raptors, ten years later a fur market in decline; less trappers, more predators. Today we have an over abundance of redtails, owls and eagles and now a healthy population of fisher.

I've heard the habitat argument many times and it has merit, we have certainly lost a ton of good habitat over the decades. But to dismiss the impact our current overpopulation of predators has on the small game population is short-sighted. I hunt areas of excellent habitat. The game is not there like it used to be. It ain't all about the habitat.

I can tell where the PGC stocks pheasants by looking for red tails perched in the surrounding trees. Those things are pheasant/rabbit killing machines.

Lots of farmers had chickens then, and would keep predators flying or walking cleaned out.

Back to the marten idea, waste of time and money in my opinion. Hunter numbers around here are maybe ten percent of what they were in the 70's and 80's. That's what they need to concentrate on. No licenses equals no money coming in.

if that happens (hunters not paying the bills); PGC will get funded from PA's General Fund...taxpayer money.

you don't want that....

your input into wildlife decisions would be GREATLY diluted.

It's already happening.

You can have great pockets of habitat but if it is fragmented it will never hold marten for very long.

"Pgc studies" 😂 you mean bs to persuade the public into their backwards agenda. Kind of like the deer harvest numbers go up every year and sell more doe tags because populations are too high LOL please dont tell me you believe everything you hear from that agency

PGC has issues, for sure.

but the study was actually CONDUCTED by the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

tell us how or why IUP is lying to us.

what actual EVIDENCE do you have?

And our great pheasant hunting? This place was known for pheasants, people came from other states to hunt them and they were wild birds here too. Now just stocked chickens and you have to pay something extra to hunt them. Grouse what are they?

!. Fisher are proven to not being big predators of turkeys. Just rumors spread by uninformed people

2. Introduction of Pine Marten is a dumb idea. A college professor once tried introducing lynx into New York. Thank God that was a failure. Leave well enough alone.