Glade Lake is in state game lands 95, west of Hilliards, one of three game lands maintained in Butler County by the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Butler Eagle file photo

Pennsylvania is the only state in the country that maintains separate agencies for the management of fish and the management of wildlife.

The state has explored in past decades merging the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

Another is underway, with the Wildlife Management Institute tasked with examining ways the agencies could combine services and reduce redundancy. This newest study was initiated by the executive directors of the two agencies with the support of both boards of commissioners, with each sharing the $49,500 cost.

PFBC Executive Director Tim Shaeffer spoke at the Keystone Sportsmen’s Club’s May meeting to provide an update on this situation, including the following key points.

Redundant services: Schaeffer mentioned situations where services of the two agencies overlap. One example, he pointed out, is public boat access like that north of Harrisburg on the Susquehanna River. He cited four access areas, two administered by the Fish and Boat Commission and two others under the administration of the Game Commission, remarking on the inefficiency of having the upkeep of such done by two agencies.

Funding: Shaeffer pointed to the state of the art dispatch center recently put into service by the Game Commission, one where dispatchers are on hand 24 hours a day. The Fish and Boat Commission could not afford such a system. Currently the Game Commission enjoys an approximate $500 million surplus from natural gas leases.

Demographics: An aging population where one fifth of the PA fishing license buyers are lifetime licenses holders is another aspect the Fish and Boat Commission contends with, one that will likely grow in the years to come, furthering the need to identify places where responsibilities of the two agencies overlap in an effort to streamline spending and better serve both anglers and hunters.

License sales: Shaeffer said this is another area where overlap occurs, noting both agencies use HuntFishPA as the third party technology company.

Regarding any potential merging of responsibilities of the two agencies, Shaeffer pointed out the advantage of maintaining independent status rather than having the two absorbed into an executive resource department such as the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Both the Fish and Boat Commission and the Game Commission are funded by license buyers and do not receive money from the state’s general fund.

Findings from the Wildlife Management Institute are due in June. Any changes, Shaeffer said, would likely not occur until early 2027 at the earliest.

Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle.