#637432 - Fri May 16 2008 01:27 PM
Spring Creek Canyon/Rockview Prison Land GiveAway
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Melody
old hand
Registered: Thu Sep 16 1999
Posts: 1188
Loc: Enterprise, AL USA
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Action Needed NOW!
Rep Hanna plans to amend SB 740 when it comes up for a vote in the State Government Committee on May 29th with his bill that would give the Spring Creek Canyon land to Penn State.
Rep Benningholf has legislation prepared that would allow this land to be purchased by the PGC & PFBC with the escrow monies from the SGL176 (Toft Trees) debacle to replace that lost property and protect the pristine canyon property.
It is imperative, that between now and the 29th, that we convince the members of the State Government Committee to support Rep. Benningholf's amendment transfering the land to the PGC & PFBC, and not Rep. Hanna's amendment giving it to Penn State.
For more info on this issue: Save Spring Creek Canyon!
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#637677 - Fri May 16 2008 06:03 PM
Re: Spring Creek Canyon/Rockview Prison Land GiveAway
[Re: Bluetick]
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timberdoodle
Honored
Registered: Tue Jul 18 2006
Posts: 5347
Loc: Bradford Co. Pa
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OK Mr Bluetick just emailed my Rep Mat Baker Minority Chair of the State Government Comittee. ( Hope I ain't working him to hard reading my emails from the dog laws!! LOL)
_________________________
wmu 3A
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#637950 - Sat May 17 2008 12:51 AM
Re: Spring Creek Canyon/Rockview Prison Land GiveAway
[Re: timberdoodle]
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Bluetick
HuntingPA Political Pro Staff
The man
Registered: Fri Oct 31 2003
Posts: 10285
Loc: Franklin County
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This is a post I made on 12/03/07. The link for the entire thread is:
http://www.huntingpa.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=442970#Post442970
There is another thread at the bottom of this re-post as well for another thread on the issue.
Basically this is the history and the reasons behind the opposition to PSU getting the Rock View Prison property.
It is important to know that public opposition to the original bill (HB 1657) and the public meeting held in October 2007 shelved HB 1657. Hanna was shut down. Strong opposition and the light of day (and the truth) proved to be to much to overcome. Now he is at it again and we as sportsmen need to step up - again Lets get the family and friends involved and win one for us - the hunters of this state!.
The 12-03-07 post:
Sent an email to my Representative today asking for an update on HB 1657 (Hanna). This is the bill where the excess state property known as Rock View Prison (portions of it) are being sold.
In a apparent inside, political deal, PSU with the unwavering support of Rep Hanna has gone against much public outcry to get PSU the land at $900 a acre.
Here's the catch. The Game commission offered $1800 an acre. so you thought they could only go $400, right.
Like Paul Harvey says - "here's the rest of the story". A few years back the GC leased PSU some ground for Ag studies. Due to that PSU contaminated the surrounding game lands (SGL 176). The Federal Gov (US Wildlife Service) condemned the land for use as game lands and demanded restitution under federal law (Pittman Robertson Wildlife Restoration Funding). PSU signed an agreement with the GC and the USFWS to pay $8 million for replacement land. They also agreed to help in the search for this replacement land. A nice legally binding agreement...
Since this money was part of a settlement and by law required to happen, the price per acre allowed was raised by the federal law. Thus the offer of $1800 an acre by the GC. Twice the offered bargain basement sale price negotiate between Hanna and PSU.
This land is in the State College area BTW.
So a few years later this land is excessed by Rock View. PSU wants it and teams up with Rep Mike Hanna. Hanna and PSU run rough shod over the surrounding community and the hunters of this state. At least till the sunshine of public opinion started to shine on October 25th this year.
On that day a public hearing (although the speakers were limited to officially invited persons) was held. Many facts were brought to the public's attention. Melody's testimony gets right to the facts of the issue in the shortest amount of time:
Madam Chair, members of the Committee, good afternoon. My name is Melody Zullinger, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsman's Clubs (PFSC). We represent approximately 100,000 sportsmen, women, and conservationists. Thank you for not only the opportunity to present the PFSC’s views on this issue, but also for holding this hearing in Centre County and providing the sizable time allotment for testimony. We know there are numerous constituents who are not able to testify, but have submitted written testimony, and we hope you will take the time to read their comments.
The PFSC opposes HB 1657 for several reasons. Although much publicity and media attention has been given to the natural diversity of the Spring Creek Canyon and the surrounding Department of Corrections (DOC) Rockview property, very little media attention has been given to Compartment 5 of state gamelands 176. As many of you may be aware, Compartment 5 contains a sewage effluent spray system, installed and operated by Penn State University (PSU). Penn State was successful in having the PA Game Commission transfer Compartment 5 to Penn State ownership, but under several conditions mandated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USF&W). Approximately 1,000 acres of gamelands was lost in this transfer, but with the expectation that it would be replaced – replaced promptly and with comparable habitat to minimize the impact on sportsmen and other recreational users that commonly and frequently utilized Compartment 5. Prior to making any decision on the merits of who should have ownership of the Department of Corrections Rockview property in question, we would encourage and hope that each of you would visit Compartment 5.
In exchange for Compartment 5, Penn State University was required to escrow approximately $8 million to purchase replacement gamelands. It was the understanding and the intent of this mutual agreement, among the PGC, PSU and the US Fish & Wildlife Service, that PSU would assist the PGC in securing this replacement property in a reasonable time frame, approximately 3 years. Since the execution of that agreement, very little replacement acreage has been acquired. PSU has even sold some of its property, which adjoins other gamelands, to private sector entities. The clock is soon to expire on the mandates of this agreement, which may cause the US Fish & Wildlife Service to direct the PGC to regain control of Compartment 5, which would similarly mandate that the PSU effluent irrigation system be removed. Transferring the Department Of Corrections property to the PGC would satisfy the terms of this mutual agreement and alleviate any additional actions and expenses by all parties of the agreement.
The PFSC believes that maintaining the Department Of Corrections Spring Creek Canyon land in state ownership also alleviates the need for any additional legislation and/or agreements which would establish a conservation easement on this property. You will hear testimony about how an easement will be placed on the property, Memorandum’s of Understanding (M.O.U.) written, and a 5 member board set up to over see the management of the property. Easements and M.O.U.’s can and are routinely broken, and what about ten years down the road when current board members and political leaders are no longer in control? Who will be here to prevent PSU from selling the property for development for their own profit?
Ownership by the PGC, with oversight by the US Fish & Wildlife Service, is perhaps the best long term protection that could be provided to this natural resource. With regards to land stewardship, for over half a century the PGC has been the owner of nearly 7,000 acres of state gamelands 176, just a few minutes drive west of Spring Creek Canyon. This land has not been developed; it has changed very little since its acquisition; it has been the home of forestry and wildlife research projects conducted separately and jointly by the PGC and PSU; and it has been a boon to aquifer protection for thousands of residents dependent on quality groundwater. For many of those years, the PGC and PSU had a cooperative agreement that allowed for research activities as well as agricultural activities on sgl 176; even the spray irrigation project was established through a cooperative agreement between the two entities. That being said, there is no reason why such a relationship couldn’t continue should the Department Of Corrections property be transferred to the PGC. PGC ownership of this property provides the best protection to the resources and can satisfy PSU’s needs for additional land for agricultural and research uses.
PSU has offered approximately $1 million for this property. At a public meeting on this same issue, in this same building, the PGC went on record offering twice that amount. It would seem to be fiscally prudent to take the higher offer for this property and we would have the added benefit of the property remaining under state government control. With the added protections, plus the ability to generate an additional $1 million in revenue via transferring this land to the PGC, we fail to understand why this debate continues, and why some legislators oppose any transfer to the PGC. And please keep in mind, PSU’s annual allocation from the state’s general fund is nearly double the entire PGC annual budget, which receives no dollars from the general fund.
There is one additional concern we have about this issue and how it has developed. Several legislators have commented that it is their desire to fulfill the wishes of the local elected officials, namely the township supervisors. It is our understanding that state employees are not allowed to hold local elected offices. Centre County is home to thousands of state employees, many of whom work for the PA Game Commission, the PA Fish & Boat Commission, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Department of Corrections. Meanwhile, since PSU claims to be non-state government, their employees are free to hold local elected offices. This seems to be inherently unfair to those state employees that are local residents and are impacted by the decisions of local elected officials. We would respectfully request that this Committee examine the current restrictions on state employees and perhaps initiating some changes to allow the many statewide employees across the Commonwealth to have the ability to participate in the local government process and that they be allowed to serve their local communities.
Many of our members, especially those in Centre County, have been involved in this issue for nearly three years. Don Gordon, from State College, has been closely following this issue on our behalf, but is unable to be here today. He did however submit written testimony, and I’d like to point out a few of his comments.
(See below)
In closing, we ask that no legislation benefiting Penn State University be enacted until PSU fulfills its obligations under the agreement with respect to the transfer of Compartment 5. We would also like to thank Representative Kerry Benninghoff and Senator Jake Corman for the meetings they’ve had with our members as well as other members of the conservation community. We ask for their continued support in having this land transferred to the PGC, and we hope that the members of the Committee will also support such action. Again, thank you for the time to testify on behalf of PFSC’s 100,000 members.
http://www.pfsc.org/HB1657Testimony.html
So today I got my update. It seems that Rep Hanna is going to file an amendment to the bill. As you are aware, if Rep Hanna has anything to do with it sportsmen lose. No different here. In part:
As you may be aware, Representative Mike Hanna, the prime sponsor of HB 1657, has declared that he will introduce an amendment to the bill that would make the conveyance of the land conditional upon the establishment of a conservation easement to ClearWater Conservancy and/or DCNR within two years of the sale. A conservation easement is a voluntary agreement that allows a landowner to limit the type or amount of development on their property while retaining private ownership of the land. The Conservancy accepts the easement with understanding that it must enforce the terms of the easement in perpetuity. The granting of a conservation easement assures that the land will be protected forever, regardless of who runs the property in the future.
Bottom line is the hunters of this state get kicked around again. PSU gets the property for more Ag research on the cheap. Hanna gets whatever it is that's made him a bulldog in this drama. The GC and hunters are still out game lands dedicated to small game. That in an area that is rapidly shrinking in open spaces and raising in price daily.
Time to contact your legislators. Be very vocal about PSU and Hanna double dealing the citizens of the area and hunters. This might not be a local issue for you, but it takes both houses of state government to make it happen.
We can stop this.
For the history and more info use the links below:
http://www.pfsc.org/Rockview.html
http://www.huntingpa.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=338715#Post338715
_________________________
Hunting - more than just buying a license. Get involved!
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#637955 - Sat May 17 2008 01:45 AM
Re: Spring Creek Canyon/Rockview Prison Land GiveAway
[Re: Bluetick]
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Bluetick
HuntingPA Political Pro Staff
The man
Registered: Fri Oct 31 2003
Posts: 10285
Loc: Franklin County
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Contact information for the members of the House State Government Committee:
Josephs, Babette, Chairman bjosephs@pahouse.net
Blackwell, Thomas W., Vice Chairman tblackwe@pahouse.net
Gibbons, Jaret, Secretary jgibbons@pahouse.net
Baker, Matthew E., Chairman mbaker@pahousegop.com
Mantz, Carl W., Secretary cmantz@pahousegop.com
Carroll, Mike mcarroll@pahouse.net
Cohen, Mark B. mcohen@pahouse.net
Curry, Lawrence H. lcurry@pahouse.net
Fabrizio, Florindo J. ffabrizio@pahouse.net
Freeman, Robert rfreeman@pahouse.net
Kortz, II,William C. bkortz@pahouse.net
Kula, Deberah dkula@pahouse.net
O'Brien, Michael H. dobrien@pahousegop.com
Oliver, Frank Louis
Parker, Cherelle L. cparker@pahouse.net
Ramaley, Sean M. sramaley@pahouse.net
Vitali, Greg gvitali@pahouse.net
Youngblood, Rosita C. ryoungbl@pahouse.net
Benninghoff, Kerry A. lbennington@pahouse.net
Clymer, Paul I. pclymer@pahousegop.com
Creighton, Tom C. tcreight@pahousegop.com
Gingrich, Mauree mgingric@pahousegop.com
Grell, Glen R. ggrell@pahousegop.com
Marshall, Jim jmarshall@pahousegop.com
McIlhattan, Fred fmcilhat@pahousegop.com
Quigley, Thomas J. tquigley@pahousegop.com
Rapp, Kathy L. klrapp@pahousegop.com
Vereb, Mike mvereb@pahousegop.com
Watson, Katharine M. kwatson@pahousegop.com
For simplicity, copy and paste this into the email space on your email program. All the members will be sent your email.
bjosephs@pahouse.net, tblackwe@pahouse.net, jgibbons@pahouse.net, mbaker@pahousegop.com, cmantz@pahousegop.com, mcarroll@pahouse.net, mcohen@pahouse.net, lcurry@pahouse.net, ffabrizio@pahouse.net, rfreeman@pahouse.net, bkortz@pahouse.net,dkula@pahouse.net, dobrien@pahousegop.com, cparker@pahouse.net, sramaley@pahouse.net, gvitali@pahouse.net, ryoungbl@pahouse.net, lbennington@pahouse.net, pclymer@pahousegop.com, tcreight@pahousegop.com, mgingric@pahousegop.com, ggrell@pahousegop.com, jmarshall@pahousegop.com, fmcilhat@pahousegop.com, tquigley@pahousegop.com, klrapp@pahousegop.com, mvereb@pahousegop.com, kwatson@pahousegop.com
Sample letter:
Representative,
Please vote against the amendment to SB 740, offered by Representative Hanna, to sell the Rockview Prison property to Penn State. Public support and the terms of the agreement signed by Penn State, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Game Commission make the sale to Penn State unthinkable. Especially when Penn State has not lived up to that agreement in many respects. Penn State has even sold land they owned next to other gamelands to private parties instead of the Game Commission.
Penn State has not been an honorable party to the agreement, it's parties and mostly to the hunters of this state. They do not deserve being rewarded for these actions.
The only action in regard to the Rockview Prison land acceptable to me is the sale at twice the Penn State offer, to the Game Commission.
Place your name, address and phone number here -
_________________________
Hunting - more than just buying a license. Get involved!
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#638014 - Sat May 17 2008 08:47 AM
Re: Spring Creek Canyon/Rockview Prison Land GiveAway
[Re: Bluetick]
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Buff
old hand
Registered: Thu Mar 27 2003
Posts: 716
Loc: Walburn Run, Jefferson County
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Thanks Mel and BT for the heads up. I sent a letter and I'm spreading the word to all my friends and hunting buddies. 
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#638111 - Sat May 17 2008 12:24 PM
Re: Spring Creek Canyon/Rockview Prison Land GiveAway
[Re: Bluetick]
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GalThatFishes
I am the woman behind
The man
Registered: Thu Sep 06 2007
Posts: 9787
Loc: 2A, 2B
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Dear Representatives,
Several years ago, Penn State entered into a lease agreement with the Pennsylvania Game Commission in an area known as Compartment Five on State Game Lands 176. Those lands were contaminated by the spray application of effluent discharge (human sewage) and were subsequently condemned for use as a Game Lands by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Game Lands are purchased with a share of federal monies collected through Pittman Robertson funds, an excise tax placed on sporting arms and ammunition sales, and with hunting license dollars. As such, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has the final say on property usage and transfer, and by federal law, those lands were required to be replaced.
Subsequently, an agreement was entered between Penn State, the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the US Fish and Wildlife Service as a result of the contamination caused by Penn State. Restitution earmarked specifically for replacement land in the amount of $8 million dollars was agreed on, and Penn State was to assist in the search for that land.
Typically, and because of state legislation, the Game Commission is limited in its land purchase agreements to pay a mere $400. per acre for land. This often results in the Commission buying land with timber and mineral reserves being held by the seller. In this particular case, however; the Game Commission [because of the settlement monies] can offer a significantly larger amount. The PGC offered to pay $1,800 per acre for a total of about 2 million dollars as the land was identified by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Game Commission as an "exceptional value" property. Simply, the property contains pristine streams and globally rare species of wildlife present.
Given the fact that globally rare species are present, and the binding agreement between Penn State, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service are yet unfulfilled, it stands to reason that the Pennsylvania Game Commission, who is charged with the protection of all avian and mammal species in the state, be given control of this property.
As I stated, the Game Commission has offered two million dollars for this property. Conversely, Penn State offered only one million. Why the transfer to Penn State is even being considered is beyond me. Only the Game Commission has the expertise required to manage these globally rare species and can afford them the protection under law that will keep them with us for generations to come.
The only logical thing that should be done is the lands should transfer at the two million dollar initial offering price, to the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
Respectfully,
_________________________
Appreciate what you have; as you never know what tomorrow will bring.
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#638119 - Sat May 17 2008 12:53 PM
Re: Spring Creek Canyon/Rockview Prison Land GiveAway
[Re: GalThatFishes]
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Bluetick
HuntingPA Political Pro Staff
The man
Registered: Fri Oct 31 2003
Posts: 10285
Loc: Franklin County
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#638183 - Sat May 17 2008 03:48 PM
Re: Spring Creek Canyon/Rockview Prison Land GiveAway
[Re: Bluetick]
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Mark Hogan
VIP
Registered: Thu Feb 01 2001
Posts: 12524
Loc: Industry, Pa. USA
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Does Hanna have any explanation or is it just obviously political favors that harm sportsmen?
_________________________
There is too much anger and hate here. It's a drain on your lives. Get rid of it. For you.
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