Ice Fishing Seminar, Anglers’ Legacy on Tap for Winter Quarterly Meeting

Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) has a host of public events scheduled during its winter quarterly meeting, set for Jan. 24-25 at the Harrisburg headquarters. In addition to the regular business meeting, the PFBC will host a lunch-time presentation on fishing trends in the U.S. and a special evening seminar on ice fishing, featuring three pro anglers from the North East Ice Tour. The evening session will also include several award presentations and a ceremonial signing of the Anglers’ Legacy pledge by commissioners.

The lunch presentation on Jan. 24 will feature Mark Duda, executive director of Responsive Management, a public opinion and attitude survey research firm specializing in natural resource and outdoor recreation issues. He will present findings from the company’s latest research projects. The public is invited to the presentation and is encouraged to bring a brown-bag lunch.

The Jan. 24 evening session begins at 7 p.m. and allows members of the public who cannot attend during normal business hours the opportunity to hear about current issues and to interact with commissioners, the executive director and agency staff. The session will begin with the presentation of the Stanley Long Outstanding Volunteer Service Award, which honors the Commission’s most exemplary and inspiring volunteer, and an award from the American Fisheries Society recognizing a Commission research project. By signing the Anglers’ Legacy pledge, commissioners agree to share their passion for fishing and the outdoors with at least one person each year.

“Ice Fishing: The Basics and Beyond” will feature pro anglers Bob Griffith, Mike Kuna and Byron Eckardt. They will discuss ice safety, apparel, equipment, and tips and tricks, and they will share their experiences as professional anglers. Griffith and Kuna topped the points race to be named Team of the Year in 2010 in the North East Ice Tour, a series of professional level tournaments held throughout the Northeast U.S. and operated by Eckardt.

Both the lunch and evening presentations are free and no registration is required. There is plenty of parking at the PFBC headquarters, located at 1601 Elmerton Avenue in Harrisburg.
For the quarterly meeting, committees will meet beginning at 10:15 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 24, and at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 25. Formal consideration of the agenda by the full Commission will begin at approximately 2:35 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 25. All committee meetings and the formal meeting are open to the public.

Commissioners will address a variety of issues during Tuesday’s formal meeting, including:

• A property exchange in Berks County and property acquisitions in Dauphin and Erie counties;
• Boating regulation changes related to the use of docking lights, and to a no-wake zone on the Clarion River;
• A proposed grant to the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority to construct a fishing pier;
• A proposed rulemaking to impose a closed season on river herring on the Delaware River;
• A staff proposal to close Lehigh County’s Leaser Lake to all fishing until June 18, 2016, in order to establish a high quality fishery. The lake was completely drained in fall 2008 in order to make repairs to the dam.
• The addition of eight stream sections to the list of self-sustaining Class A wild trout populations; and
• Proposed habitat grants for a fishway on Bald Eagle Creek near Lock Haven, Clinton County; a restoration project on Darby Creek, a Delaware River tributary; and an enhancement project on Cacoosing Creek in Berks County.

A complete copy of the meeting schedule and the full agenda for the meeting can be found on the Commission’s web site at www.fishandboat.com/minutes.htm.

The mission of the Fish and Boat Commission is to protect, conserve, and enhance the Commonwealth’s aquatic resources and provide fishing and boating opportunities. For more information about fishing and boating in Pennsylvania, please visit our website at www.fishandboat.com.