HARRISBURG – Thanks to a federal Pittman-Robertson grant, the Pennsylvania Game Commission is once again able to provide school and other Pennsylvania public libraries with complimentary sub scri ptions to Pennsylvania Game News, the agency’s official monthly publication for 80 years.
The agency was forced to terminate nearly all complimentary Game News sub scri ptions in 2005, as part of a major cost-cutting effort to bring agency expenditures in line with revenue.
“We’re delighted to be able to start getting Game News back in all our schools and community libraries,” said Carl G. Roe, Game Commission executive director. “Cutting the free sub scri ptions was a difficult decision, yet getting Game News back into our schools is especially important now, as we’re working to get more youngsters interested in hunting and trapping. Game News also is just one more tool to make more Pennsylvanians aware of the Game Commission and what we do for our state’s wildlife and all the people who enjoy it.
“At this point, I’d also like to thank the many sportsmen’s clubs, businesses and individuals who purchased Game News sub scri ptions for their area schools beginning in 2005. Receiving such support is certainly most gratifying.”
Landowners enrolled in the agency’s public access programs also were among those who stopped receiving free Game News in 2005. However, those with Internet access may still see the magazine by going to www.penngamenews.com, just like all Game News subscribers can do.
For those who are not subscribers, at least one year of archived editions of Game News are available to everyone with Internet access.
For those interested in subscribing to Game News, call 1-888-888-1019 (toll-free) or visit the Game Commission’s website (www.pgc.state.pa.us), click on “The Outdoor Shop,” choose “PA Game Commission Outdoor Shop,” select “Sub scri ptions” and complete the application.
In 1937, at the urging of sportsmen, state wildlife agencies, and the firearms and ammunition industries, the U.S. Congress extended the life of an existing 10 percent tax on ammunition and firearms used for sport hunting, and earmarked the proceeds to be distributed to the states for wildlife restoration. The result was called the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration act, better known as the Pittman-Robertson (PR) Act after its principal sponsors, U.S. Senator Key Pittman of Nevada, and U.S. Representative A. Willis Robertson of Virginia.
