Episode 5: “125 Years of Wildlife Conservation in Pennsylvania”

The Pennsylvania Game Commission has been a national leader in wildlife management for 125 years! On June 25, 2020, the agency celebrates its 125th anniversary. In this episode, Pennsylvania Game News Editor and Game Commission Historian Joe Kosack leads listeners on a walk through the agency’s impressive natural history here in Penn’s Woods. In the late 1800’s, wildlife was dwindling as a result of deforestation, pollution, and unregulated hunting and trapping took place in Pennsylvania. From this dark period emerged the Game Commission, created by the state Legislature to protect and conserve wildlife, which was then commonly referred to as “game.” The wildlife diversity we enjoy today is largely due to the agency’s progressive, scientifically-based wildlife management programs and support from countless Pennsylvanians, hunters, wildlife enthusiasts and outdoors organizations. Joe is the author of “100 Years of Wildlife Conservation,” a book published in 1995, to commemorate the agency’s 100th anniversary and is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of wildlife and conservation in the Commonwealth. The book is available at http://www.pgc.pa.gov.