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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 98-1414

NOTICES

Invitation for Public Comments on the Draft Strategic Plan

[28 Pa.B. 4300]

   The Fish and Boat Commission (Commission) is seeking public input on its draft strategic plan.

   The Commission was established in 1866 in response to declining shad runs. Over the years the Commission's structure, mandates and responsibilities have evolved and expanded. Throughout this evolution, the agency's independent status and customer based funding have ensured that the agency is lean, effective and responsive.

   Today, the Commission is the Commonwealth agency with the mandate to ensure the protection, propagation, and distribution of game fish, fish bait, bait fish, amphibians, reptiles and aquatic organisms. Since 1931, the Commission has also been charged with managing recreational boating in this Commonwealth. Section 321 of the Fish and Boat Code, 30 Pa.C.S. § 321, provides the specific administrative and enforcement powers and duties of the Commission. They are:

   (1)  The encouragement, promotion and development of the fishery interests.

   (2)  The protection, propagation and distribution of fish.

   (3)  The management of boating and the operation of boats.

   (4)  The encouragement, promotion and development of recreational boating.

   As stewards of Pennsylvania's aquatic resources and the recreational opportunities they afford, the Commission's mission is ''to provide fishing and boating opportunities through the protection and management of aquatic resources.'' The Commission outlined four broad agency-wide goals to supplement the broad mission statement. These goals provided direction on how the Commission meets the agency's mandates in our management programs. These goals were to protect, conserve and enhance aquatic resources; to advocate the wise, safe use of Pennsylvania's aquatic resources; to provide for protection of aquatic resource users, and to address the expectations of anglers and boaters.

   In addition to the mission and goals, the Commission staff developed a vision statement to express how the agency will strive to fulfill its mission:

The Fish and Boat Commission will produce the highest quality fishing and boating opportunities responsive to the desires of the public and the needs of the resource. To accomplish this, the Commission will nurture a motivated, skilled, dedicated and diverse workforce, well-informed about their jobs and agency programs, focused on the agency's mission and goals, and proud of what they do and how well they do it. We will be the best in the nation at what we do.

   To fulfill the Commission's statutory mandates and accomplish its mission, Commission staff also developed a draft strategic plan that describes a variety of programs, initiatives and strategies. Although many of the strategies identified in this plan are program specific, several ''themes'' are apparent. These themes include resource stewardship, partnerships and funding.

   The need for resource protection and management, ''stewardship,'' is increasing as more demands are placed on a finite resource base. The stewardship theme is a Commission mandate and an agency-wide goal for which there is a strong commitment. Paralleling this growing need for stewardship, anglers and boaters are seeking and enjoying a growing diversity of aquatic recreation experiences in this Commonwealth. The Commission strives to tailor management programs to optimize fishing and boating opportunities; however, user demands must always be balanced with good resource stewardship.

   The Commission cannot achieve its mission and goals alone. The agency relies heavily on ''partnerships.'' Partnerships enable the Commission to stretch limited resources and be good stewards of the resource and anglers' and boaters' dollars. The theme of partnerships is one that the Commission will continue to recognize as a keystone of future programs and initiatives. The Commission will be challenged to work with other entities to maximize the application and effectiveness of existing funding and augment current funding sources for traditional programs. Positive impacts on the resource and customer satisfaction will be key measures of effectiveness and success under the theme of fostering partnerships.

   The traditional base of program support, fishing license sales, is declining. The Commission has an annual budget of approximately $37 million dollars. The Commission also has growing capital improvement and resource protection needs. There is currently a $60 million backlog of projects. The Commission needs to partner with others, including the legislature, to address these capital needs. Addressing infrastructure needs will require increasing attention to meet changing regulatory, environmental, safety and other requirements.

   Angling recreation generates more for the state's economy, $1.35 billion annually, than the Commission collects in fishing license sales--$20+ million. In fact, the $49 million in state sales and income taxes generated annually from fishing related business easily eclipses the license fees collected by the Commission. Fishing and boating are good not just for the Commission but they are a significant component of the Commonwealth's outdoor travel and tourism economy. It is in the Commonwealth's interest to see that angling and boating, and the resource upon which these activities depend, receive the attention that they deserve.

   The Commission voted to seek public comment on the draft strategic plan at its July, 1998 meeting. The Commission is making available its draft plan for public review and comment. This plan is available electron- ically through the Commission's Web site at www.fish.state.pa.us or may be obtained by written request to Resource Planning Coordinator--Strategic Plan, Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission, P. O. Box 67000, Harrisburg, PA 17106-7000; e-mail: cseifert@ fish.state.pa.us.

   Interested persons are invited to submit written comments, objections or suggestions about the draft strategic plan to the Executive Director, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, P. O. Box 67000, Harrisburg, PA 17106-7000, within 30 days after publication of this notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. Comments submitted by facsimile will not be accepted. Comments also may be submitted electronically at ''tford@fish.state.pa.us.'' A return name and address must be included in each transmission. If an acknowledgment of electronic comments is not received by the sender within 2 working days, the comments should be retransmitted to ensure receipt.

PETER A. COLANGELO,   
Executive Director

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 98-1414. Filed for public inspection August 28, 1998, 9:00 a.m.]


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