Gary alt who is

In , Gary became the supervising biologist for the newly formed deer management section of the Commission's Bureau of Wildlife Management. As with bears, Gary initiated new field-based research and traveled across Pennsylvania to meet with hunters, non-hunters, and news media.

He explained the proposed changes in deer seasons designed to bring the deer herd in balance with forest habitats, minimize deer impacts on communities, and improve the health of the herd. Wildlife management units, instead of counties, were introduced, and new antler restrictions and concurrent antlered and antlerless seasons were put in place.

Since retiring, Gary has continued contributing to conservation management as a scientist and freelance nature photographer and lecturer. He was one of three deer biologists recruited by Governor Scott Walker to review, evaluate, and offer recommendations on Wisconsin DNR's white-tailed deer management program.

His expertise was sought by Safari Club International in a review associated with the opposition to New Jersey's bear hunting seasons; New Jersey now has a bear season. He was engaged in reviewing black bear research reports and regulatory documents, and providing recommendations for potential research and mitigation actions for siting a commercial wind farm in Vermont.

He also assisted the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe in New York in evaluating deer management issues on the reservation, and trained a tribal wildlife technician to conduct a variety of deer surveys to evaluate harvest, reproduction, winter mortality, browse impacts, and abundance of white-tailed deer. Over the past decade, Gary has been developing and helping to lead summer programs with the Pennsylvania Wildlife Leadership Academy whose mission is to engage and empower high school age youth to become Conservation Ambassadors to ensure a sustained wildlife, fisheries, and natural resource legacy for future generations.

Gary has helped to develop week-long programs on white-tailed deer, black bear, smallmouth bass, and wild turkey and explained, "For me, it has been an amazing inspiration and honor to be involved in a program that literally changes the lives of impressionable young students, providing them with new tools and confidence to succeed in life, and providing society with hope, support, and leadership skills for the conservation challenges that will arise long after we are gone.

Gary has testified as an expert witness on numerous occasions in state and federal court cases and in legislative hearings dealing with wildlife issues. He has also designed and implemented monitoring programs for a variety of wildlife species and written reports and published results in numerous professional journals. Gary has entertained and educated the public via outreach and as an eco-tour guide for more than 30 years leading more than 70 photo safaris in the western United States, Alaska, Africa, and the Canadian and Norwegian arctic.

Gary's professional accomplishments have been acknowledged by many organizations. About the Department. Search forums. Log in. Install the app. Contact us. Close Menu. Forums Hunting Whitetail Deer Hunting. JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.

You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser. Gary Alt, Controversial deer manager quits Pa. Thread starter spectr17 Start date Jun 21, Joined Mar 11, Messages 69, Reaction score Controversial deer manager quits Pa.

Gary Alt, a world-famous bear expert who has radically reshaped deer management and traditional hunting in Pennsylvania, has resigned from the Pennsylvania Game Commission amid controversy over his policies. Mohr and others, including an Alt family member, said they did not think Alt had lined up another job.

Alt was on a lecture tour in New York state and could not be reached for comment. Alt's resignation from the full-time job comes only months after the commission put into effect controversial new antler restrictions for hunters and measures to vastly reduce deer numbers. His departure was all but cheered by the Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania.

The sportsmen's group, with 45, members, has strongly fought Alt's efforts to sweep away traditional hunting seasons and trim the deer population. Charles Bolgiano, an East Hempfield Township resident and a director of USP, said today that Alt's deer management lacked the support of the state's hunters.

Alt stated publicly many times that the new policies would work only if they found widespread hunter support, Bolgiano said.

The USP director said antler restrictions, allowing hunters to shoot only larger-racked deer, will result in the loss of tens of thousands of hunters. Bolgiano said Alt's departure in the midst of a many-pronged deer-management policy "is like lighting a fuse to a bomb and walking away.

An all-time record , deer were killed during the various hunting seasons this past year. The chief goals of the plan are to bring the state's overpopulation of deer into balance with available habitat, thereby improving the health of the herd and protecting plants and regenerating forests. If sportsmen could be patient about no longer being able to shoot any buck, they would be rewarded with generations of large-racked deer, Alt promised in as he barnstormed across the state in public meetings.

Alt, a Poconos resident, gained international fame in quarterbacking Pennsylvania's black bear comeback, beginning in the s. He pioneered a number of research techniques and often crawled into bear dens to check on his subjects. A lively speaker, he was in demand on the lecture circuit. Yet he departs amid controversy. The most recent flap involved funding for several research studies into the habits of deer.