Hunters rail at changes to panel
10/10/07 07:47
By Lucas K. Murray
lmurray@sjnewsco.com
HARRISON TWP. A room full of camouflage hunting hats and boating club T-shirts filled every room at Mullica Hill's Grange Hall Tuesday night as sportsmen from across the state rallied in protest of two bills that would change the makeup of New Jersey's Fish and Game Council.
"It is a bald-face assault on the people in this state who fish, hunt and trap," Anthony Mauro of the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance said. "It's an attempt to take that right away."
The bills, A-3275 and S-2041, call for members of the council to be chosen based on their "knowledge of and interest in the conservation of fish and wildlife" without consideration of their address.
Current law states that the Fish and Game Council is to be composed of one farmer and two sportsmen representatives from three clusters of counties in north, central and southern New Jersey; a member of the public versed in land use management and soil conservation; and the chairperson of the Endangered and Nongame Species Advisory Committee.
The new bills would reduce the size of the council from 11 members to seven and its membership would be decided by the governor.
"Changing the people on that council obviously will lead to no more hunting and fishing in New Jersey, and I believe that's their goal," State Sen. Nicholas Asselta, D-1, of Vineland said.
Asselta addressed the group of more than 400, saying Gov. Jon Corzine, his administration and legislators in the northern half of the state have begun to erode South Jersey's lifestyle.
"We won't stand for North Jersey again attacking our way of life," Asselta said.
State Sen. Stephen M. Sweeney, D-3, of West Deptford said he didn't believe the debate is one of north versus south. He called the bills "misguided."
"It's a sportsman's organization, it's a wildlife bill," Sweeney said "Sportsmen should be on it because they care more about it than anyone."
In an e-mail to the Times, Assemblyman Michael Panter, D-12 of Shrewsbury, Monmouth County, who sponsored A-3275, said opponents of the bill "grossly mischaracterized" the legislation.
"The intention of this legislation was not to ban hunting or fishing in any way, but instead seeks to provide council membership which is not controlled by any specific group," Panter said.
Still, organizers of the rally say the change effectively takes away the voice of sportsmen statewide in Trenton.
"It's an attempt to stomp it out," Mauro said. "This bill is malicious and vindictive and no other way to interpret that."
New wording of the code would delete the phrase "developing fish and game for public recreation and food supply" and replace it with "providing a properly managed and balanced system."
"You can no longer do those activities for recreational purposes or for food supply," Mauro said of his interpretation of the bill. "It's that succinct. He (Panter) knows exactly what he's doing."
Representatives from Gov. Corzine's office declined comment because the bills are still in the Legislature.
Panter said he has not been involved in efforts to ban fishing or hunting and that he'd be willing to have seats on the Fish and Game Council filled with members chosen by sportsmen's groups.
Still, Sweeney, vice chairman of the Senate Environment Committee, doesn't see much of a future for Panter's bill or its Senate counterpart.
"I promise you tonight, if that bill comes up, we're going to kill it in the Senate," Sweeney said to a chorus of cheers from the crowd.