| Opinion & Editorials |
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Has PSU Alienated 2.5M Citizens?
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11/7/2003 1:30:00 PM
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On July 14, 2003 Mr. Robert McKinstry, Goddard Chair of Forestry at Penn State University, released his voluminous epistle on the condition of our environmental. Actually, this manuscript is a list of recommendations to Governor Rendell and his Administration as to the policies we should adopt to protect our natural resources. The document is about 215 pages long and I suspect a sure cure for insomnia for most.
Although, I must be honest, I never read the entire document. It wasn't necessary. By July 20, readers of this column were sending me excerpts. I was amused by Mr. McKinstry's political voyage into recommending consolidation of our Game and Fish Commissions under DCNR. A press release followed announcing that Mr. McKinstry would be addressing our Joint Legislative Conservation Committee in late October. I was too busy in July to save him from himself. I decided that I would let him speak and write the column later. On October 27th Mr. McKinstry did address our legislators and contracted that common condition called "foot in mouth" syndrome.
One only need review the table of contents to get the gist of Mr. McKinstry's recommendations. This document reads like a wish list for the environmental left. Biodiversity, Smart Growth, Sustainable Development, global warming, greenhouse gases and environmental taxes are all well represented. Acid rain gets hardly a mention inside the document. The collapse of the northern red oak across almost all of its historic range, I don't believe is mentioned. It is intriguing to me as to why the Goddard Chair of "Forestry" would submit such an all-inclusive dissertation about our environment with his controversial recommendations and omit some of our most critical issues, namely acid deposition and forest regeneration. It appears Mr. McKinstry is more interested in catapulting himself into the environmental political arena than confining his comments to his area of responsibility.
Robert McKinstry is not a scientist. He is an environmental attorney formerly employed by Ballard, Spahr, Andrews and Ingersoll of Philadelphia. A former practicing attorney with that firm was Edward Rendell. Mr. McKinstry is often referred to as "connected." I guess we now know how.
During Mr. McKinstry's power point presentation to our legislators he was extremely critical of our Game Commission and our Commissioners. He assured our legislators that his feelings were legitimate having had input from agency personnel. He went on to falsely state that since all state lands had the same mission, they should be consolidated into one agency. He spoke of forgotten species such as butterflies. His theme was Biodiversity for all of our state.
At the onset of Mr. McKinstry's "New Testament" there is a brief disclaimer that his recommendations are not necessarily the position of Penn State University. I choke when I hear those words. If the "gospel" according to Bob McKinstry were purely his personal view, why would we take the time to listen? Of course, it is his position as Goddard Chair of "Penn State" that elevates his words to prominence.
Mr. McKinstry has put the institution of Penn State in a difficult position. For decades Penn State has enjoyed a respectful, professional, working relationship with our Game and Fish Commissions. Now, in a fleeting moment and as a politically gratuitous gesture to DCNR, Mr. McKinstry has jeopardized those long held relationships. Unfortunately, the damage doesn't end there. Our sporting class of 2 million citizens overwhelmingly rejects merger of our agencies and do not believe for one moment that State Game Lands should be merged with State Forests Lands. (They are prepared to file a suit if it does occur.) Our landowners in the know also reject "Biodiversity" as a resource management principal for PA. When they all come up to speed, it will be potentially another half million offended by Mr. McKinstry's recommendations.
I am sorry, but I would have to categorized Mr. McKinstry's foray deep into the politics of agency merger as ludicrous. Penn State's Dr. Gary San Julian will be happy to know someone has finally topped his absurd remark that our doe to buck ratio is 10 to 1. The volatility of merger talk is so prevalent that Mr. McKinstry's cavalier remarks have demonstrated his lack of understanding of SGL ownership and lack of experience in the political arena.
My suggestion is Penn State management considers damage control on this one. If 2.5 million PA citizens get mad, they might call their legislators and request a reduction in Penn State's financing.
On the last page of Mr. McKinstry's novel, he lists the various people and their associations that he utilized to gather input. The environmental community is well represented. I can only find one person listed from the PA Game Commission that provided input. Interestingly, that person was Dr. Gary Alt.
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