On the Anniversary of Iwo Jima

[Outdoor Talk Network by Jim Slinsky]
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On the Anniversary of Iwo Jima ©

By Jim Slinsky
02/23/08

Art Gavlock of Clinton County is a decorated WWII hero having landed with his fellow Marines in 1945 on Iwo Jima Island in the South Pacific. At that time Art Gavlock was locked in a battle for his life. Some 63 years later, Art Gavlock is now locked in a battle for his rights.

The story begins back in summer of 2007 when Mr. Gavlock shot an elk on his property for attacking his fruit trees. This was a situation where a particular elk kept coming back and doing damage. Mr. Gavlock drove this elk off his property multiple times. Eventually, he destroyed the elk. You may have heard the animal was eating his apples. Actually, the animal was breaking branches off his trees and in the process of debarking a tree. This is quite common with elk.

Mr. Gavlock called the PGC and they came out and picked up the elk. Weeks later he received a summons for shooting an elk out of season, a poaching violation. Some newspapers flat out called Mr. Gavlock a poacher and a criminal.

He appeared before Clinton County Magistrate Frank Mills in October of 2007 and was found guilty of illegally killing an elk. Magistrates do not decide Constitutional arguments. Title 34, the Game Code says it is not elk season, so you are guilty. Mr. Gavlock decided to appeal his case to the Clinton County Court of Common Pleas. In his February ruling, Judge J. Michael Williamson of the higher court once again found Art Gavlock guilty of illegally killing an elk. Mr. Gavlock has decided to appeal this case again to PA’s Appellate Court. Of course, you should be reading between the lines that asserting your rights to protect your property from elk damage can be a very expensive endeavor.

Our Constitution states our citizens have the right to “acquire, possess and protect property”. There was a precedent setting ruling in Clinton County back in 1941. It is referred to as the Riggles case handed down by Judge Abe Lapez. It established that citizens have the Constitutional right to destroy wildlife damaging their property. This ruling has guided our courts for sixty years and served our citizens well. Apparently, Judge Williamson did not feel this long-standing ruling was relevant.

There have been other elk damage cases in recent years that further render this Judge Williamson ruling as bizarre. You should remember the Robert Floyd case. He was found innocent at the Magistrate level. In the Grant Hagen case, he was found guilty at the Magistrate level, but found innocent by the Court of Common Pleas. In the Robert Garman elk killing incident, he was not even charged by the PGC with any violation.

Considering it takes hours for the PGC to respond to an elk damage call, property owners want to act before the damage is done. Elk are non-native species being utilized as an incentive for tourists to visit the PA Wilds area and spend money in the local communities. The surrounding property owners do not receive any of that tourist revenue.

When you step back and try to logically and constitutionally look at the elk program and Title 34, one quickly realizes they are in contradiction to one another. It is not acceptable for Title 34 or any other title for that matter to usurp your Constitutional rights. Title 34 needs to be modified. Our citizens who protect their property against elk damage are not poachers or criminals. They should not have their hunting licenses revoked, which is possible under Title 34.

We need to redefine poaching in this state and create a new procedure for elk damage cases that don’t force our citizens to spend thousands on legal fees. If the state wants total protection of these animals under any circumstances, we then need to pass SR Mike Hanna’s legislation and pay property owners for elk damages. Those damage checks should be written by DCNR because the elk tourism program is theirs’, not the PGC’s.

House Bill 2205 revising Title 34 is under consideration as I write this. It might be a good time to contact your representative and encourage him or her to correct this continuing madness.

There is an interesting twist of irony weaved into this whole Art Gavlock case. Judge Williamson ruling on February 14, 2008 finding Art Gavlock guilty is the exact day that Art Gavlock landed on Iwo Jima sixty-three years ago.

Jim Slinsky is the host and producer of the “Outdoor Talk Network”, a nationally syndicated, outdoor-talk radio program. For a station near you or to contact Jim, visit his website at www.outdoortalknetwork.com.

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