Bill Drum admits to being a confused man these days.

The North Huntingdon Township resident has a camp in Medix Run, in the heart of Pennsylvania’s elk range. Not surprisingly, he’s a member of and volunteer for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

When Gov. Ed Rendell signed into law House Bill 747 — which allows the Pennsylvania Game Commission to join with a conservation organization in auctioning one bull elk license each year — he assumed the Foundation would be that partner.

He was wrong.

Commission executive director Carl Roe gave the inaugural “Governor’s Tag” to the National Wild Turkey Federation, which will sell it at its national convention in Nashville, Tenn., this weekend.

That decision took Drum by surprise.

“I don’t have anything against the Turkey Federation. I’m a member of that organization, too,” Drum said. “On the other hand, I kind of felt just naturally that the elk license would go to the Elk Foundation because that’s our focus.”

Drum’s not alone. Elk Foundation CEO David Allen and others have contacted Roe, Rendell and lawmakers to express their dismay over not getting the first tag. Rank and file members have signed their names to a letter, too, that calls the decision to award the tag to the Turkey Federation “totally inappropriate.”

That letter points out the Foundation’s long history of working with the Game Commission to benefit Pennsylvania’s elk and elk range, then makes a specific request.

The letter reads, “It is our hope that you now recognize the consequences of this decision and will take appropriate action to rectify the situation by issuing RMEF a Governor’s Tag to be sold at our 2009 convention.”

That apparently is not going to happen.

“We have had discussions with legislators and with the Governor’s office and everyone seems OK” with things as they are, said Game Commission press secretary Jerry Feaser.

Feaser explained Roe’s decision — made three days after the bill became law — by saying that no one, including the Elk Foundation, asked for the chance to auction the tag. The Turkey Federation’s national convention, meanwhile, was the only one Roe was aware of because it’s the only one he’s invited to, Feaser added.

“And he didn’t want this convention cycle to go by without making arrangements to auction the tag off,” Feaser said.

Elk Foundation people aren’t buying that. Their group holds a national convention each year, as well — it’s set for early March — and the commission is aware of it, said Don Blakley, director of Eastern field operations for the group.

“If this was the state’s first-ever turkey tag, it wouldn’t go to the Elk Foundation, it would go to the Turkey Federation,” Blakeley said. “To me, the way this happened is just a little unusual.”

It could be, some sources say, the latest fallout from a feud simmering between the commission and the Elk Foundation.

Rawley Cogan, land programs manager for the Elk Foundation in Elk County, declined to comment on rumors of bad blood between the commission and Foundation.

Elk Foundation members, though, have reportedly been upset with the Game Commission in recent years for such things as once trying to expand the elk hunt zone to take in a larger portion of the elk viewing range, and for a perceived lack of support for the Elk County Visitors Center that’s to be built beginning later this year.

The commission, meanwhile, reportedly took offense when its contributions to elk were not mentioned by name at the groundbreaking for that center. The Elk Foundation hasn’t “so much as acknowledged our existence” on several elk tours either, Feaser added.

Plus, the Elk Foundation “has been focusing a lot of their efforts on tourism. That really isn’t our primary mission,” Feaser said.

The Elk Foundation could yet get a shot at auctioning off a Governor’s Tag in the future. One bull tag — good for use in any elk management zone open to hunting — will be auctioned off each year from now through 2013, and perhaps beyond, if lawmakers extend the program.

Discussions on which group to which to award the tag in 2010 have already begun, Feaser said. No decision has been made.

State Rep. Marc Gergely, the Allegheny County Democrat who crafted the Governor’s Tag legislation, has suggested that before it is, the commission solicit proposals from organizations seeking to auction the tag. They would have to detail how they would market it and what they would do with their share of the money.

“That alone could have eliminated this phone call we’re having right now,” Gergely said.

Drum hopes the Elk Foundation gets to auction a tag eventually. Still, that won’t ease the sting of being passed over this year.

“It’s just a shame. We’re definitely disappointed,” he said.

Tag auction a moneymaker

All agree that money raised by auctioning an elk tag will benefit wildlife.

By law, 80 percent of the proceeds will go to the Game Commission for elk management and habitat work. The other 20 percent will go to the auctioning organization.

In this case, though, the Turkey Federation has pledged to put much of its share of the money back into Pennsylvania.

The payoff could be big. Licenses auctioned in other states have sold for as much as $100,000, and state Rep. Marc Gergely said he hopes to exceed that, given the potential for taking a record-size bull in Pennsylvania.

In the meantime, anyone interested in raising money for elk can attend the annual banquet hosted by the Three Rivers Chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. It’s set for Feb. 28 at Four Points Sheraton North in Mars. Doors open at 3:30 p.m. There will be auctions, raffles, drawings, and more.

Individual tickets, which include a membership in the Foundation, are $85; sponsor packages are also available. For tickets or information, call Ronald Martz at 724-668-7722.

---

Copyright ©2026— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---