Len Lichvar of Boswell, Somerset County, represented parts of south central Pennsylvania on the board of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission for 12 years. His term expired December 2017, but he stayed on until the October 2018 confirmation of his replacement, Don Anderson of Meyersdale, Somerset County.
Last month, Mr. Lichvar penned a farewell letter including a list of the agency’s accomplishments during his tenure and urging Pennsylvania anglers to continue pushing for the big one that got away — funding.
“I plan to be active when the license increase initiative gets going again because that is the one essential piece of business that was unfinished on my watch and that still bothers me,” wrote Mr. Lichvar. “Despite the many challenges we have and still do face, I can tell you as a lifelong angler and boater and volunteer and professional in the conservation field for over 30 years, our outdoor opportunities in this state are far greater today than ever before.”
Mr. Lichvar is now co-managing a committee and work group for Pennsylvania Trout Unlimited, and researching a new book on catching wild trout.
Wanted: Game wardens
The board of the Pennsylvania Game Commission hopes to finally fill some long-vacant positions. This month, the state Civil Service Commission is expected to begin accepting applications from prospective wildlife conservation officer cadets at employment.pa.gov. The application period will remain open through Feb. 23, or until 1,000 applications are received. Training starts in March 2020 with graduation in 2021. About 35 candidates are expected to be hired.
For information about the position and how to apply, visit pgc.pa.gov and click on Information and Resources, then Careers and Volunteers.
Fly tying
Regional fly tyers Rob Reeder and Scott Loughner will teach an eight-session “Introduction to Fly Tying” course at Community College of Allegheny County, Boyce Campus. Instruction will include basic tying techniques and the completion of one or two patterns per session. Classes are 6-8:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning Jan. 29. Materials and hooks provided; tools available for the first session only. $129, register online only at ccac.edu/community-education.
Mr. Loughner is a busy guy. Starting at 8 a.m. Jan 19, he’ll teach the tying of popular patterns for smallmouth bass at International Angler in Robinson. The cost is $35. At 11 a.m. in the same venue at no cost, he’ll demonstrate the tying of his favorite smallmouth patterns. (412-788-8088).
Corrections
A Dec. 28 column on federal payments for state fishing licenses and permits contained incorrect information. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reapportions $5 to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission for each fishing license sold, including Voluntary Youth licenses. The state agency receives no federal funding for the sale of permits including trout stamps, Lake Erie permits and the new voluntary species-specific fishing permits.
The print edition of a Jan. 4 late-season deer story incorrectly described the post-Christmas archery deer season, which closes Saturday. The doe-only Extended Firearms Deer Season, permitting rifled slug hunting in six urban counties including Allegheny, runs concurrently Dec. 26-Jan. 26 with the antlered and antlerless Flintlock Deer Season.
First Published: January 11, 2019, 1:00 p.m.
