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Bogus Tioga DCNR signs: ‘Spare does'
• Wellsboro, Pa. - A clever hoax involving the posting of bogus signs just before deer season urging hunters not to kill does in state forest in Tioga County was foiled when rangers on patrol discovered them and removed most.
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Tuesday,
January 8, 2008
Wellsboro, Pa. - A clever hoax involving the posting of bogus signs just before deer season urging hunters not to kill does in state forest in Tioga County was foiled when rangers on patrol discovered them and removed most.
The signs were convincing, appearing to be authentic with the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry logo in the background.
“Someone apparently took one of our “Road Open For Deer Hunting” signs, scanned it, erased the type and put in the wording about not hunting does,” explained Terry Brady, DCNR deputy press secretary.
“We take this seriously,” he said. “You can't just steal a state government sign and then put up fake signs with the state logo. This was a crime and an investigation into who did it is continuing.”
Brady wasn't sure how many fake signs were posted, but said rangers took down quite a few in the Painter-Letonia and Thompson Hollow Roads areas of the Tioga State Forest District in Tioga and Bradford counties.
They were discovered the Monday after Thanksgiving.
Few hunters were fooled, Brady noted.
The district forest office in Wellsboro fielded a handful of inquiries and sent letters to folks who called, explaining the signs were not genuine and the “no-doe-hunting” message runs counter to DCNR's forest-management goals for that area of the state. Brady said he handled fewer than a half-dozen calls about the signs in the department's Harrisburg headquarters.
“This is, of course, in Wildlife Management Unit 2G where deer management is so controversial,” he said. “We are trying to find out who posted those bogus signs because the hoax discredits efforts to use hunters as a valuable tool in forest regeneration.”
Bureau of Forestry rangers are asking anyone who saw someone putting signs up just before deer season in Tioga County to contact the Tioga State Forest District office at (570) 724-2868.
“We are concerned about this because there are so many ways signage can be abused,” Brady said. “If it starts with ‘no-doe-hunting,' will it end with ‘ATV Use Allowed,' ‘Firewood Cutting Permitted Here,' or ‘Road Open' or ‘Safe Ice?' This kind of thing could lead to danger and damage.”
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