The Pennsylvania Game Commission recently honored wildlife biologist Dr. Gary Alt. Alt, 72 years young, formerly from Moscow, PA and now living in California, received the John C. Oliver Lifetime Achievement Award.

The honor is given periodically to individuals who throughout their career have made substantial improvements to wildlife and natural resources in Pennsylvania. 

Board President Kristen Schnepp-Giger said, “Dr. Gary Alt certainly meets the criteria. From his groundbreaking research on black bears to spearheading the modernization of our deer program, Dr. Alt’s emphasis on science-based management left a lasting impact on wildlife conservation efforts in Pennsylvania.” 

The award came as a surprise to Alt. Although he spent the majority of his 27 years with the commission as its bear biologist, the tumult that often accompanied his pioneering deer management work made the accolade about as unexpected. It nonetheless celebrates a career that included what Alt calls the most exciting time of his life.

Alt stated, “Deer management was tough, even horrible in many respects, but even with all the conflicts, it was a dream job. Here we are 20 years later, and I would do it all again in a minute.”

He developed a reputation by lecturing around the state about spiraling overharvest and the need for an effective bear management plan. As the head of the black bear program, Alt initiated policy changes and regulations that included the establishment of a bear license, seasons and bag limits, management units, check stations and other measures that gradually helped to rebuild a population of just 2,500 bears to what it is today, about 15,000. 

He helped to develop an orphan cub adoption program, translocation techniques for expanding bears into southwestern counties and led research into denning behavior. Alt said, “Bear management was the opportunity of a lifetime, and I never felt like it was a job.”

Following his success with bears, Alt was tapped by then Governor Tom Ridge to tackle the management of white-tailed deer. 

Alt assembled his own team of people who were knowledgeable about the white-tailed deer. They developed a plan that ultimately included managing deer by wildlife units instead of counties, implementing antler restrictions of three points on one side aimed at growing bigger bucks, and running concurrent antlered and ant’erless seasons.  

Although he knew antler restrictions would be a tough sell, he scheduled public meetings all over the state to present evidence for his plan and try to win the trust of angry and skeptical sportsmen. When speaking to Sportsmen’s groups, Gary would hold up two sets of antlers, one a four-pointer and the other a huge eight-pointer, and he would say, which antlers would you prefer. 

At one point, federal law enforcement showed up to give him pointers on self-defense, even suggesting that he wear a bullet-proof vest.  

Eventually, even hunters who had threatened to shoot first and count points later, went along with the program and became convinced of its merits when their trail cameras began to capture images of bigger bucks. 

Although Gary sometimes wonders what he might have accomplished had he stayed on with the PA Commission, he said he has no regrets. “I did what I thought was right, and I was lucky to have had the chance to do what I did. If I could go back, I wouldn’t change a thing.”