Hal Korber The Western Game Farm in Crawford County, the entrance to which is shown above, will be closed indefinitely effective Jan. 27. The decision is strictly a financial one. With no license-fee increase approved in the General Assembly's 2016 session, the Game Commission entered its budget season facing an $8 million budget shortfall. Closing the Western Game Farm and the Northcentral Game Farm in Lycoming County - eliminating 14 jobs - figures to save $1.5 million. Two pheasant farms closing Western, Northcentral game farms shut down in agency budget crunch. In a move to cut costs while awaiting approval of a license-fee increase, the Pennsylvania Game Commission is closing two pheasant farms - the Western Game Farm in Crawford County and the Northcentral Game Farm in Lycoming County. As a result of the closures, which were announced in mid-December, 14 employees received notice their positions would be eliminated effective Jan. 27. The decision to close the farms FEBRUARY 2017 strictly is a financial one. Revenue from the sale of hunting and furtaker licenses makes up the majority of the Game Commission's budget. Legislation that would have provided a much-needed increase in license-fee revenue was not approved in the General Assembly's 2016 session. The Game Commission now is preparing to enter a second decade without an increase in the cost of a hunting or furtaker license, and the agency entered its budget season facing an $8 million budget shortfall in 35