The controversy surrounding Robert Kightlinger’s Circle K
Whitetail Trophy Deer Hunting Club may finally come to an end later
this week.

On Monday, Kightlinger took The Era to have a look around his
deer farm and adjoining hunting club. He also submitted a statement
in response to the numerous articles published on the matter since
it became a hot topic in 2002.

Currently, two township residents – Dave Moonan and Terry
Reiley, both neighbors of Kightlinger -ðare appealing a January
2003 ruling by the Bradford Township Zoning Hearing Board that
granted Kightlinger permission to operate the club.

Again and again, Moonan and Reiley have cited safety as their
main concern in opposing the hunting club. In addition, the pair
has expressed concern that the township could not or would not
“police” activity at the club to make sure it complies with state
hunting laws, township ordinances and concessions made by
Kightlinger when he proposed the club in 2002.

The issue first came to the attention of the public that year
when Kightlinger’s neighbors noticed he had erected a 10-foot fence
around 25 acres of his property off Fuller Road. A township
ordinance dictated at that time fences could not be more than six
feet without a variance from the zoning hearing board. It was
discovered shortly afterward, however, that other entities – the
Bradford City Water Authority, Collins Pine Co. of Kane and the
Glendorn Estate on West Corydon Street -ðalso built fences in the
area in violation of the ordinance. Representatives of those
agencies attended a Bradford Township Supervisors work session on
the matter in October of 2002, saying they were unaware of the
ordinance and were concerned about being in violation.

Kightlinger went on to seek a variance from the zoning hearing
board, but his variance was denied.

In the course of the next year, however, Kightlinger’s plan for
a hunting club (including the fence) was approved by the zoning
hearing board. The other agencies in violation of the ordinance
were never asked by the township supervisors or other officials to
change their fences to comply with the ordinance.

The vocal opponents of the hunting club continued to press the
issue of Kightlinger’s fence with the supervisors, however, asking
at regular monthly meetings why Kightlinger had not yet been cited
for the violation. Former Bradford Township Supervisor Dave Farrell
said at that time that Kightlinger was working with the township to
resolve the problem.

“We don’t cite people who are working with us,” Farrell said the
December meeting in 2002. Moreover, Farrell said that it would not
be fair to cite Kightlinger and not the other entities in violation
of the fence ordinance.

Moonan told The Era after that meeting that his interest in
seeing Kightlinger cited had to do with litigation regarding the
hunting club. “Even if it’s two years down the road … without him
being cited on the record, what will it look like to the judge?”
Moonan asked.

Neither Kightlinger nor the others in violation of the fence
ordinance were ever cited by Bradford Township. Several months
later, a committee was formed to draft an ordinance to prevent a
similar problem in the future, but the ordinance has no bearing on
any existing structure.

The fence issue aside, however, Moonan and Reiley have opposed
the hunting club from the time it was conceived to the present.
Both have asked the township supervisors for support in their
opposition, but the supervisors have resisted, citing potential
legal issues. The decision, they said, would have to come from the
zoning hearing board.

In January of 2003, the board approved the club under the “uses
by special exception” category of township ordinance 1-89, which
allows use of township land for “semi-public or private
recreational areas, game and wildlife hunting and gun clubs,
historical preservation areas, camps, camping grounds and
facilities.”

That approval came on the stipulation that Kightlinger would
abide by certain restrictions he actually set forth himself to help
meet his neighbor’s concerns. He agreed to conduct hunts only
between October and March, to have only two hunters hunting at the
club at any one time, and to make sure all hunts are guided, for
example.

The township supervisors have told residents it would be up to
township zoning officer Jack Carns and code enforcement officer
Merle Silvis to monitor and enforce the ruling on activity at the
club.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission has also granted Kightlinger a
special permit for the purpose of “wildlife propagation” – a permit
he renews annually, he said.

Moonan and Reiley have appealed the ruling in 2003, saying that
Kightlinger has not adhered to the restrictions on his permit,
alleging illegal hunting activity at the club, and voiced concern
that Carns and Silvis would not be able to adequately monitor the
club.

They have gathered some support from other neighbors and
township residents, and have held several open meetings to iron out
their opposition. Much of the controversy surrounding the issue
seems to have to do with language – whether it is a “hunting club,”
a “hunting preserve” or a “farm.”

The zoning hearing board met in April of 2005 to hear Moonan and
Reiley’s appeal, but tabled the issue at that time. The board
passed the matter onto McKean County President Judge John Cleland,
who handed the matter back to the board, telling them they would
have to rule on it themselves.

Kightlinger said Monday a hearing to decide if his permit could
be revoked based on Moonan and Reiley’s appeal was set for
Wednesday night. He went on to say, however, though that ruling
might take away his ability to operate a “hunting club,” it would
not change the actuality -ðthat he can still hunt his own deer on
his own enclosed property and can invite anyone else he wants to
hunt there as well.

He explained Monday that in 2000, he started a white tail deer
“farm,” and in 2002, decided to take a portion of the farm and turn
it into a hunting club. Today, the hunting club is comprised of
25.5 acres of Kightlinger’s land and another 40 acres he has leased
from Fred Young. Kightlinger said he has conducted at least six
hunts at the club, the most recent about two weeks ago.

When asked what he stands to lose if the zoning hearing board
revokes his permit, Kightlinger said he has thousands of dollars
invested in the club. For the deer alone, he said, he pays about
$1,000 to $2,500 for a buck and $500 to $600 for doe.

Kightlinger said he thinks much of the opposition to his club is
personal or philosophical. He claimed Reiley, for example, has
actually come to his club to heckle the hunters, yelling
obscenities and telling them they are not really hunting if they
have to hunt in a preserve. Also, someone drove a bulldozer over
one of his fences recently, he said, allowing 10 buck and two doe
to escape.

He said he would like to see the board uphold their previous
ruling allowing him to operate his club, which he said currently
boasts 17 local members. He said he would eventually like to expand
his club, and already works in conjunction with another preserve,
Creekside Whitetails in Forrestville, N.Y., and its owner, Pete
Smith.

Kightlinger went on to say he feels the club would bring hunters
back to the Bradford area, providing a economic boost not only for
himself, but for the community as well. Regarding the safety issue,
he said he felt a guided, contained hunt was safer than having
someone who does not know the area come buy a hunting license from
the state and take to the hills – something that happens every
hunting season in our area.

The zoning hearing board is set to meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday at
the Bradford Township municipal building.