Pa. Game Commission director resigns amid ethics concerns about his ‘wellness’ side business

The executive director of the Pennsylvania Game Commission resigned earlier this week, following ethics concerns about a “wellness” side business that the agency admitted he had been working on with other game commission employees.

Bryan Burhans, who had led the game commission since 2017, submitted his resignation to the commission Monday, according to a news release from the state’s governing body of all public hunting lands and wildlife.

Burhans had been questioned at a hearing before the state House Game and Fisheries Committee in March about an undisclosed “wellness” business, which he said he told lawmakers he did not work on while on the job for the state.

Rep. David Maloney (R., Berks), the minority chair of the committee, questioned Burhans about why his consulting site said it was open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day and whether he was doing work on state time. The site listed Burhans’ personal cell phone number.

“It’s not an active website, it’s a placeholder I have,” Burhans said, in addition that he would not answer calls about his side business during work hours. “It’s not something I market or give out to people. I never bothered to change the information because I don’t use it. All I did was set up the website.”

Even before the questions about Burhans’ side business emerged, the commission had already been under scrutiny in recent years. A former game commission employee received the largest-ever ethics fine in state history in 2016 for violating the state’s conflict of interest law. And last year, the commission hired a former lawmaker to lobby on the government agency’s behalf, sparking controversy and questions about whether lawmakers should ban the practice.

Game Commission President Scott Foradora said in a statement Tuesday that “circumstances beyond job performance” led the commission to question whether Burhans should step down.

“It recently came to light Bryan had a business relationship with several game commission employees and received income through that relationship,” Foradora added. “That’s not to suggest there were any ethical violations on his part, but there were questions about the appropriateness of those business relationships, and ultimately he chose to resign.”

It’s unclear what wellness program Burhans had been working on, but he has previously been outspoken about his weight loss journey. In 2022, he told a USA Today columnist about losing 110 pounds in less than a year, and how the weight loss has improved his ability to hunt.

In his financial disclosures from 2021 and 2022, Burhans reported that he had a limited liability corporation under his name, in which he described as for “public speaking, training, wellness coaching, writing (books).”

On Monday, the game commission met in a closed-door executive session and accepted Burhans’s resignation. The commission also appointed Stephen Smith, an attorney and former deputy director, as the agency’s new executive director.

Todd Pride, the commissioner representing the Philadelphia region on the game commission board, said Burhans brought the issue to the commission during Monday’s meeting and he was not pressured by the board to resign.

“There were concerns about his health and wellbeing business, questions of the appropriateness of it and [Burhans] felt it was best to resign,” Pride said.

“I don’t see a change in our strategic direction,” Pride added. “Going forward, I don’t see any changes happening. I see us building and a continuation of what was already in place.”

Maloney said Burhans’ resignation does not fix what he sees as a toxic culture at the agency.

“It doesn’t seem like until something blows up in their faces does anyone realize there’s a problem,” Maloney added. “It’s already been the agency that’s had issues.”

Burhans could not immediately be reached for comment Friday, but said in the news release that his resignation will allow him to spend more time with his family.

“Every wildlife agency director has a lifespan, with the national average about three years of service,” Burhans added. “My seven-year tenure is longer than many. I learned from so many great leaders that you must recognize when it’s time to go. Now is my time.”