Pennsylvania Game Commission to Hold State Game Land Tours For Public

HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As part of the Pennsylvania Game Commission's efforts to highlight its ongoing habitat improvement initiatives, the public is invited to take part in upcoming tours of several State Game Lands between Sept. 18 and Oct. 16.  All tours are free.

"State Game Land tours provide the opportunity for those who enjoy nature to come out and talk with our employees – the people who are directly responsible for managing and protecting these lands," said Carl G. Roe, Game Commission executive director.  "With autumn nearly here, these tours will provide a chance to see some of the best scenery the Commonwealth has to offer.  These tours afford hunters and trappers and others who appreciate wildlife the opportunity to see how the Game Commission is spending hunting and furtaker license fees to acquire and to manage these lands for wildlife."

In 1919, the Game Commission was granted authority to purchase lands for the protection, propagation and management of game and wildlife, and to provide areas for public hunting and trapping.  Since that time, the Game Commission has acquired more than 1.4 million acres in 65 of the state's 67 counties (Philadelphia and Delaware counties being the exceptions).  

With few exceptions, State Game Lands were purchased using revenues from hunting and furtaker license sales; State Game Lands timber, coal, oil, gas and mineral operation revenues; the state's share of a federal excise tax on sporting arms and ammunition, known as the Pittman-Robertson Program; from Working Together for Wildlife artwork and patch sales; and from the Pennsylvania Waterfowl Management stamp and print sales.

Information on the various tours is as follows:

Crawford County: Sunday, Sept. 18, from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., State Game Land 214, which encompasses almost 10,000 acres and includes the agency's Pymatuning Wildlife Management Area. This tour will be held in conjunction with the 28th annual Pymatuning Ducks Unlimited Waterfowl Expo will be held Sept. 16-18 in and around Linesville, Crawford County. Tour participants should meet at the agency's Food and Cover headquarters on Swamp Road, and will travel in wagons pulled by tractors to look at various Game Commission waterfowl management efforts, agricultural practices, wetland development and maintenance, and forestry practices on SGL 214. Directions to meeting place: From the traffic light in Linesville, take the Hartstown Road south for about 4.2 miles.  At the flashing yellow light at SR 285, turn left (East) onto SR 285 for about one-half mile.  Turn left (North) onto Swamp Road, and look for the Game Commission Food and Cover headquarters on the left after about one-half mile.

Cumberland County: Saturday, Sept. 24, from 9 a.m. until noon, State Game Land 169, which encompasses nearly 2,500 acres. The tour will begin at the SGL 169 headquarters building with a briefing on the equipment and various activities performed by the local Food and Cover Corps crew.  Tour participants will then load onto a flatbed truck for a tour of the ponds and a wetland mitigation project being completed nearby, as well as a few other sites to show examples of habitat management efforts. Directions to meeting place: Turn off Route 641 onto Mountain Road, go one-half mile and turn left. Cross over Hump Backed Bridge and continue to follow Mountain Road until intersection with Game Land Road.  Turn right onto Game Land Road until Bridgewater Road, where you turn right and follow Bridgewater Water to the end of the paved road and turn left into the parking lot of the SGL 169 headquarters building.

Bradford County:  Sunday, Oct. 2, from 10:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. (rain or shine).  This will be a 28-mile, self-guided, circular driving tour through State Game Lands 12 and 36, and will take about two hours to complete. SGL 12 consists of nearly 24,480 acres in Bradford and Sullivan counties, and SGL 36 is comprised of 18,987 acres in Bradford County. The route will start at the SGL 12 parking lot on top of Wheelerville Mountain along Route 154 just south of Canton, Bradford County.  Roads are passable for most vehicles.  It will go along East to the Barkley cemetery area then down the hill to Laquin area turning west onto the railroad grade to Wheelerville.  Once you reach Wheelerville you will come to a "T" in the road, which is SR 154, and marks the end of the tour.  You could go north along SR 154 to Canton, or south along SR 154 to Shunk and points south in Sullivan County. Since the tour goes by Sunfish Pond County Park, a picnic lunch may be the order of the day! The local history of the mountain and the Game Commission's refuge system is intriguing. A tour guide packet that is full of information and old Game Commission photographs will be given to each vehicle at the start of the tour.  

Cambria County: Sunday, Oct. 2, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., State Game Land 108, consisting of 23,086 acres.  This 7.5-mile, self-guided, one-way, driving tour will highlight mountainous terrain and fall foliage on the Allegheny front.  Items of interest along the tour route include a rehabilitated strip-mined area, which has been converted to small game habitat. The area also serves as a study area for grassland nesting birds, including the Henslow's sparrow, a grassland species of special concern. Northern harriers and endangered short-eared owls also inhabit the study area.  Also highlighted are tree and shrub identification, wildlife habitat food plots and a deer exclosure fence. Kids will enjoy a stop along the tour where they can see and touch some of the furs, skulls and mounts of local wildlife that can be found in the area. Each tour participant will be provided a brochure with directions and information about various features along the tour route. The tour begins at the State Game Land access road three-tenths of a mile north of Frugality, along State Route 53, in White Township.  Watch for the sign.  The starting point is just minutes away from the main beach at Prince Gallitzin State Park, where the annual Apple Cider Festival will be taking place on the same weekend. The tour will conclude on State Route 865 near Blandburg, in Reade Township.  Game Commission Wildlife Conservation Officers, Land Management personnel and foresters will be on hand to explain the various habitat improvement projects on this SGL and to answer questions.  A high ground clearance vehicle is highly-recommended to participate in this tour.

Bedford/Blair counties:  Sunday, Oct. 9, from noon to 3 p.m., State Game Land 26, which encompasses 12,062 acres in a four-county area. This popular tour highlights mountainous terrain and fall foliage. The seven-mile, self-guided auto tour begins at the parking area on the northeast side of Route 869, between Pavia and Beaverdale, and concludes near the village of Blue Knob. Youngsters will enjoy the opportunity to locate and identify mounted wildlife specimens placed in their natural habitat along the drive. Game Commission personnel will be on hand to answer questions relating to Game Commission programs and activities.

Clearfield County: Sunday, Oct. 9, State Game Land 77, which encompasses 3,038 acres.  Rain or shine, at 1 p.m., tour participants will meet at the parking area along Game Lands Road (T402), about one mile east of Route 219. This will be a driving tour with short walks at planned stops to view habitat management practices, a public firearms range and an ongoing reclamation coal mining and stream rehabilitation project.  Attendees will use their own vehicle to travel along on the tour and four-wheel drive is not needed.  This tour will take about two hours and will be conducted by Game Commission personnel.

Luzerne/Wyoming counties: Sunday, Oct. 9, State Game Land 57, which consists of nearly 44,600 acres.  Registration to be held from 7:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. at the headquarters building complex on SGL 57, Ricketts Station, Forkston Township, Wyoming County.  Game Commission personnel will be on hand to explain various points of interest, including wildlife habitat improvement projects.  Four-wheel-drive vehicles with high clearance are strongly recommended for this 14-mile, self-guided driving tour.  Due to heavy storm damage caused by Hurricane Irene, the tour has been modified from its traditional route.  The tour will begin at the SGL 57 maintenance building and travels Southbrook, Shale Pit, Beech Lake, and Mountain Springs Roads back to the building.  The tour will pass habitat improvement projects completed by the SGL 57 Food and Cover Corps crew, National Wild Turkey Federation, Quality Deer Management Association and Ducks Unlimited.  Representatives from the Game Commission and conservation organizations will be on hand to explain the projects and answer questions.  Directions:  Take Route 487 north at the intersection of Route 118 and proceed 7.5 miles and turn onto a dirt road near SGL sign on right.  Travel on dirt road one-tenth of a mile to a "Y" intersection and proceed left three-tenths of a mile to the headquarters complex.  Each vehicle will be provided a map and brief explanation of wildlife management programs being carried out on this magnificent tract of public hunting land.

Lycoming County: Sunday, Oct. 16, State Game Land 75, Fisher Mine site.  At 1 p.m., tour participants will meet at the parking area near the intersection of Shingle Mill Road and Silver Springs Road, northwest of English Center.  The tour will highlight the ongoing surface mine operation of the Fisher Mining Company along with past mining operations and current restoration practices to improve wildlife habitat.  Mine personnel will be on hand to describe the mining operation while Game Commission personnel will be available to answer questions regarding wildlife habitat practices.  The tour will be conducted using the Commission's trucks where the participants will be riding in the open-air, so dress accordingly.  The tour will last about two and one-half hours.

Berks/Schuylkill counties: Sunday, Oct. 16, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., State Game Land 110, which encompasses nearly 10,150 acres of historical, scenic and recreational property in a two-county area. The nine-mile trip will begin at the agency's parking lot on Mountain Road, midway between the Shartlesville Exit of Interstate 78 and Route 61; and will exit onto Route 183, north of Strausstown. Game Commission Officers will be on hand to answer questions relating to Game Commission programs and activities.  

Dauphin/Lebanon counties: Sunday, Oct. 16, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., State Game Land 211, which encompasses more than 44,400 acres in a three-county area.  The tour will start at the Ellendale gate in Middle Paxton Township, Dauphin County, just northeast of Dauphin Borough. The 17-mile trip will be made along an abandoned railroad bed, and will end at Goldmine Road in Lebanon County. Game Commission personnel will be on hand to explain various points of interest, with a guided walking tour of the Cold Springs area for those interested parties.

Facts about the Pennsylvania Game Commission: The Pennsylvania Game Commission is mandated, by state law, to spend a specific amount of money on habitat improvement each year. That minimum is based on an established rate of $4.25 for each resident and nonresident adult general hunting license and $2 for each antlerless deer license.  During the 2009-10 license year, the Game Commission sold 846,293 resident and nonresident adult general hunting licenses and 867,697 antlerless deer licenses, for a total minimum of $5,332,139. In reality, the agency spent $5,902,523 on habitat improvement projects, which was $570,384 more that the legislatively-mandated minimum.

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SOURCE Pennsylvania Game Commission