Pennsylvania game commissioners approve land purchases and mining agreements

Game commissioners in Harrisburg and Pennsylvania at their last quarterly meeting approved seven acquisitions – one donation, five purchases and one exchange – that would expand state game lands by more than 1,000 acres.

The donation is for 203 acres in Lebanon County. The Lebanon County Beagle Club will turn over its assets to the Gaming Commission in the event of its dissolution.

The acquisitions are:

• Approximately 280 acres in Indiana Township, Allegheny County, near State Game Land 203. This property not only meets the strategic priority of being located near a major city – in this case, Pittsburgh – but runs along Deer Creek, a stocked trout tributary of the Allegheny River.

The parcel has several species of highest conservation concern and would provide a buffer for the Rachel Carson Trail.

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• Approximately 116 acres in Bethel Township, Berks County, adjacent to State Game Land 80. Provides access to existing game lands and hosts several species of highest conservation concern.

• Approximately 4 acres in Haycock Township, Bucks County. This is a contract for State Game Land 157.

• Approximately 1.9 acres in East Rockhill Township, Bucks County. This is a contract for State Game Land 139.

• Approximately 264 acres in Jefferson Township, Washington County. It combines two parcels of existing game land that is currently inaccessible and nearly doubles the size of State Game Land 303.

The land exchange includes the transfer of 187 acres in Sandy Township, Clearfield County, part of State Game Land 77, to the city of DuBois and the DuBois Water Authority in exchange for 204 acres in Union and Huston townships in Clearfield County, adjacent to State Game Land 331.

The 187-acre parcel is landlocked and separated from the rest of State Game Land 77 by Interstate 80, so the Game Commission determined the swap was in the best interest of the agency and game land users.

Hunters and other users of the game land system should be aware that none of these additions are final. Some of them are dependent on third party funding in the form of grants or other means. Moreover, approval of the agreements by the Board of Commissioners is only one step in the land transfer process.

Once this process is complete and these areas officially become hunting areas, the Game Commission will post signs to that effect stating that they are now available for public use.

In other action, Game Commissioners approved an agreement allowing Armagh-based RES Coal LLC to impact approximately 117 acres of State Game Land 198 in Cresson Township in Cambria County and Juniata Township in Blair County for the purpose of mining game coal . The Commission does not own the rights.

The transaction requires RES Coal LLC to pay the Gaming Commission $3.2 million to offset surface impacts and also allows for the use of a mining support area of ​​approximately 9 acres. Additionally, renewable energy will help pay for the construction of a road that will provide public access to parts of game areas where there are currently none.

The Game Commission also purchased at auction coal rights to approximately 164 acres of State Game Land 79 in Buffington Township, Indiana County.

The Gaming Commission may, under certain conditions, bid at auctions or tax sales as long as it is announced at a subsequent meeting. This purchase took place on August 28, so no action was necessary by management.