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Thursday, November 7th, 2024

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Thursday, November 7th, 2024

Breaking News for

Sportsmen Since 1968

Pennsylvania game land tours are now underway across state

The Game Commission has scheduled seven game land tours across the state this month. (Photo by Shann Yu, Flickr)

Harrisburg — Roll the windows down, enjoy the scenery and breathe in the fresh air.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission’s driving tours through state game lands are soon underway.

Tours are scheduled on Sunday, Oct. 13, and Sunday, Oct. 20.

The tours provide a good example of the opportunities available on game lands statewide, while showcasing how habitat work being done on these tracts benefits wildlife.

All tours are free, held rain or shine and open only to vehicles licensed for travel on public roads.

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The tour schedule follows:

Sunday, Oct. 13

– State Game Land 26, Bedford County, noon to 3 p.m.: The public is invited to tour State Game Land 26, a 12,000-acre tract situated in Blue Knob.

The tour begins off Route 869 near the Bedford/Cambria County line and covers approximately seven miles.

Participants will find ample opportunity to enjoy the historical aspects of the game lands and the quality habitat improvements conducted by Game Commission habitat crews in partnership with cooperating organizations such as the National Wild Turkey Federation.

Work by the Game Commission’s forestry staff also will be showcased through with the viewing of vast timber production brought forth through timber sales and timber stand improvements.

– State Game Land 57, Luzerne and Wyoming counties, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Game Commission personnel will be on hand to explain points of interest, including wildlife habitat-improvement projects on this 45,000-acre state game land.

Four-wheel-drive vehicles with high clearance are required for this self-guided driving tour. The tour will pass habitat-improvement projects completed by the State Game Land 57 habitat crew with help from the National Wild Turkey Federation, Whitetails Unlimited and Ducks Unlimited.

Representatives from the Game Commission and conservation organizations will be on hand to explain the projects and answer questions. The 14-mile tour will start at the game lands parking area on Mountain Springs Road just off of state Route 487.

Each vehicle will be provided with a map and brief explanation of wildlife habitat management programs being carried out on this magnificent tract of public hunting land.

– State Game Land 108, Cambria County, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.: This tour will be a 7.5-mile, self-guided, one-way, driving tour and will highlight mountainous terrain and early fall foliage on the Allegheny Front on this 23,086-acre game land.

The tour begins at the game lands access road three-tenths of a mile north of Frugality, along state Route 53, in White Township. Look for the sign. The tour will conclude on state Route 865, near Blandburg in Reade Township.

Items of interest along the tour route include a rehabilitated strip-mined area that has been converted to small-game habitat, where the Game Commission releases pheasants. The area also serves as a study area for grassland nesting birds, including the Henslow’s sparrow, a grassland species of special concern.

Endangered northern harriers and short-eared owls also inhabit the study area. There are also several forestry projects to improve habitat for wildlife, new road maintenance projects to improve access, and herbaceous openings that have been planted to provide food for wildlife along the tour route.

Sunday, Oct. 20

– State Game Land 67, Huntingdon County, Noon to 3 p.m.: This driving tour of a 5,700-acre tract begins off Route 913, between Coalmont and Dudley (look for the sign) and covers approximately 7 miles.

Participants will find ample opportunity to enjoy the historical sites, quality habitat improvements conducted by habitat crews in partnership with cooperating organizations such as the Huntingdon County Conservation District and the Shoup’s Run Watershed Association, as well as controlled-burn and quality forest management areas.

The Game Commission presently is exploring the possibility of creating an app that would allow tour-takers to hear accompanying audio as they navigate the route. Information will be updated as it becomes available.

– State Game Land 110, Berks County, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.: This tour begins at the Mountain Road gate approximately five miles west of Hamburg Borough and ends at the state Route 183 gate, four miles north of Strausstown.

State Game Land 110 offers over 10,000 acres of wildlife habitat in Berks and Schuylkill counties. In addition to hunting opportunities, the historic Appalachian Trail runs through the game land paralleling much of the driving tour.

This forested ridge is an important corridor along the Kittatinny Ridge that tens of thousands of hawks use every fall to migrate south along their migration route. Game Commission personnel will be stationed along the tour route to provide site-specific information and answer questions.

– State Game Land 211, Dauphin County, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Known as the Stoney Valley Tour, this tour begins at the Ellendale Forge gate, six miles east of Dauphin Borough, along Stoney Valley Road, and ends at the Gold Mine gate.

This more than 44,000-acre state game land bridges three counties, Dauphin, Lebanon and Schuylkill. The tract has an abandoned railroad bed that traverses the entire game land from west to east.

The Appalachian and Horseshoe Trails run through this game land, providing excellent opportunities for hiking and other recreational opportunities in addition to hunting. Game Commission personnel will be stationed along the tour route to provide site-specific information and answer questions.

State Game Land 51, Fayette County, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.: This tour will be a five mile, self-guided, one-way driving tour and will highlight mountainous terrain and early fall foliage on the Chestnut Ridge and this 16,945-acre game land.

The tour will begin on the game land road across from the Game Commission Crew Headquarters located at 268 Dunbar Ohiopyle Road, Dunbar, Pa. It will conclude where the game land road meets Green Brier Road in Wharton Township.

Items of interest along the tour route include several forestry projects to improve habitat for wildlife, herbaceous openings that have been planted to provide food for wildlife, native pollinator fields, and areas where the Game Commission releases pheasants.

Habitat crew members, biologists, foresters and game wardens will be on hand to answer any questions. Visitors will be able to see the equipment the Game Commission uses to manage the game lands for wildlife.

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