by Richard (“Dick”) Martin, KTA Life Member
The issue of non-hunters using state game lands (SGLs) is very familiar to me. I was on the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) 2001 Land Use Committee. That committee was formed, in part, because a group of errant mountain bikers had cut illegal trails in SGL 43 and had a kamikaze downhill, with jumps, illegally cut in SGL 170.
The PGC and conservation and trail organizations have had a longstanding working relationship. Keystone Trails Association volunteers have done a great deal of maintenance on trails in the SGLs and have helped re-route trails, including a re-route of the Mid State Trail to improve hunter access on SGL 97.
In addition, conservation organizations have a history of selling land to the PGC for a drastically discounted price. For example, the Central Pennsylvania Conservancy (CPC) and Carol Witzman purchased 79 acres at the top of Blue Mountain for $175,500, and transferred it to the PGC for a mere $32,000, to be added to SGL 170. As a hunter, I could conceivably assert that those 79 acres were bought with my hunting dollars, but as a conservationist I know that this land purchase was, in reality, very heavily subsidized by non-hunters. There could have been 80 homes built on that land, if the CPC had not stepped in. Hunters and hikers alike have benefitted from that partnership on SGL 170 -- and many others like it. I've personally benefited from such partnerships between conservation groups and the PGC: because conservation groups worked together, 840 acres between my backyard and SGL 305 were purchased and preserved, and are now part of the National Park Service lands.
We do not want to lose the cooperation of groups that maintain trails for us on our SGLs. Furthermore, we do not want to alienate the folks who subsidize land purchases. I suggest that the PGC forms an ad hoc land use committee, just as it did 14 years ago, with members who understand that the bottom line is good stewardship of our SGLs.