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Game Commission to Hold State Game Land Tours for Public

As part of the 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 September 22 and October 21. 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 manage these lands for wildlife."

Roe noted that staff shortages and limited financial resources forced a reduction in the number of State Game Land tours this year.

"Recognizing the benefit of the tours, the agency has maintained some tours," Roe said. "It was a difficult decision to scale back on the number of tours we offer this year. However, the agency's current financial situation required that we make tough choices."

During the 2005-06 license year, the number of resident and nonresident licenses sold totaled 906,084. Antlerless deer licenses sold during the same time period totaled 860,826. This mandated that a minimum of $5,572,509 be expended for habitat improvement. The actual amount spent during the fiscal year for these purposes was $7.5 million, an excess of $1,927,491 over the requirement.

Also during 2005-06, Game Commission Food and Cover Corps, Land Managers and Foresters planted 3,020 acres of grain and 1,961 acres of grasses and legumes to benefit wildlife. There were 368 acres planted or converted to warm season grasses. In addition, 1,338 acres of field and administrative road borders were cut to provide nesting and escape cover. Wetland restoration work was completed on 17 sites across the state through the efforts of food and cover employees and various habitat partners. There were 8,803 trees pruned to improve fruit and seed production, and finally, 425 new nest boxes and 363 waterfowl nest structures were erected.

The agency's Howard Nursery in Centre County produced and distributed 1,796,500 tree and shrub seedlings for wildlife food and cover plantings, and 424,300 of the seedlings distributed were sold for $59,564. Seedlings also were available for purchase to the general public during the 2006-07 season. The nursery propagated 31 species of important food and cover plants. Deciduous trees and shrubs accounted for 871,500; the remaining being 925,000 evergreens for thermal cover. Native species continue to be added annually.

The Howard Nursery wood shop produced and shipped 2,698 bluebird/chickadee/wren boxes; 5,492 bluebird box kits; 475 wood duck boxes and kits; 141 squirrel, kestrel, barn owl and bat boxes; and almost 3,100 signs and back boards for use on game lands and cooperative access properties. An additional 65 "non-standard" nesting devices, such as mallard and turkey rocket boxes, also were produced. Wood products are also available for purchase by the public on the agency's website.

In an attempt to offset overhead costs associated with seedlings and forest wood products, the agency implemented a cost/item program. This caused a net reduction in free seedlings distributions and thus habitat enhancement values on private lands.

Maintaining optimum habitat diversity on State Game Lands is an important goal of our Habitat Management Program. There were 5,961 acres offered for bidding for commercial timber harvest operations during the past fiscal year.

There were 2,558 acres treated with herbicide to remove ferns, striped maple, spicebush and low quality beech brush hampering the establishment of more beneficial tree species. Contractors erected 8-foot-high woven wire fences around 584 acres of recently harvested habitat areas to protect the susceptible new growth from excessive browsing by deer.

The Upland Vegetation Management machine was used to treat 201 acres by cutting and shearing advanced growth of woody vegetation so it could revert to an earlier successional low ground cover stage.

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.

A complete list of tour dates and directions is available online.

Facts about the Pennsylvania Game Commission: Did you know that, in 1920, the Game Commission purchased the first State Game Land, SGL 25, containing 6,288 acres, in Elk County. The agency paid $2.75 per acre.


9/7/2007

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