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Pennsylvania Board Approves Additions To State Game Lands

Pennsylvania Game Commission

HARRISBURG, PA --(Ammoland.com)- The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners today approved agreements with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) to purchase 195 acres of land to add to State Game Land 294 in Mercer County, and 81.5 acres of land to enhance State Game Land 314 in Erie County.

In Mercer County, the 195 acres of land in Cool Spring Township adjoins SGL 294, and are subject to an existing reservation of oil, gas and mineral rights, excluding peat. The option price is $90,000, with the Game Fund obligation limited to $62,487.89 and the remaining $27,512.11 coming from a donation from the Estate of Margaret Metcalfe.

The property is mostly wetlands with about 130 acres in emergent, scrub-shrub and forested wetlands. The upland portion of the property is 60 acres of woodland comprised of oak, maple, cherry and ash. The remaining five acres are reverting farmland.

Otter Creek flows through the property, as well as an unnamed tributary to Otter Creek. A Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory review indicates the presence of the eastern massasauga rattlesnake, a state-listed endangered species within the vicinity of this property.

Acquiring this property will fill in gaps between two separate tracts of SGL 294. This contract is contingent upon the WPC being able to secure an option with the owners of the property and approval by the WPC Board of Directors. If the WPC is unable to secure an option on this property, a cooperative agreement between the Game Commission and the WPC will allow the $90,000 to be used to acquire other lands acceptable to the Game Commission.

In Erie County, the 81.5 acres in Springfield Township are adjacent to SGL 314, and will be paid for through a partnership with the WPC. The Game Commission’s cost-share amount for the purchase of the land is $400 per acre, and related survey costs.

The acquisition is subject to the WPC purchasing the property, which is mainly forested with sugar maple, red maple, red ash, American beech, white pine and black cherry, with small pockets of open wetlands and old fields reverting back to early succession. Raccoon Creek flows through the southern portion of the property, and public access is from Old Lake Road.

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Ducks Unlimited Donates 318 Acres To The U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service

Ducks Unlimited

ROCKWOOD, Ill--(Ammoland.com)- Ducks Unlimited recently donated 318 acres at Rockwood Island to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for inclusion into the recently established Middle Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR).

The site is located along the Mississippi River and is accessible from the Great River Road National Scenic Byway (Illinois Highway 3) which follows the Mississippi River from its headwaters in Minnesota to its confluence with the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana.

DU originally purchased the Randolph County property in 2005 using a grant from the North American Wetlands Conservation Council. Since that time, DU has planted more than 145 acres of frequently flooded cropland to bottomland hardwood trees and allowed the rest of the property to naturally revert back to wetlands for the benefit of waterfowl and other wildlife.

“Getting this land protected and restored is a real group effort,” said Eric Schenck, Ducks Unlimited regional biologist. Schenck noted that DU’s donation is part of a strategic partnership effort to conserve wetland and wetland forest habitat along the Mississippi River corridor.

“The Mississippi River is America’s river supporting the lives of fish, wildlife and millions of people. DU is proud to be doing our part to preserve this national treasure.”

DU’s work at Rockwood Island has been in close cooperation with the American Land Conservancy . In recent years, DU and ALC have acquired nearly 2,000 acres at Rockwood Island and on nearby Crain’s Island with the intent to transfer all property to the FWS for the Middle Mississippi River NWR. DU helped ALC cover a portion of the acquisition costs of these land transactions with grant funds from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

“We are very grateful for this donation from Ducks Unlimited,” said Robert Cail, refuge manager of the Middle Mississippi River NWR. “If it were not for DU and our other Middle Mississippi River partners, this refuge would not have been possible.

About:
Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to conserving North America’s continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 12 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever. Visit www.ducks.org

Information about the Great Rivers National Scenic Byway is available at http://www.greatriverroad-illinois.org/.

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