Addition to E. Penn game lands

The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners recently approved the purchase of 428 acres in East Penn Township, Carbon County, adjoining State Game Lands 217 to the west and National Park Service property to the south, from Wildlands Conservancy Inc. of Emmaus, for $400 an acre.

The parcel will be paid from third-party commitments for compensation of habitat and recreational losses occurring in previously approved projects on state game lands.

The tract is located on the Blue Mountain’s north slope, and is forested with oak, poplar, maple and pine along the ridge, and transitions into a savanna-like field of greenbrier and fern interspersed with trees at lower elevations.

The property’s acquisition resolves a long-standing boundary dispute with the tract’s previous owners.

The new property can be accessed by Blue Mountain Road from the west and Sunset Road from the east.

The Game Commission has a long history of working with conservancies, noted Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans.

“It’s hard to imagine how much more limited public lands would be in Pennsylvania without the assistance of Pennsylvania’s land conservancies,” Burhans said. “They’ve made an enormous difference for the Game Commission, other state agencies and, of course, wildlife and Pennsylvanians.”