Harrisburg, PA -(AmmoLand.com)- Two state game lands tracts will grow by about 120 acres each through an agreement with the Transcontintal Gas Pipe Line Co. (TRANSCO).
State Game Lands 168 will pick up about 117 acres adjacent to the game lands in Eldred Township, Monroe County, and State Game Lands 300 will grow by about 120 acres in Jefferson Township, Lackawanna County.
The acreage is being acquired in exchange for a license for right-of-way that will allow TRANSCO to construct, operate, maintain and remove a 42-inch natural-gas pipeline across a portion of State Game Lands 211 in Union Township, Lebanon County.
In addition to conveying the parcels to the Game Commission, TRANSCO will pay the agency’s standard habitat, surface and timber damages, as well as its standard annual license fee for as long as the license remains active.
The Monroe County parcel offered by TRANSCO is located in the Aquashicola Creek watershed, and contains the headwaters of an unnamed tributary. The habitat is primarily mature forest with stands of white pine, hemlock, Norway spruce, hickory, red oak, poplar, black gum and black birch. The understory is comprised of witch-hazel, dogwood and black haw. Access is available by way of Camp Wind Gap Drive, south of Upper Smith Gap Road.
The Lackawanna County parcel is located in the Lackawanna River watershed, and contains the headwaters of White Oak Run and Laurel Run. The habitat is primarily a mature oak-maple forest along with some limited scrub oak, and the understory is comprised of bracken fern and sassafras. Access to the property is limited to existing state game lands roads, from the east off Archibald Mountain Road. Both properties will serve to reduce the acreage of indentures into these game lands.
The license will authorize 1,320 linear feet of 42-inch natural gas pipeline within a new 50-foot wide right-of-way, occupying 1.52 acres of State Game Lands 211, immediately adjacent to the southern boundary. TRANSCO will use and reclaim an additional 1.32 acres of game lands outside of this right-of-way during construction and reclamation.
The pipeline crosses the Appalachian Trail (AT) on state game lands, and TRANSCO will be installing that crossing via a conventional bore, thereby avoiding any surface impacts for a minimum of 107 feet on either side of the AT.
As a result, 0.25 acres of the 1.52 acres of the licensed right-of-way will not sustain any surface impacts whatsoever. In addition, TRANSCO will implement an extensive reclamation plan within 1.80 acres of the temporary workspace and portions of the right-of-way to include a variety of tree and shrub plantings.
The Board of Game Commissioners approved the exchange unanimously.
About Pennsylvania Game Commission:
For more than 100 years, the Game Commission has managed the Commonwealth’s wildlife resources for all Pennsylvanians. With the help of more than 700 full-time employees and thousands of part-timers and volunteers, the agency provides a host of benefits to wildlife, state residents and visitors.
For more information, visit: www.pgc.state.pa.us.