Crable Fearing the state's 1.4 million acres of game lands are being used more as public parks than as reserves for hunters and wildlife, the Pennsylvania Game Commission is putting its foot down. The agency has proposed a bold new set of regulations that would restrict mountain biking, horseback riding and other uses on the state's 294 game lands, paid for almost exclusively by hunters and trappers. Affected would be Lancaster County's seven game lands, whose 8,628 acres are a favorite haunt of hunters, hikers, birdwatchers, bikers, equestrians and others drawn to some of the last forestland remaining here. The hunting and trapping agency says it has been driven to take a harder line. A growing population hungry to get outdoors is putting a growing pressure on game lands found in 65 of 67 counties.
Officials cite examples in southeastern Pennsylvania and scattered locations throughout the state.
Unfettered use of once sparsely used game lands, they say, has lead to damage to the environment, harmed wildlife habitat, and disturbed birds and animals at sensitive nesting and mating times. And the increased use of game lands by nonhunters creates uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous encounters with hunters, officials maintain. Such complaints from hunters has forced the hand of an agency that was created in 1895 over land and hunting issues. The agency stands to lose millions of dollars in federal funds for hunting if the money isn't spent on hunting and trapping users, agency officials contend. Land managers in each region would be responsible for picking trails, if any, suitable for horses and bikes.