The Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 80 are

Pennsylvania State Game Lands The Pennsylvania State Game Lands (SGL) are lands managed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) for hunting, trapping, and fishing. These lands, often not usable for farming or development, are donated to the PGC or purchased by the PGC with hun ...

in Berks,

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

and Schuylkill Counties in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, providing hunting, bird watching, and other activities.

Geography

SGL 80 consists of a three parcels located in Bethel Township in

Berks County Berks County ( Pennsylvania German: ''Barricks Kaundi'') is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 428,849. The county seat is Reading. The Schuylkill River, a tributary of the Delaware River ...

, in

Bethel Bethel ( he, בֵּית אֵל, translit=Bēṯ 'Ēl, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; el, Βαιθήλ; la, Bethel) was an ancient Israelite sanct ...

and

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

Townships in

Lebanon County Lebanon County ( Pennsylvania Dutch: Lebanon Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 133,568. Its county seat is the city of Lebanon. The county was formed from portions of Dauphi ...

, and in Pine Grove,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

and Wayne Townships in Schuylkill County. Portions of Game Lands Number 80 straddles Blue Mountain; tributaries on both sides drain to

Swatara Creek Swatara Creek (nicknamed the Swatty) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River in east-central Pennsylvania in the United Sta ...

, part of the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

watershed. Nearby communities include the

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

of Aubrun, Pine Grove, and populated places

. Brookside, De Turksville, Exmoor, Fort Indiantown Gap, Friedensburg, Marstown, Meckville, Moyers, Paradise, Pleasant Valley,

Ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.Strausstown, and Summit Station.

Interstate 81 Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Island ...

passes to the north of the Game Lands and cuts through the western portion isolating a small portion from the large center portion.

Interstate 78 Interstate 78 (I-78) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Northeastern United States, running from I-81 northeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, through Allentown to western and northern New Jersey and terminating at the Holland T ...

and

U.S. Route 22 U.S. Route 22 (US 22) is a west–east route and is one of the original United States highways of 1926, running from Cincinnati, Ohio, at US 27, US 42, US 127, and US 52 to Newark, New Jersey, at U.S. Route 1/9 in the Newark Airport Intercha ...

pass along to the south of the Game Lands.

Pennsylvania Route 501 Pennsylvania Route 501 (PA 501) is a north–south state highway in south central Pennsylvania that runs for . Its southern terminus is at U.S. Route 222 (US 222) and PA 272 north of Lancaster, and its northern terminus is PA 895 southeast ...

passes through the western portion of SGL 80. the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tr ...

passes through part of SGL 80.https://viewer.nationalmap.gov/advanced-viewer/ The National Map, retrieved 27 October 2018Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 80
retrieved 27 October 2018

History

Historically, the land was used to supply charcoal to the Camp Strauss iron works. The owner at the time timbered the area in 1917 and 1918. Lumber was hauled out by narrow gauge railroad to Innwood and Meckville. Water was provided to the ironworks by a dam at Camp Strauss. More than burned in 1940.

Statistics

It consists of in three parcels, elevations range from to .

Biology

State Game Lands Number 80 is almost completely forested, containing four forest types: Dry Oak-Mixed Hardwood, Red Oak-Mixed Hardwood, Tuliptree-beech-maple, and Dry Oak-Heath.

References

{{Protected Areas of Pennsylvania 080 Protected areas of Berks County, Pennsylvania Protected areas of Lebanon County, Pennsylvania Protected areas of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania

Geography

History

Statistics

Biology

See also

References