Bald Eagle State Park’s 1,730-acre lake is a recreational oasis, nestled in the divide between the plateau and the ridge and valley regions of Pennsylvania. It’s a short drive off route 80, yet separated by a ridge that reduces the interstate noise. Although the lake is the central feature, the surrounding bottomlands holds one of our favorite little game birds, the American woodcock.
The valley that’s currently occupied by the lake was once like most of the valleys in central Pennsylvania – farmland. The construction of the lake flooded most of the farms, but those on the high grounds remained above the waterline. Though abandoned and brought into the state park, farms began the secondary succession that’s as much of the rural American story as sausage and biscuits. The once grazed fields no longer have cattle, allowing shrubs and small trees to overtake the grasses. Unique with these fields is the risen water table from the lake. These high pasture lands turned into lake bottomland, bringing with them hydric plants species and wildlife that enjoy wet soils.
As succession trudged forward to revert these fields to hardwood forests, its path was stifled. Exotic invasive shrub species, like autumn olive, honeysuckle and multiflora rose, began competing, and winning, against the native viburnums and alder. The Department of Conservation of Natural Resources (DCNR) wishes to keep these areas as early successional habitat. To do so sustainably, and to prevent these areas from becoming exotic invasive plant monocultures, intervention was needed.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) was brought in to reset the succession clock. In early 2025, they brought in skid steers with mulching heads and made strips through the thicket. These strips were not random, but part of a decades long management plan. This plan was a partnership between USFWS, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society, the DCNR – Bureau of State Parks, the California University of Pennsylvania, the Natural Resources Conservation Service and others. The partnership was meant to restore the historic mosaic of fields, fencerows and early successional habitat as an ecological, historical and recreational effort to preserve the region’s significance on the landscape.
Due to the exotic invasive species presence, mulching alone would not be sufficient. A foliar herbicide must be sprayed the following growing season, targeting the nonnative plant species. With a grant from the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA), a contractor was hired to spray the freshly sprouting undesirable plants.
As one can imagine, walking through a freshly mulched area is much easier than the brambles of autumn olive and multiflora rose. Due to this, the herbicide contractor was willing to treat a larger area that included mulching near the state park’s hotel and conference center, The Nature Inn. Through NAVHDA’s funding, and supplemental funding from RGS’s state Drummer Fund, Bald Eagle State Park created early successional habitat on 43 acres surrounding the lake. This is habitat that will benefit an array of wildlife, including our beloved timberdoodle.
This is a mere snapshot of RGS’s recent role in this effort. Its success is dependent on years of planning and implementation work. Work that is only possible through partnership. RGS & AWS will build upon the work and partnerships that have resulted from this project to ensure its progression. The partnerships built from this project will, and have, extended to other projects throughout the state.
