Southeastern PA Field Day with PA Game Commission

All ages are asked to come and join the Ruffed Grouse Society chapters of Southeastern Pennsylvania for an opportunity to work with and interact with the staff of the Pennsylvania Game Commission. On Saturday, April 26, 2025 we will be meeting on State Game Lands 80 from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. This field day will focus on efforts to create young forest habitat on mainly private land holdings. While the model for habitat creation on State Games Lands will be discussed and demonstrated a very similar approach is possible for private lands. With approximately 17 million acres of private land in the commonwealth, clearly there is a very real need for forest habitat creation on these lands.  Inclement weather will not cancel the field day.

The day will start with a welcome and light refreshments at 10 a.m. in the PGC parking lot off Swopes Valley Road near the village of Suedberg. Staff from RGS as well as staff from the PA Game Commission will be available for all to engage in conversation. The first hour of the program will include chapter news and events, RGS national news and PGC current program objectives as well as ongoing habitat projects. Next RGS and PGC staff will discuss their role and technical expertise they can provide to the private landowner. All will provide basic management schemes for landowners which could assist landowners in achieving their goals. A representative from the forest industry be in attendance to discuss their role in securing forest products from a timber harvest.

A hot lunch will follow these presentations. All are asked to bring a baked good for the morning gathering and/or a lunch-time dessert. Hot and cold drinks will be provided.

After lunch, PGC Southeast Region Foresters will discuss the day’s activities. The next part of the program will be the planting of 1200 fruit-producing shrubs in a recent timber harvest on this game land followed by an up-close tour of an active timber harvest. All will get the opportunity to witness the felling and processing of wood products from the harvest site. A tour of the ongoing habitat efforts will follow the examination of the timber harvest. Locations with ongoing habitat work will be examined. Topics included in the tour will include a review of ongoing habitat management projects and updates of prior RGS projects in the area.

Sturdy walking shoes and work gloves are recommended for the day’s activities. Tools needed for the day will be shovels. The Game Commission will supply planting bars for those wishing to use them.

Directions: You can access the Swopes Valley Road portion of State Game Lands 80 via State Route 645 or Route 443 from I-81 at the Pine Grove exit. A location map with GPS coordinates will be provided and included with this announcement.

Registration In order to best plan for the day, pre-registration is required. Complete the registration form on the flyer.

If you have any questions at this time, please contact Dave Henry.

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