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Habitat
for Wildlife Inc.
RESTORE
PROTECT ENHANCE |
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We at Habitat for
Wildlife (HFW) are in full support of a "broad based"
recreation park to be constructed on the 6,000 plus acres of
land owned by Northumberland County in Zerbe, Coal and Mt
Carmel Townships. These lands have been abused for
generations by unregulated mining, illegal dumping, and
trash burning, underage drinking, poaching and unregulated
off road vehicle use in wetlands, creeks and steep erodible
hills. We believe that a park with rules, security and
enforcement, along with mine reclamation would be a great
benefit to area communities, recreational, economically and
environmentally. We also believe it will make it a safer
area to recreate.
HFW has a proposal that encompasses 3,500 acres of
the 6,000 ac. park. In this plan we have identified 6 tracts
of land that we feel are fragile and/or high quality
wildlife habitat. In addition to the wildlife habitat, these
tracts will also serve as buffers between populated areas
and the noise and dust of off road vehicles.
Click here for plan text.
Click here for a map of the East sites.
Click here for map of the West sites.
GoogleEarth is required to view maps.
Concerns we have are:
(a)
We
feel there is not a balance off stakeholders on the steering
committee. The business community and off road vehicle
riders are well represented but non-motorized and
conservation communities are not. We would like to see 4
additional seats placed on the steering committee. HFW
recommends the following persons:
From
the PA Game Commission: Howard "Eric" Miller.
Eric is the
Public Lands Biologist for the
Pennsylvania Game Commission's Bureau of Wildlife
Habitat Management. His duties include overseeing wildlife
habitat management planning on the State Game Lands system
and ensuring habitat requirements for Pennsylvania's birds
and mammals are met. He earned his Bachelor of Science
degree in Wildlife Management from Delaware State University
and his Master of Science degree in Conservation Biology
from Green Mountain College. His Master's thesis studied
the effects of exotic invasive vegetation on American
woodcock nesting success and nesting habitat selection. He
is an avid grouse and woodcock hunter and is very familiar
with the area included in the proposed park.
From
the
Shamokin Creek Restoration Alliance: Jim Koharski;
Jim has vast
knowledge of the Shamokin Creek watershed and wetlands in
and around the proposed park area. This knowledge and
conservation expertise would be an invaluable asset on the
committee.
Bill Knapick.
He grew up and spent most of his 52 years
hiking, hunting and fishing in the proposed park area. He
knows the area better than anyone I know.
From
Habitat for Wildlife: Myself, David Kaleta.
I founded and serve as president of HFW. I grew up in
western Coal Township and have been hiking and hunting in
the proposed park area for the last 45 years. I have
detailed knowledge of the area. For the last 10 years I and
HFW have been very active in this area planting more than
43,000 trees on county land, cleaning up dozens of illegal
dump-sites and being an advocate for conservation and
non-motorized recreation in the proposed park area.
(b) At the first public meeting of the "ohv park"
(this was the term used, we prefer multi-use park) , held
July 27, 2010 at 6:30pm at the Shamokin High School
Auditorium, there was not one slide of non-motorized
recreation during the PowerPoint presentation. Not a person
riding a horse, hiking, carrying a gun or fishing rod. To
many of the people I talked to after the meeting, they took
this to mean these activities will take a back seat to "off
highway vehicles". Non-motorized activities need to be
represented on the steering committee.
(c)
Probable siltation and pollution to the Shamokin
Creek watershed, primarily Carbon and Furnace Runs. Both of
these branches of Shamokin Creek now support aquatic life.
Carbon Run has come back from being a dead mine acid, yellow
stream, to a run that holds minnows, blue gills, bass and
many aquatic insects, including mayflies, caddis and stone
flies. Every effort needs to be taken to keep silt, fuel
spills and sewage out of the watershed.
(d)
Although DCNR and the engineering consultants many
consider the proposed park area, "wasteland", to those of us
that grew up here it is our back yard. "Why tear up State
Forest, when we already have this wasteland" is what I heard
at the meeting. Over the last few decades many positive
environmental issues have been and are being addressed.
Namely mine reclamation, acid mine drainage, reforestation
and illegal dumping. I personally spend about 90% of my
recreation time on these "wastelands" and 100% of my
volunteer time to "Restore, Protect and Enhance" this
"wasteland". Members of Habitat for Wildlife and Shamokin
Creek Restoration Alliance spend many uncounted hours
working to restore this "wasteland" back to a natural state.
What I see when I look at this "wasteland" is 10's of
thousands of contiguous acres of undeveloped land, no homes,
no buildings, no factories. This non-development on such a
large tract of land is a rare thing in this part of the
state. When hiking or hunting here I never worry about
running into a new house that wasn't there last month, like
I do when in farm country.
Sincerely,
David F. Kaleta,
president
Habitat for Wildlife
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Habitat
For
Wildlife's
Current Projects
*food
plots to be planted on the "Roaring Creek" tract, Weiser state forest,
Columbia County
*food and cover to be
planted on North'd County property near Burnside, Coal Twp along rt
125
*control non-native
invasive plants in and near a new 40 ac plot of warm season grasses,
Columbia County near Centralia along rt 61
*control black locust
and invasive plants at HFW's "Alaska site" Mt Carmel Twp near
Excelsior, rt 901
We
Need
Your
Help
to contact us click here |
Julia Marano, Executive Director of "Keep
Pennsylvania
Beautiful".
Davey Kaleta HFW member.
David Straub HFW treasurer.
Clearing brush to make room for a food plot. |
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