Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 80


The Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 80 are Pennsylvania State Game Lands in Berks, Lebanon and Schuylkill Counties in Pennsylvania in the United States providing hunting, bird watching, and other activities.

Geography

SGL 80 consists of a three parcels located in Bethel Township in Berks County, in Bethel and Union Townships in Lebanon County, and in Pine Grove, Washington and Wayne Townships in Schuylkill County. Portions of Game Lands Number 80 straddles Blue Mountain; tributaries on both sides drain to Swatara Creek, part of the Susquehanna River watershed. Nearby communities include the boroughs of Aubrun, Pine Grove, and populated places Bethel. Brookside, De Turksville, Exmoor, Fort Indiantown Gap, Friedensburg, Marstown, Meckville, Moyers, Paradise, Pleasant Valley, Ravine, Roeders, Roedersville, Round Head, Schubert, Stanhope, Stonemont, Strausstown, and Summit Station. Interstate 81 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 and U.S. Route 22 pass along to the south of the Game Lands. Pennsylvania Route 501 passes through the western portion of SGL 80. the Appalachian Trail passes through part of SGL 80.

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

The Lebanon County portion of SGL 80 was entered into the Geographic Names Information System on 2 August 1979 as identification number 1188536, listing the elevation as, and the Schuylkill County portion was listed on 1 November 1989 as identification number 1205691, listing the elevation as. 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.