Remember that area of new SGL in Elk county that was acquired and I wrote about the work day we had there replcing no tresspassing signs with welcome to SGL signs, new gates etc...

Well they are setting up another for the end of March... the SGL are in Brocport back Shawmutt Road... here's RSB's notice...
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A Pheasants Forever sponsored work day on the Kyler Road tract of the new game lands addition for Saturday, March 28.

We are hopeful of having a good turn out.

If we have enough volunteers with chain saws, the experience and equipment to operate them safely we can probably cut or top some pine trees that the students could drag and put into large brush piles.



Of course we will be encouraging volunteers from both the Sportsmen Clubs and the general public to come out and join us in these work projects.

If other clubs set up work projects, with LMO Dzemyan, and let us know of the dates and times some of the Pheasants Forever members might be able to assist on those as well.

Working together I think we can get a lot accomplished toward the rapid development of some great small game habitat that should reap benefits long into the future.

Bumping this back to an active topic with some updated information.

The work projects will begin at 9:00 am on the Brandy Camp section of the new game lands addition. This is located on Kyler Road between Toby and Brandy Camp Roads both of which go toward Kersey off of Route 219. If you are going north on Route 219 take the Toby road out past the land fill, watch on the left for a dome shaped structure with a large metal garage on the right side of the road owned by Star’s. A short distance past that there is a dirt road (Kyler Road) that goes up a steep hill. Stay on that road and you will see a large game lands sign on the left. We will meet at the intersection a couple hundred yards past that sign.

If coming south on Route 219 take a left onto the Kersey Road just before the Brandy Camp wall. Go about a mile, just over the top of the hill a short distance, watching for Kyler Road on your right. That is the first road to the right. Take Kyler Road about a half mile to an intersection to the right.

We will have crews working in both the morning and the afternoon so one doesn’t have to commit the whole day. There will be some lunch items and drinks available throughout the day.

We need people with chainsaws and the experience and safety gear to operate them safely. We plan to have some people felling small trees into a slashed brush pile while other saw operators will be topping pine trees. People not operating saws will drag pine trees into brush piles or one work on of several other habitat construction projects still in development stages. Everyone should wear appropriate work clothing, boots and gloves.

This areas is already experiencing some great habitat improvement but with volunteer help we can put these habitat projects years ahead of where the limited manpower of the Food and Cover Crews would be able to get them.

Pheasants Forever Chapter 630 is also committing to about ten acres of row crop planting on that section of game lands for this spring. The area promises to provide some of the best pheasant and rabbit hunting in this part of the state by this fall. Your assistance can help make for a brighter future for both wildlife and hunters.

I hope to see a some of you there on the 28th.

Dick Bodenhorn  

Saturday, yesterday, was the volunteer work day on the new addition to SGL # 44 in Elk County. It was another tremendous success due to the volunteers that turned out to donate their hard work.

We had over fifty workers from all across the state show up to cut saplings, top pine trees or drag tops into large brush piles. Believe me when I tell you they were hard workers that got more accomplished then we had expected. It was hard to believe the turn out we had today and the amount of work that was accomplished.

I am also pleased to say that several of the workers came from other parts of the state with a couple of them driving most of the way across the state just to do a day of hard work, contributing to the future for wildlife and all for a couple of hotdogs for lunch.

The work day was co-sponsored between the Pa. Game Commission, Pheasants Forever and Fox Township Sportsmen Club with Pheasants Forever providing and preparing lunch, drinks and other refreshments.

This game lands is mostly reclaimed open pit strip jobs that were reclaimed to grasses and planted with pines and black locust. They are being managed primarily for small game species with a special considerations toward pheasants and rabbits. In fact both rabbits and pheasant were seen on the site today. The morning started off correctly with a pheasant rooster crowing a short distance from the dedication sign and meeting point this morning. I heard roosters crowing at two other locations throughout the day and would likely have heard more had it not been for all the chainsaw noise.

I will include a series of pictures to help tell the rest of the story.

This first picture shows some of the people gathered while awaiting a work assignment. Many of the workers aren’t in the picture since some were already working and others hadn’t arrived yet.



Timberdoodle from one of the other message boards and others cutting pole timber to create a massive slashing for the benefit of the small game. Several of these pole timber stands were cut into huge slashed brush piles.



A crew providing the finishing touches to one of the areas about to receive high lime content paper sludge making the soil more suited to row crop plantings. The local Pheasants Forever, Chapter 630, is funding about $10,000 in this project to get about ten acres prepared and planted to row crops this spring. This is just one of these plots.



Other crews worked on cutting the tops off of over grown pines. The tops were then used to make large brush piles while it is hoped the bottoms left would bush out and provide close ground cover.

Pictured are Land Manager John Dzemyan, Food and Cover worker Rodger Beck and Volunteer Biologist Eric Miller.



Over a dozen skilled and equipped saw operators kept others busy making brush piles.



Once the tops were cut off the pines some of the younger hunters dragged the tops into massive brush piles. Hopefully this fall they will get an opportunity to harvest some of the rabbits that benefit from their labors of today.



Three generations of this family of hunters turned out to make up a hard working team building brush piles.



Newly created brush piles and topped pines that should provide better rabbit and pheasant cover for the future.



A long range view of the grass lands of this new addition to the game lands. The small game habitat potential is fabulous. You can also see another of those pole stands that is being cut into slashed area that will provide both better small game and deer habitat for the future.



On behalf of the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Pheasants Forever Chapter 630 and Fox Township Sportsmen I would like to thank everyone who made today a huge success for future wildlife and hunters. It was a great day in Elk County and these volunteers are what made it such a great day.

Thank You!

Dick Bodenhorn