WHAT IS STONY CREEK VALLEY TODAY?

Lying only 10 miles north of Harrisburg, PA, Stony Creek Valley is the gateway to 44,373 acres of wilderness. Also known as Saint Anthony’s Wilderness, most of this land is part of State Gamelands 211. Stony Creek begins in Lebanon Co., ends in Dauphin Co. and empties into the Susquehanna near Pennsylvania’s Statue of Liberty.

In 1979, following a long battle to stop the construction of two hydroelectric dames, Stony Creek was designated Pennsylvania’s First Wild and Scenic River and placed under the management of the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Its features include:

A Wild & Scenic area 18 miles long which spans the valley from the ridge top of Second Mountain to the ridge top of Stony Mountain.

Saint Anthony’s Wilderness — the largest road less area in Central Pennsylvania.

Stony Creek — a widely known premier trout stream & important hunting area – deer, grouse, bear, turkey and small game.

An 18 mile “Rails to Trails” which follows the bed of the Schuylkill & Susquehanna Railroad, for biking, hiking, horse back riding, bird watching, photography and lots more. The Rails to Trails is handicapped accessible

An historically rich area with ruins of railroad, mining and resort communities.

A hiker’s crossroads that includes the Appalachian Trail, the Horseshoe Trail and many local trails that parallel the creek and connect the ghost towns.

Those going to Stony Creek for recreation should be aware that as a State Game Land you must wear orange during hunting season. You may only bicycle on the rail trail itself and not during the major hunting season. The Game Commission rules are open to interpretation but some important points you need to know follows:

"It is unlawful for non-hunters to be present on State Game Lands from November 15 through December 15 inclusive without wearing at least a Fluorescent Orange hat (a vest or jacket of 250 sq. inches is of Safety Orange is recommended ). Orange material must be visible from 360 degrees. This is not the only “hunting season”, it’s just the “busiest”.

Except for Sundays, you may NOT ride bike or horse from the last Saturday in September until the third Saturday in January, and prior to one hour after close of lawful shooting hours for spring turkey season from the second Saturday in April through the last Saturday in May. If you are hunting or fishing you may ride bicycle.

Walking is permitted all year around regardless if you are hunting. You may bicycle Sundays on the rail trail all year around and when there is no hunting season.

Sunday (currently) is a no hunting day and you do not need to wear orange. When in doubt about conflicts with a hunting season (there are many) make your visit to Stony Creek on a Sunday.

The History

Stony Creek Valley lies between the Second and Third Mountains in the Kittatinny Mountains of Pennsylvania . Flowing through the valley are the rocky waters of Stony Creek . In the late 1700s, coal was first discovered here, and soon towns popped up. Gold Mine, Rausch Gap, Yellow Spring, and Rattling Run were the first of the coal mining towns in the valley.

From 1844-1854, the Dauphin & Susquehanna Railroad was built so the coal could be transported to market. Rausch Run (Gap) became the railroad’s headquarters until 1872 when they moved to Pine Grove, Schuylkill County . Cold Spring, a famous resort town, known for its 48 degree waters year-round also prospered during this time.

With the coal depleted, the towns began to vanish. Rausch Gap, a town of near 1,000 during the railroad’s heyday, was close to 100 by 1880. Some towns, like Water Tank, took to the lumbering profession to try and revive their populations. The railroad closed down in the 1940s, providing the final blow to the local economy. It was at this time that the PA Game Commission acquired the land.

Today you can find over 300 ruins of the former towns throughout the valley, while walking along its old railroad bed, the Stony Valley Rail-Trail.

"Thank you" for this synopsis to Brandy M. Watts Schuylkill & Susquehanna Railroad Historian
www.stonyvalley.com

Is the Swap Scrapped?

This editorial appeared in the Harrisburg Patriot News in May, following the announcement that building the proposed range at Indiantown Gap was "on hold" but that the Use Agreement with the Game Commission and the Environmental Assessment were to be completed. (reprinted with permission)

STONY CREEK

Guard should fully end efforts to expand into wilderness area

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

The Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs has mounted a strategic retreat in dropping -- for now -- plans to construct a multipurpose training range at Fort Indiantown Gap.

What is unclear is whether the "delay" in proceeding with the $15.3 million project, which would have provided live fire exercises for crews of the National Guard's M1A1 Abrams Tank and Bradley Fighting Vehicles, will prove temporary or permanent.

For the moment, the decision by Maj. Gen. Jessica L. Wright, the state's adjutant general, represents a reprieve for a 900-acre section of Stony Creek Valley that the Pennsyl vania Game Commission had agreed to be used as a buffer zone to absorb rounds that might ricochet over Second Mountain into the game lands. An environmental consultant hired by the Guard claimed that the estimated 779 nonexplosive shells that might land in the buffer zone during the course of the 90 days a year of live-fire exercises would cause minimal environmental damage. A previous computerized ricochet analysis had projected that as many as 10,000 shells might land in the buffer adjacent to the National Guard reservation.

The Guard's proposed encroachment on neighboring game lands represents another assault on Stony Valley, the last expansive roadless area in eastern Pennsylvania, through which the Appalachian Trail runs, as well as numerous other trails in a virtual hikers' paradise. Previously:

The Guard had sought a land swap with the game commission involving a much larger parcel of land.
The City of Harrisburg contemplated erecting windmills along the northern edge of what also is known as St. Anthony's Wilderness.
In the 1970s, there was a move to build a pumped-storage power project in Stony Valley.

Preservation of this irreplaceable wild area requires constant vigilance, which has been provided by numerous volunteers and organizations committed to keeping these public lands public.

One indication that the Guard's retreat is only temporary is its decision to go forward with the environmental assessment of the training facility's impact on State Game Lands 211, official name of the area where the buffer would be located. A draft of the environmental report was released in January, some aspects of which are being vigorously challenged.

Although the assessment states that "no surface water features exist within the project study area," it has been pointed out that the area actually contains a swamp and a portion of Stony Creek, which the report also claims lies outside the proposed buffer zone.

http://www.pennlive.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/opinion/1210110912242920.xml&coll=1 (1 of 2) [5/8/2008 7:23:57 AM] PennLive.com's Printer-Friendly Page

The Guard should end its efforts to expand into Stony Valley once and for all. It is absurd on its face to claim that no environmental damage will be inflicted on the game lands by hundreds of errant tank rounds. Once one part of the valley is destroyed, it becomes easier to make the argument that still more of the valley should be used for this or that "essential" mission.

It also is clear that the Legislature needs to revisit Pennsylvania's Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, which has proven ineffective in the face of serious threats to the commonwealth's first stream to be so designated -- Stony Creek.