WHAT IS STONY CREEK VALLEY TODAY? |
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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 roadless
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. The History
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,
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
http://home.earthlink.net/~brandy-comicsandpp/ Is the Swap Scrapped? The Wild & Scenic Stony Creek Wilderness remains under fire! Our efforts , with the help of our many supporters, have resulted in reducing the acreage involved from the original 8,000 down to about 900 acres. Significantly, there will be no change in ownership of the 900 acres. Rather, a limited land-use agreement will be in effect and the Game Commission will continue to own the land . The Gap has agreed there will be no fences, roads, footpaths, or other military presence on the land , although there will be signs, the design of which has not been finalized. The Gap has also recently agreed with our demand that the ridgetop fire break that it bulldozed illegally last fall will not be turned into a road, although periodic clearing to maintain it as a fire break will be necessary. The agreement will be in effect for 90 days per year, mostly in the summer, and should not impact deer or bear seasons. Turkey seasons will be restricted to 4 weekdays and one Saturday during each of the Spring and Fall seasons, which some hunters have said is too restrictive. The draft agreement does not specifically preserve other hunting seasons at all, although restrictions during the fall, winter and spring are expected to be only sporadic, as the majority of training is held in the summer. The Gap has rejected our request to be included in the agreement with some oversight authority, but has stated that they will enter into some sort of separate agreement with us; however, no details of what this might include have been provided. The Gap has also expressed interest in cooperating with the Coalition to identify and support additional environmental enhancement projects within the Valley, although, again, no details have been discussed and this is not part of the agreement itself. A related and on-going matter is the Environmental Assessment currently being developed by the Gap and its consultants. This project was the subject of a public meeting on March 21, 2007. The EA is intended to assess whether the ricochets from the training range will cause an environmental impact, and, if so, the degree of that impact. If a "significant" impact is determined to be possible, a revision to the Environmental Impact Statement (which had previously found that the Multi purpose training range would not affect SGL 211) will be drafted to identify mitigation measures. If the EA demonstrates no significant impact, no further work will be done. Since the environmental work has not been completed, it seems premature to enter into the land use agreement to go ahead with the project. We believe that putting the cart before the horse like this means that the Gap has already decided that there will be no significant environmental impact and has instructed the consultants to justify that conclusion. If that is the case, there may be violations of the National Environmental Policy Act. |
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STONY CREEK VALLEY UNDER FIRE 900 ACRES IN STONY CREEK VALLEY COULD BECOME PART OF A NATIONAL GUARD FIRING RANGE |
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This photo is the "Gap" side of Second Mountain - clear cut to prepare for the firing range. Just to the south of this peaceful wilderness is Fort Indiantown Gap. In 2002 the National Guard at the Gap began to build a new Multi-Purpose Training Range (MPTR) near the boundary with Stony Creek/ State Gamelands 211. In 2004 they realized this firing range required additional land and looked north to Stony Creek. They offered the Game Commission land elsewhere in the state to "swap" for land in the Stony Creek watershed. Following immediate and strong community opposition, the Gap backed off from their initial goal of 7000 acres. Now they want to control 1400 acres for 90 days a year. Most weekends in spring, summer and fall, this land would be off-limits to the public. Access to Cold Springs Rd., the only handicapped access to the center of the valley, would be curtailed. If the Pennsylvania Game Commission allows Fort Indiantown Gap to use this land as part of a firing range it would destroy the integrity of the protected river wilderness and many historical sites. This would set a dangerous precedent. If you agree that "not one square foot" is the best way to protect Stony Creek Valley and if you believe If you believe that public lands everywhere are entitled to permanent protection, then you can help us keep Stony Creek Valley a publicly accessible wilderness, for future generations to enjoy. Ask the Game Commission to say "No, this land is important" and ask your legislators and the Governor to require the National Guard to find another way to site this firing range. STONY VALLEY IS LITERALLY UNDER FIRE.... follow these links: THE FOREST FIRE THE FIRE ROAD |
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LITIGATION FUND:
As
a final decision on the proposed swap approaches, the
Coalition may find it necessary to initiate litigation to
force the DVMA, the Game Commission, or the Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources to live up to their
statutory requirements. We are particularly concerned about
the lack of compliance with the National Environmental
Policy Act in the development of the two Environmental
Impact Statements that have been done to date and the vague
responses to the questions we have raised about this.
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Donations The Save Stony Valley Coalition uses donations for a variety of purposes including printing literature or marketing materials and paying for expenses such as postage and supplies. Members do not take salaries, they pay for expenses from their own pocket and everyone donates their time. Your charitable donation will help Save Stony Valley. Please send donations to:
Stony Creek Valley Coalition, Inc. The Stony Creek Valley Coalition is incorporated in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is an IRS 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization, contributions to which are tax-deductible.The Stony Creek Valley Coalition is incorporated in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is an IRS 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization, contributions to which are tax-deductible
This is the Stony Creek Bus, shown here at the annual fall foliage drive-through in SGL 211. It is seen by thousands of motorists everyday from I-83 in the parking lot of Wildware Back Country. |
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