Hickory Run, Beltzville, and Lehigh Gorge state parks are familiar to almost every Carbon Country resident. On a summer Sunday afternoon thousands of swimmers crowd the beach at Beltzville Lake. Hikers, bikers, and rafters enjoy Lehigh Gorge, and the Boulder Field at Hickory Run is a nationally famous geological wonder.

The Appalachian Trail runs along the Blue Mountain at the southern boundary of Carbon County. Mauch Chunk Lake draws birdwatchers, fishermen, and boaters. Trails branch out from the Nature Center in the Lehigh Gap. Carbon County is truly blessed with natural preserves.

We also can’t forget State Game Land Number 141. That’s right--SGL #141. Located on the top of the Broad Mountain between Nesquehoning and Beaver Meadows, #141 extends across the Lehigh River into Penn Forest Township. In acreage it dwarfs the Lehigh Gorge State Park, much of which it borders.

Number 141 is not the only State Game Land in Carbon. We also have #129 near Lake Harmony, extending from Hickory Run State Park into Monroe County. At the extreme north end of the county is SGL #40, located on both sides of I-80 and bordering the small borough of East Side.

From an environmental standpoint, Pennsylvania state game lands are better than state parks, which come replete with campgrounds, hiking trails, dog walkers, toilet facilities, boat launches, and millions of visitors. Few people visit game lands other than hunters during hunting seasons, and hunting seasons are relatively short. Bear season is usually three days, regular deer season lasts two weeks, and black powder and archery seasons together are about two months.

Most of the year our extensive game lands act as huge natural preserves, chock full of birds, plants, and animals. You, of course, may visit them any time, but in today’s world, people want easy access to well-marked trails. State game lands are too close to wilderness and, as a consequence, remain relatively pristine.

There is a potential problem. Pennsylvania’s hunters are becoming fewer and older. In spite of Game Commission programs to encourage youngsters to hunt, most of them, it seems, would rather stay indoors on cold fall days.

With fewer hunters the question will arise—why are we maintaining these large game lands on behalf of a few old hunters? Calls will be heard to sell them off to developers, oil shale extraction companies, and other for-profit enterprises. If that happens, Pennsylvania will lose hundreds of thousands of acres of wilderness.

Here is my solution. Even if you don’t hunt, even if you hate the thought of killing little squirrels or Bambi’s mom, purchase a hunting license. Every license bought is one more reason to maintain or even expand the number of state game lands. It is a relatively inexpensive way to help preserve the woods for which this state was named.

Roy Christman