Pennsylvania ranks within the top ten states in the percentage of land devoted to parks or wildlife preservation.
Many Pennsylvanians are unaware that game, including turkeys, deer, elk, and bears, had almost disappeared from the Commonwealth at the end of the 19th Century.
Governor Samuel Pennypacker, in 1905, faced down significant popular agitation about the “rights of hunters” in order to establish the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the first State Game Lands.
(Pennsylvania imported game from other states in order to rebuild a native population.)
The struggle over the establishment of hunting licenses (which were seen as infringements of personal freedom) was resolved by devoting license revenue to the acquisition and management of Game Lands.
Today, the preservation of large wooded tracts throughout Pennsylvania provides vistas of remarkable beauty in each season.
This postcard, printed circa 1940, celebrates the Autumn splendor of the Keystone State.
