They were either for or against it, but they turned out in force to tell Schuylkill County commissioners why they should or should not sell two parcels of land in Tremont Township to the Nature Conservancy of Pennsylvania on behalf of the state Game Commission for $1.37 million.

Several people spoke before the commissioners’ public meeting Wednesday.

Craig Morgan of Wayne Township, spoke on behalf of the Schuylkill Sportsmen’s Advisory Board and the Friends of Schuylkill County Parks and Recreation.

He was head of the county conservation district some 30 years ago.

Morgan spoke of learning at the time about a 700-acre parcel being clear cut.

“There was no forest management plan, no bidding, no (soil erosion) permit,” he said.

Since then, he’s been working with conservation groups to “preserve the land in the public trust - forever.”

This is a chance to do that, he said.

“We can now keep these lands open to the public forever, and follow Schuylkill’s Open Space Plan,” he said.

Zachary Reinoehl, president of Anthracite Upland Pointing Dog Association, which also owns the land adjacent to the smaller parcel.

He opposes the sale to the game commission.

“I am here today to voice my opposition to another decision to once again create destruction on our western end under the guise of public opportunity,” he said.

Reinoehl said his group has spent years cleaning up trash, chasing drug dealers, watching for fires created by people burning the plastic coating off wires to sell the metal, and other illicit activities.

He said they even tore down and removed a meth shack that had been built there.

The road to the group’s land is used to for students and others to traverse and learn about pollinators, coal mining history and native habitat benefits.

If the sale goes through, he said, the game commission “would seek to regain unabated access to our road.”

He said the group has removed over 60 tons of garbage that had accumulated while the land was owned by the county and game commission.

He asked that a public sale be held.

Support for game commission

Frank Snyder of Orwigsburg, is a member of the Schuylkill County Conservancy and a retired forester and arborist for the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

He supports selling the land to the game commission for three reasons: It would keep public access to open natural land for hunting, hiking, and recreation, and would also encourage tourism; the game commission would be an “excellent steward of the land”; and a “healthy forest can positively impact the quality and quantity of the flow of stormwater, which is critical to clean water.”

Barry Jones of McKeansburg, served with the game commission for more than 30 years, then with the Wildlands Conservancy, Emmaus, to purchase 2,635 acres near Gordon.

“That land protected a lot of watershed for the Pottsville area and other municipalities.”

“Our land isn’t only for hunting and fishing,” it also protects the water supply, he said.

Nicole Wooten, land protection manager for the Nature Conservancy said, “It’s part of multi-continental migrating raptor flyway. The pressures of development here are so great that only a slender quarter of intact forest remains between the southern and northern Appalachians.”

The transfer to the Game Commission “would ensure than land is managed for wildlife habitat and that it remains with the public forever and not subject to potential future sale,” she said.

Public sale?

Dave Williams of Hegins Township, a mining engineer, said the deed for the smaller parcel was from Ingraham Coal Co. to the county Tax Claim Bureau as trustee for the taxing districts, and the commissioners.

He advised the county solicitor to research that further.

“This property should have been put up for public sale,” he said.

He detailed the smaller parcel’s coal history, citing DEP records. He had been involved in some of the operations.

Larry Bender, Tremont Township supervisor, opposed the sale of the smaller parcel.

“We think it should be worth more money to our county and to our township,” he said.