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The state Game Commission's decision to buy 155 additional acres is good news -- not only for hunters but for our region and state as a whole.
"Hunting is an important tradition in rural Pennsylvania, strengthening both the bond of families and an appreciation for the values of self-sufficiency and patience," we editorialized in November of 2022. "It is a past-time in many cases handed down over many generations, and has become an integral part of the identity of rural communities in Pennsylvania."
But it goes beyond hunting's value as a tradition.
As the editorial board of the Sun-Gazette has noted before, hunting and fishing contribute about $1.5 billion to the state's economy. The state also collects more than $91 million from licensing and taxes on firearms and other sporting goods -- money used for state conservation projects.
As the Sun-Gazette also noted in an October editorial, hunting plays a necessary role in management of deer and other species' populations -- mitigating the damage wildlife does to the agricultural sector.
So while the expansion of gamelands benefits hunters, affording them more options as to where to hunt, accommodating hunters benefits farmers, retail stores, hotels, the municipal governments and school districts to whom those successful enterprises pay taxes and the taxpayers who don't have to shoulder as much of that tax burden if sporting goods stores and other businesses were to close.
For these reasons, we all should appreciate the expansion of state gamelands.