HARTLETON -- Valley hunters have nearly 400 acres of new state game land in Union County to hunt and trap small game, thanks to Pennsylvania State University.

The state Game Commission recently bought 397 acres of farm land from Gerald and Charlotte Shoop, of Hartleton, for a reported $1.97 million, according to court records.

Jerry Feaser, commission press secretary, said Tuesday the purchase was made with the help of an $8.2 million escrow account created by Penn State a few years ago in exchange for a portion of state game land property in Centre County the university needed to spray residual sewage waste.

The escrow account, which has a reported $5 million left, was established specifically for land acquisition, Feaser said.

"This is a unique situation, because with our financial situation, we really do not have a land acquisition budget per se," he said. "The commission has been relying on the escrow account in order to make some of these land purchases."

"We haven't had a license fee increase since 1999," Feaser said. "With our revenue situation the way it is, we're faced with the same fiscal restraints as others. We had to zero out (budget) line items. One of those was our land acquisition budget."

He said the Centre County property, which was a 1,000-acre parcel in State Game Land 176, remains open to public hunting and trapping, as will the commission's newest purchase in Hartley Township, which will be part of 688 acres in State Game Land 317.

"This is a farm property that is reverting back to forest," said Feaser, adding the commission plans to leave the property as-is. "It provides some excellent small-game hunting in the area."

He said the commission always is open to purchase land, especially areas subject to encroachment of development. The agency's mission is to preserve wildlife habitat whenever possible, he said.

"This was a situation of a willing buying and a willing seller," Feaser said. "It's important for us to acquire lands when there is money available. If not for the escrow account, we wouldn't be able to purchase these properties."

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