- It's been 16 years since the North Range of Trexler Nature Preserve opened to bowhunters
- Lehigh County partnered with the state Game Commission to help battle invasive plants and over-grazing deer
- More than 300 acres of an invasive shrub has been removed
NORTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — Widespread grasslands have made the North Range of the Trexler Nature Preserve a unique spot for Lehigh Valley bowhunters, Randy Metzger said.
“You don't really have guys in tree stands everywhere, because most of that is grassland up there now, but the animals are still utilizing it,” said Metzger, a hunter and conservationist who lives less than 10 miles away from the range. “It's more natural now than it was … that was all invasive autumn olive, and that stuff is brutal to get through as a hunter.
“It's almost impossible — the deer love hiding in there.”
It’s been sixteen years since Lehigh County and the state Game Commission partnered to open up a 471-acre portion of the preserve, commonly known as the North Range to archery hunters. The effort, which aimed to tamp down both over-grazing deer populations as well as an invasive plant, has been so far successful, officials said, but the fight is ongoing.
While Metzger, of Heidelberg Township, said he doesn’t “religiously” hunt the range, he noted the differences that set the area apart from other nearby game lands.
“Geographically speaking, it’s got a lot of really deep ravines in it — that whole gameland is sort of unique in that aspect.”Randy Metzger, hunter and conservationist
“Geographically speaking, it’s got a lot of really deep ravines in it — that whole gameland is sort of unique in that aspect,” he said. “And that makes things sort of interesting and somewhat different to hunt than other places around that area.”
While reporting this story, archers who have hunted at Trexler proved to be particularly elusive.
LehighValleyNews.com reached out to the Lehigh Valley Chapter of Safari Club International, the Lehigh Valley Bow Hunters Coalition and United Bowhunters of Pennsylvania, as well as several ranges, but could not connect with more local hunters willing to speak about their experience in the preserve.
‘From what it was to what it is now’
The decision to open up the North Range to bowhunters came down from officials in 2007, after an overabundance of whitetail deer caused native plants to be over-grazed, leaving room for invasive species like autumn olive to take root and quickly spread.
The autumn olive, alongside its close relative, the Russian olive, was brought to the U.S. from Asia in the 1800s, according to the State Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Growing upwards of 20 feet, the shrubs can shoulder native plants out by depriving them of sunlight.
The county needed help and struck up a partnership with the Game Commission. In exchange for allowing archery on the range, the commission would send officers to enforce hunting regulations and help with land management.
Robert Stiffler, Lehigh County’s director of parks, said the autumn olive was “so thick that you couldn't even walk through it,” but that has since changed.
“With the help of the game commission and their efforts to help eradicate the autumn olive and establish native grasslands [in] the area, the whole ecosystem up there has changed from what it was to what it is now, more open areas and grasslands and a lot of native birds coming in, which is one of the targets that the game commission was going for,” he said.
Steve Ferreri, a land management supervisor for the southeast region with the state Game Commission, similarly said the autumn olive made the North Range “impenetrable.”
“We've removed roughly 300 acres of autumn olive that's been up there, and we've been in the process of trying to convert it into more of like a native-type of grassland,” Ferreri said. “So hunting, coupled with the removal of that non-native invasive shrub, has really helped to reduce the deer numbers in that immediate area.
“And we're actually able to grow some quality native habitat in that area now.”
Through the partnership with the game commission, officials were able to bring in heavy equipment to eradicate a good chunk of the autumn olive, with little expense incurred — if any — by county taxpayers.
“Everything that the game commission did up there over the years establishing native grasslands — that didn't cost the county taxpayers any money, really,” Stiffler said. “It was all funded through sources of the Pennsylvania Game Commission, all simply because we've agreed to have the land open for public hunting, archery only, in our Trexler Preserve area.”
The change wasn’t just for the benefit of hunters however — the partnership also allowed the commission to improve access roads and parking lots, opening up the area for hikers, bird watchers and mountain bikers.
While the entire Valley region has a deer overpopulation issue, Stiffler said, the North Range doesn’t hold deer like it used to — a sign of success.
“The hide habitat has been taken away for the most part, a lot of it anyway, with the removal of the autumn olive,” he said.
There is no data available on how many deer have been harvested from the North Range. Hunters are required by state law to fill their tag with the township, county and Wildlife Management Unit, but not a specific property address.
‘A continuous battle’
More than a decade since opening to bowhunters, Ferreri said the North Range is in a “blended state,” straddling two phases of the effort, establishment and maintenance.
“We have the tops of Trexler, we have some really good quality, native grasses and wildflowers established, but the side hills, which are a little bit more challenging to work on, we're still in the establishment phase there,” he said.
The invasion of autumn olive happened slowly over several decades, he explained. Harry Trexler, for whom the preserve is named, kept bison and elk before transitioning to sheep — those grazing animals had kept the autumn olive in check.
Before the partnership between the Game Commission and the county, there were decades of unrestrained, invasive growth.
“Not to use a pun or a poor saying, but Rome wasn't built in a day — it’s the same kind of thing here,” Ferreri said. “We're not gonna be able to turn around 30 to 40 years of invasive plants in a short amount of time.
“It's an ongoing effort that the game commission is committed to, to create some quality habitat up there.”
Stiffler was not as optimistic but said the game commission acts as the “front line” in the battle against autumn olive, and they’re doing a “stellar job.”
“I wish it was a maintenance phase,” he said. “When you're battling invasive plant species, you never ever really get into a maintenance phase — it's a continuous battle all the time.”
Metzger said the partnership has proven to be a “win-win” for all involved: residents, the county and the state.
“There's a good number of people that are out there utilizing that area, whether they're hunters or mountain bikers, or hikers or bird watchers,” he said. “And that just goes to show you how good of a job that transformation is doing.
“Simply getting rid of the autumn olive opened up probably hundreds of acres of available land that was really inaccessible prior to that.”
