Who hunted in the Woodland Hills Preserve last year, and were they actually hunting in the preserve or on land immediately adjacent to it?
These are questions Lower Saucon Township Council wants answered, which was why members voted Wednesday to spend $1,000 on a land survey that will nail down the preserve’s property line and allow for future enforcement of a no hunting rule within the passive recreation area.
Questions about hunting in the rural preserve began last year, after two tree stands were discovered at the edge of the property, police were called and officers found evidence of a deer having been gutted and cleaned.
Hunting is forbidden in the 148-acre preserve–the township’s newest and largest public recreation area–because it includes walking and hiking trails.
The preserve is located on the site of the former Woodland Hills Golf Course, which went out of business nearly a decade ago.
The club property was later subdivided and sold, with a Hindu temple purchasing for the former clubhouse and converting it to a religious center.
In 2014 the township purchased the remainder of the land as part of its ongoing open space preservation initiative and is allowing it to return to its natural state.
Access to the preserve is from Countryside Lane, where a parking lot with a portable toilet, trash receptacle, trail signage and kiosk are located.
The address for the preserve is 4135 Countryside Lane, Hellertown, Pa.
For more information about Woodland Hills Preserve and the rules visitors must abide by, visit the township’s Parks page on its website.
The entrance to Woodland Hills Preserve on Countryside Lane in Lower Saucon Township before it was improved in 2014.