Dogged by development fears, York & Adams Beagle Club donates 265 acres to Game Commission

Since 1939, the York & Adams Beagle Club has been providing a training ground for hunting dogs in Jackson and Paradise Townships. But even if the club dissolved tomorrow, its recent decision to donate the club's 265-acres to the Pennsylvania Game Commission has ensured that land will never be developed — something the club wants to avoid at all costs.

“Looking over the hills towards Spring Grove, you see school additions and condos continue to creep our way. You could definitely see someone trying to come here and take more ground,” club President Blaine Grove said.

In the agreement, the Game Commission takes over as the land owner, but YABC will still be 100% responsible for land upkeep, property taxes and can continue all operations as usual. If the club ever disbands, the Game Commission would inherit land responsibilities while providing a place for hunting and wildlife conservation.

“When we first started talking about this, the big thing was that we didn’t want to give up control of what we could do. We didn’t want to tie our hands or future generations’ hands,” Grove said. “I think we worked out a deal with the Game Commission that gives us as much control as we could possibly want.”

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The club put its land in the York County Land Trust years ago to protect it, but members thought donating it to the Game Commission would provide the best outcome in the present and future.

Under the agreement, the Game Commission can never sell the land if it ever inherits control.

“This is a club that has put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into a property to make it suitable for conservation,” Game Commission Board President Tim Layton said. “They’re surrounded by a developing area, and they just don’t want to see that land be developed.”

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The YABC has 40 members, but Grove said fewer than a quarter are active. Game Commissioner Brian Hoover said the club members’ decision prevents the possibility of future members purposely dissolving the club to make money on a valuable property.

“As the property becomes more and more valuable, and you get down to maybe 4 or 5 members, they could be thinking that they’re sitting on a nice chunk of change and they could help themselves by dissolving the club and selling it off,” Hoover said. “Now they can’t do that.”

Game Commission officials agreed this could act as a precedent for other clubs that are worried about the future of their land.  

“You can put it in the deed or title that the land must be sold to a nonprofit or something like that, but the next generation could just as easily change that,” Grove said.

Although the property will revert to the Game Commission if the YABC folds, Grove hopes that stipulation doesn’t take effect for a long time.

“I’ll make sure I do everything in my power to make sure this doesn’t happen in my lifetime,” he said.