Adjacent to the management area is SGL No. 46, where public hunting is permitted. For geese, plan on hunting the fields east of Middle Creek off Girl Scout Road and northwest of Middle Creek along Sunnyside Road.

Most of the land surrounding Middle Creek is privately owned farmland. While some of it is leased by a select few hunters, there are quite a few farm-game properties near the property in Lebanon County to the north, and in Lancaster County to the south.

In Lebanon County, a large band of farm-game properties stretches from east to west, north of Middle Creek. The area between Schaefferstown and Iona on Route 897 is worth investigating, as are the farms on Route 419 between Cornwall and Buffalo Springs, and along Route 501 and Reistville Road outside Reistville, north of Schaefferstown.

BLUE MARSH LAKE
A few miles north of Reading in Berks County lies 1,150-acre Blue Marsh Lake. Including the lake, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages a total of 6,173 acres as part of the Blue Marsh property. Much of the land and water here are open to hunting. In addition, abutting the Blue Marsh acreage is SGL 280's 2,630 acres, adding even more open area for hunters to access.

Much of the Blue Marsh and SGL 280 land is planted annually with crops, such as alfalfa and corn. It's in these fields that December goose hunters should set out a spread of decoys.

On the north side of the lake, check out the SGL 280 acres north of Route 183 and on both sides of Bright School Road. You'll find a series of farm fields in this area, all of which can be goose magnets this month.

Another good bet is the farmland between Rebers Bridge Road and the Blue Marsh Lake dam west of Tulpehocken Creek. There's also a series of farm fields separated by tree lines along the west shore of the main body of the lake, adjacent to the dam. Hunters can reach these fields via Highland Road, off Brownsville Road.

For information on hunting Blue Marsh Lake property, contact the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office at (610) 376-6337.

GIFFORD PINCHOT STATE PARK
About eight miles west of the Susquehanna, in northern York County, lies 2,338-acre Gifford Pinchot State Park. The crown jewel of the park is the 340-acre Pinchot Lake. Every year, the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources encourages waterfowlers to hunt geese at Pinchot because of they are so abundant.

Take Route 74 north from York, then turn right on Route 177. On the north side of Route 177 there's a boat ramp that gives you access to a small cove north of the ramp. Head to a secluded corner of the cove and set up your decoys.

Another good bet is to hunt the extreme east end of the lake near the dam. To reach this end of the lake, take Route 74 north of York and then turn right on Alpine Road before you reach Route 177. Follow Alpine Road to a parking lot just before you cross Beaver Creek. You can park there and hike north with your gear to the lake shore just west of the dam.

For a map of Gifford Pinchot, contact the park office at (717) 432-5011.