Along a particularly rocky portion of the Tuscarora Trail in Perry County, Pennsylvania, is situated a 3,037-acre wildlife sanctuary established by Florence W. Erdman in memory of her mother. The F.J. Reineman Wildlife Sanctuary dates from 1966, and the trust establishing this land gave it to Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, which is just near my home. The extremely bright pink markings delineating the boundaries of the preserve don’t really come through in the second image, but I assure you, the signage was ubiquitous.
An article from the student newspaper _The Dickinsonian_ from 2013 might explain why the boundary signage was so strident. In it, author Michaela Shaw quoted Dickinson Professor Wingert explaining that the trust was explicit about banning hunting or cutting wood — but what was established to foster minimal human intrusion ended up with unintended consequences: an overpopulation of deer led to the destruction of the forest understory, leading to the growth of invasive plant species. This has created “a total ecological disaster, if you will,” stated Wingert.
Since the F.J. Reineman Wildlife Sanctuary was dedicated in 1971, the Dickinson students have studied the environment of the area, but perhaps the deep distinction between the management of the land in the sanctuary versus outside it has driven the trustees to uphold firm and visible borders.
Source(s): Doi: archives.dickinson.edu/places/florence-jones-reinman-wildlife-sanctuary-1966-present. Posted 2005. _The Dickinsonian_, A Look at Reinman Sanctuary_, by Michaela Shaw, November 7, 2013. Shout-out and thanks to Ms. Erin McKusker for field study and research collaboration.
