State game lands dedicated to heroes of Flight 93

Richard Guadagno's friends and family are certain that he was one of the heroes of Flight 93, who fought to reclaim their plane after it was hijacked by terrorists Sept. 11, 2001.

"There's no doubt in my mind that he took part in this," said David Nicely, Guadagno's colleague in the Fish and Wildlife Service.

"Richard's main interest was in protecting the environment, protecting wildlife," said his father, Jerry. "But there was the other side, equally important: he was a trained law enforcement officer."

Several hundred of Guadagno's colleagues in the North American Wildlife Enforcement Officers Association attended a ceremony Thursday afternoon in Somerset County at the new State Game Lands 93. The 665-acre site, in Shade Township near the Flight 93 Memorial, was dedicated to Guadagno and the other 39 passengers and crew of United Flight 93.

The passengers and crew famously fought back, forcing the terrorists to crash the Boeing 757 in a field, rather than into the Capitol, as they apparently had planned. All on board were killed.

Barry Zaffuto, land management supervisor with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, said the game lands were created to preserve the natural setting around the Flight 93 memorial while still allowing local people to use the land for hunting.

"This is really ground that's hunted heavily," Zaffuto said, explaining that if it were made part of the National Park Service's Flight 93 Memorial, it could not be used by sportsmen.

Zaffuto said that much of the land, a reclaimed strip mine, was donated by Consol Energy and Waste Management. The Game Commission acquired most of it in 2006.

The land, part of which lies within the boundaries of the Flight 93 memorial, will be managed by the Game Commission and preserved from development.

In addition to the game lands, the Game Commission created the Richard J. Guadagno Habitat Area and Nature Trail, which includes a nature trail and a man-made wetlands that wildlife officials hope will attract birds and other creatures.

That is something Guadagno might have appreciated.

Guadagno, 38, had visited his family in New Jersey and was returning to California, where he was the manager of the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, an area of pristine wetlands and sand dunes that is a habitat for migratory birds.

Guadagno, who grew up in Trenton, N.J., loved living things, from the plants in his garden to wild animals, his father said.

"He liked to grow things," Jerry Guadagno said. "I said he'd grow something out of a stone."

Jerry Guadagno, who received a folded flag at the ceremony, said his family appreciated the gesture.

"These were his peers," he said. "They're paying him a special tribute."