WILLIAMSPORT - A Centre County gun club will have to wage a two-pronged battle if it wants to continue efforts to avoid eviction from leased land at Black Moshannon State Park.

That is because U.S. Middle District Judge Matthew W. Brann on Tuesday dismissed the breach of contract claim filed by the Phillipsburg Rod and Gun Club, saying the proper venue is the state Board of Claims.

He found the board has exclusive jurisdiction over claims arising from a contract with a commonwealth agency.

The club had argued unsuccessfully that federal court was the proper venue for its breach of contract claim because it was not seeking monetary relief.

Brann transferred the club's motion for a preliminary injunction to the board but kept the temporary restraining order that prevented the club from being evicted April 23 as directed.

The restraining order will remain in effect until modified or terminated by the Board of Claims, he wrote.

Brann retained jurisdiction of the club's constitutional claims of right of equal protection, due process, the right to keep and bear arms and conspiracy. But he dismissed the commonwealth as a defendant.

The remaining defendants are retired park manager Christopher Reese; John Norbeck, deputy secretary of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for parks and forestry, and John Hallas, director of the Bureau of State Parks.

The club's lawsuit claims the eviction is motivated purely by discriminatory animosity and it violates a lease it signed in 2011. The club has operated a trap shooting range in the park since 1909.

Brann encouraged the parties to negotiate a settlement but he was notified that effort failed.

The dispute between the club and the state involves the removal of lead pellets from the shooting range.

The club says it submitted several proposals to remove and recycle the lead that did not disturb ground vegetation.

Instead, it says the state in 2015 removed timber from between 9 and 11 acres of club land despite the club's lease stating forest growth was not to be damaged during the lead removal process.

Hallas in a Nov. 21 letter stated the alternative the state selected to remediate the site was insufficient and the cost of proper cleanup had increased from $835,319 to more than $5 million, for which the club would be responsible.

The club points to the results of an environmental risk assessment done by a consultant in 2009 that showed there was no danger to humans or to the park's flora or fauna.