Stewardship

January 9, 2025

A UV night hike at Black Moshannon State Park

The dawn greeted a new year on Wednesday, but my real New Year’s Day celebration started after the sun set on the first day of 2025. Although I’ve done daytime hikes as part of the First Day Hike initiative in years past (like my hike at Parker Dam State Park in 2024), this was the first time I was beginning the new year with a special night hike. Black Moshannon State Park, which is located along the I-80 Frontier landscape in the southern part of the Pennsylvania Wilds, decided to hold two UV light night hikes for their First Day Hike in 2025.

January 7, 2025

BIRD LORE: Winter birding

It was cold and the wind was blowing hard but there I was with two friends scanning the whitecaps of Rose Valley Lake in Lycoming County, hoping for a “fallout” of waterfowl and vagrant species. Winter birding in these kinds of conditions can be challenging, but also rewarding. We didn’t find many birds on the water, but we braved the “fowl weather” long enough to watch a Bald Eagle hopefully, but futilely, try to snatch a duck in flight across the lake. That’s not a sight you see every day. Though fish are their preferred food, Bald Eagles are opportunistic and will hunt smaller birds and mammals, as well as feed on carrion.

December 23, 2024

Allegheny River Cleanup receives 2024 Outstanding Wild and Scenic Rivers Stewardship national award

Three local leaders of the annual Allegheny River Cleanup have received the 2024 Outstanding Wild and Scenic Rivers Stewardship award, given by the USDA Forest Service. The recipients are Piper VanOrd, Owner and Creative Director of Allegheny Outfitters in Warren, Pennsylvania; David Snyder, longstanding volunteer; and Nathan Welker, Aquatics Program Manager of the Allegheny National Forest.

December 12, 2024

BIRD LORE: Winter finch report for 2024-25

It’s that time of year again. Fall migration is essentially over and, while we’ll miss most of the colorful bird species we enjoy in the spring and summer, there are a few arriving from northern latitudes and the boreal (northern) forest. These birds ought to get our attention and hold our interest for much of the winter.

November 29, 2024

Forest Fridays: I brought the green bean casserole

The first Thanksgiving was held near Plymouth, Massachusetts, and not the Pennsylvania Wilds. However, many of the things eaten during that first Thanksgiving meal would have also likely been found in our rural section of Pennsylvania... and would seem very different from what Thanksgiving looks like nowadays.

November 25, 2024

Cameron County leans into dark sky tourism

Cameron County is taking advantage of its location to capitalize on the tourism benefits of dark skies. The PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) recently awarded a grant to the Lumber Heritage Region, which will help fund a master site development plan to create a dark skies park in Cameron County. The park site is a reclaimed county landfill. The plan will explore strategic goals, timelines, and implementation methods. Ultimately, the desire is to have a site and community recognized by the International Dark Skies Association.

November 15, 2024

Forest Fridays: Thank a veteran and thank a forestry veteran

Veterans Day calls on us to thank the members of our community that defend our American way of life. This Veterans Day we honor all the veterans who have served in our armed forces and the forests of the Commonwealth with a brief history of World War I and how it affected Pennsylvania’s forestry professionals. 

November 8, 2024

BIRD LORE: Keeping an eye on the sparrow

On Seven Mountains Audubon’s October bird walk just outside the Pennsylvania Wilds, I was thrilled to spot four birds I wouldn’t have noticed or identified without the help of more experienced birders: a Red-shouldered hawk, a Yellow-rumped warbler, and two Nashville warblers. Always eager to see less-familiar birds, I’m grateful to those who can spot and identify them better than I. But of the thirty species tallied that day, the one that delighted me most was one I heard but didn’t see: a White-throated sparrow, calling somewhere in the tall grasses: “Poor Sam Peabody, Peabody!”

November 4, 2024

Hickory Creek Wilderness in ANF celebrates 40th anniversary

Happy 40th anniversary to Hickory Creek Wilderness in the Allegheny National Forest! The USDA Forest Service, which oversees the Allegheny National Forest and other national forest areas throughout the country, announced the 40th anniversary of the designation of Hickory Creek Wilderness as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System on October 30, 1984. Located near Tidioute, Warren County, the wilderness protects 9,337 acres of heavily forested area home to black cherry, oak, beech, birch, and eastern hemlock trees. Two major creeks run through the wilderness, East Hickory and Middle Hickory.

October 29, 2024

Nominate your favorite waterway for 2025 River of the Year

Want to show a little extra love to your local river? Pennsylvanians are being asked to nominate their favorite waterway for the 2025 River of the Year! The nomination period is open until November 11.