Stewardship

July 12, 2022

Tips to limit bear encounter risks

Bears have been reported at numerous campsites across the Allegheny National Forest. Dispersed campsites along Forest Road 259 and Forest Road 160 have had increased bear activity, with bears entering campsites, taking food, and damaging property. Remember these tips to limit your risk of bear encounters.

July 11, 2022

Help Clean Your Stream: Become a Waterway Steward

Help keep our PA Wilds rivers and streams clean by becoming a waterways steward! Restoring and protecting waterways is both a community and individual effort. One way to get involved is to join Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s Waterway Stewards Program. Members of this program commit to collecting and disposing of litter along and within waterways to help keep Pennsylvania’s rivers and streams as the valuable community assets and recreation destinations they are.

July 8, 2022

Gaining Independence: Non-Native Plants

As Independence Day is fresh in our minds, what do you know about the plants that "gained independence" from England during the colonization of the United States? For good or for bad, these non-native plants now grow in our PA Wilds. Did you know that Queen Anne's Lace, European Barberry, English Ivy and even the common dandelion are all from England originally?

July 7, 2022

The Unique Firefly Festival

Among all of the festivals in the Pennsylvania Wilds, Forest County’s Firefly Festival is unique. Held the last week in June on Route 666 outside Tionesta, this event is very educational, is accessible by registration only, and has gotten smaller by design over the years.

June 30, 2022

Celebrating our Partners: Visitors and the PA Wilds Center Team

Our final Great Outdoors Month gratitude post goes to our visitors, and to the dedicated Board, staff and core contractors who support the PA Wilds effort, day in and day out. It takes a special group to found, structure, fund and build a regional nonprofit dedicated to advancing generational, transformational work in a distressed rural landscape.

June 25, 2022

Celebrating our Partners: Heritage and Nonprofit Partners

Today's Great Outdoors Month post goes to the many heritage and nonprofit partners who are helping to grow the outdoor economy in the PA Wilds. Under BBBRC, several of these partners would complete projects in their wheelhouses that would grow the region's outdoor rec industry cluster, such as installing bike repair stations along Route 6, doing an assessment of the PA Wilds as a cycling destination, completing the Brady Tunnel project (a top-10 PA trail gap), bringing new hiking guidebooks to market, and more!

June 24, 2022

Celebrating our Partners: Conservation and Stewardship Partners

Today's Great Outdoors Month post goes to our many conservation and stewardship partners! These organizations help conserve and take care of the tremendous natural assets that underpin the region’s outdoor recreation economy.

June 2, 2022

Discovering biological diversity on state forest natural areas

Tamarack Swamp Natural Area, part of Sproul State Forest in Clinton County, is a specific type of wetland called peatlands. This unique space provides a habitat for uncommon animals and plants, aiding in Pennsylvania's rich biodiversity. Species like the alder flycatcher bird or arctic moss can be found in Tamarack Swamp.

May 16, 2022

Food plot soil testing: Preparing your land to be lush this fall

Taking a soil sample is the easiest thing you can do to ensure proper growth of a food plot and not waste time and money. Learn how to take and send a test sample, read the results, and use the results to help determine the next steps for your food plot.

May 12, 2022

Harvesting Wild Leeks in Allegheny National Forest

On most Forest Service lands within the Allegheny National Forest the USDA Forest Service allows the harvesting of wild leeks (Allium sp.) for personal consumption. Personal consumption means harvesting only what you will use for yourself and your family.