Stewardship

January 18, 2024

National Wild and Scenic Rivers of the PA Wilds: Allegheny and Clarion

The Pennsylvania Wilds region has some of the best flat water paddling and fishing in the United States! When anglers and paddlers research the PA Wilds, they come across these words: “two Wild and Scenic Rivers.” They often ask where those two rivers are, why the words “wild” and “scenic” are capitalized, and why only two rivers out of the many PA Wilds waterways are called out as such. The term comes from the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, a registry that was created with the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. The Allegheny River and the Clarion River within the PA Wilds are on the Wild and Scenic Rivers registry, and for good reason.

December 29, 2023

BIRD LORE: Appreciating our feathered friends

Peek outside your window any day in North Central Pennsylvania and you are certain to see a variety of beautiful birds.  For instance, having a family of cardinals as your neighbors is one of the privileges of living in our rural area.  Birds are in such abundance here that it is easy to lose perspective of how truly blessed we are to have so many of them living amongst us.  

December 27, 2023

Red in the winter woods

This time of the year, even the woods are decked out for the holiday season! Red is used in celebrating and decorating for winter solstice, Christmas, and Kwanzaa, and symbolizes many things. There are many plants with red berries or stems that add a festive contrast to the neutral whites and browns of a winter woods.

December 20, 2023

Wrapping your holiday gifts in an eco-friendly way

The holiday season is here! No matter how you choose to celebrate, everyone can choose sustainability this season. Wrapping paper, gift bags, tape, and tags often get tossed after their first use. Here are some ways to help make your gift wrapping and gift giving more eco-friendly, as well as some tips for making sure the gift inside that wrapping paper is also a smart and sustainable choice.

December 15, 2023

Participate in the 124th Christmas Bird Count

Love birdwatching? Consider signing up to participate in a Christmas Bird Count near you! Data collected from the Christmas Bird Count helps inform ornithologists and conservation biologists about how the birds of the Americas are faring over time. The Christmas Bird Count will be conducted from Thursday, December 14, 2023, through Friday, January 5, 2024. Although the counts are held during that time period, counts are held on only one specific day during that time for each area, so check your area for more information.

December 7, 2023

BIRD LORE: Finches are returning this winter

If you haven’t already done so, get your feeders filled and ready.  Winter finches are returning.  Moderate to good flights of some species are occurring now and more are possible.

November 24, 2023

Celebrating the holidays in an energy-friendly way

The holidays are a time of love, warmth, compassion, joy and reflection. However, the holiday season also brings an increase in energy use and household waste. Each year, from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, household waste in the U.S. increases by more than 25 percent.

November 22, 2023

BIRD LORE: The wild turkey

Thanksgiving is almost upon us, and it is time to acknowledge the splendor, as well as the goofiness, of the central character of the feast! Wild turkeys are very large and heavy game birds, native to North America.  This is probably part of what made them so attractive for the first Thanksgiving.

November 10, 2023

Forest Fridays: A bumper crop of red oak acorns

Throughout much of the Keystone State it’s been a banner year for red oak acorn production, so much so that walking through some parts of the forest feels like you’re treading on marbles. At Soldier’s Grove across from the state capitol, there’s nary a square inch of surface that doesn’t contain a red oak acorn. The same can be said for my family’s camp in southern Huntingdon County. 

November 7, 2023

BIRD LORE: One way to help birds this winter

I confess: I am a reluctant cleaner of bird feeders. For years I imagined that keeping feeders filled with fresh, dry seed, periodically removing dropped seed and shells from the ground underneath, and disinfecting them at the end of the season—to avoid attracting bears, I feed only in winter—was sufficient. After all, the cardinals and nuthatches kept coming, and they looked healthy to me!