Outdoors category, Page 13
Kansas game warden frees tangled deer with single gunshot
WICHITA, Kan. — A Kansas game warden is getting attention for a video that shows him firing a single shot from a handgun to disentangle the antlers of two whitetail stags. The Kansas Wildlife, Parks & Tourism agency released the video from the warden’s body camera showing his sharpshooting skills...
Hunting, fishing licenses will be unavailable next week as Pennsylvania updates system
Pennsylvanians who plan to go hunting or fishing in the next few weeks but have yet to get a license should do so soon, according to the state Game Commission and Fish and Boat Commission. Pennsylvania’s Automated Licensing System will be down for several days next week as it undergoes...
Trump administration scales back wild bird protections
BILLINGS, Mont. — The Trump administration on Tuesday finalized changes that weaken the government’s enforcement powers under a century-old law protecting most American wild bird species, brushing aside warnings that billions of birds could die as a result. Federal wildlife officials have acknowledged the move could result in more deaths...
Volunteers gathering at Bradford Woods Reserve for Audubon’s annual bird count
For the seventh consecutive year, the Bradford Woods Conservancy is seeking nature lovers interested in participating in the Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count on Jan. 2. A small team of conservancy members and volunteers is scheduled to be in the Bradford Woods Reserve at 10 a.m. “looking, listening and...
Hunter charged with homicide in fatal shooting at Pa. state park
BEDMINSTER — A hunter who fatally shot a man he apparently mistook for an animal at a state park has been charged with homicide and weapons counts, authorities said. Kenneth Troy Heller, 52, of Warminster made his initial court appearance Wednesday and was jailed after the judge denied him bail....
Watch those birdfeeders for rare northern finches visiting Western Pa.
Linda Croskey guessed it’s been about 30 years since she has seen the rare winter migrant, the evening grosbeak, show up at her birdfeeder at her West Deer home. Then, after last week’s snowstorm, Croskey was elated to see at her feeder the rare visitor. It looks like an overgrown...
Pa. game commission plans to release 23,000 pheasants
The state game commission plans to release 23,000 pheasants on Dec. 22-23, as part of the seventh and final release of 2020. Pheasant hunting is open across Pennsylvania. All hunting is closed on Christmas, but the season reopens on Dec. 26 and continues through Feb. 27. “These pheasant releases just...
Coronavirus safe: Online sales of fishing licenses double, 2021 licenses now available
Buoyed by a 20% increase in fishing license purchases this year over 2019, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is offering fishing licenses for 2021, which are also valid for this month. Although fishing licenses are still available through local bait and sporting goods stores, the commission is promoting the...
Pennsylvania deer hunters to be afield Saturday, Sunday in firearms season for 1st time
For the first time in Pennsylvania history, deer hunters will be able to hunt for a full weekend during the statewide firearms deer season. Hunters will go afield Saturday throughout the commonwealth for the opening day of firearms season for the second consecutive year. Then, those who don’t fill their...
Pennsylvania firearms hunting season for bear closes as 2020 bear kill tops 3,100
Hunters killed 78 black bears on Tuesday, the final day of the 2020 firearms hunting season for bear, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission. That bumped the total harvest for the four-day season to 1,155 — a relatively low number for the firearms season — and to 3,135 for all...
Owl be darned — Rockefeller Center Christmas tree survival tale not surprising
It’s actually not unusual, given the circumstances, that a cute Northern saw-whet owl, found in the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center recently, is healthy and still adorable. The saw-whet owl is so named because its call, not the typical hoo-hoo, but rather a mechanical toot-toot, sounds like the sharpening of...
First Sunday of big-game hunting in Pa. since colonial times
Pennsylvania was a British colony in 1682 when blue laws were enacted banning many activities, including hunting, on Sundays. For the first time since, Sunday and on the next two weekends, hunting of big game such as deer and bear will be allowed on Sundays. Hunting will be allowed this...
Game warden cites Derry Township man after trophy deer post on social media
A Derry Township man’s boast on social media about bagging an albino deer during archery season last month landed him in hot water with the state game commission. After an investigation, Stone P. Kepple, 23, admitted to wardens that he had struck the deer while driving in Derry Borough and...
Amid increased usage during pandemic, graffiti, trash plague Ohiopyle State Park
Graffiti is back again at Ohiopyle State Park. Volunteers and park staff spent Thursday cleaning up spray painted political messages, obscenities, drawings of genitalia and personal notes from bridge abutments in two parts of the park, said naturalist Barbara Wallace. Graffiti was found on a new abutment constructed this year...
Western Pa. anglers aim to make it easier for outdoor enthusiasts to collect trash
Hunter Klobucar and Tyler Waltenbaugh spent the summer of 2018 crossing the deep woods and backwaters of northern Pennsylvania, along the Route 6 corridor, and while their purpose was to study the natural habitat of brook trout, one particularly unnatural feature kept showing up: trash. “We’re in all these remote...
Life jacket now required for paddlers, boaters on all Pennsylvania waters
It’s that time of year. Water temperatures plummet and because of the dangers of drowning, all paddlers and boaters must wear a life jacket now until April 30. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) says U.S. Coast Guard approved life jacket are required at all times while underway or...
Focus on natural food sources for success hunting fall turkeys
When hunting turkeys, success is always predicated by the bird’s interest in one of two things: sex or food. During spring gobbler season, concentrate on the desire of toms to mate, but when hunting turkeys in the fall, think food. Like most creatures out there, turkeys spend their fall days...
New laws will affect Pennsylvania archery hunters as season opens Saturday
Archery hunters across the state will be in their deer stands Saturday for the first day of Pennsylvania’s statewide archery deer season. The first part of the season will run through Nov. 20. It will be closed on Sundays, except for Nov. 15. For the first time, the season will...
Fishing license sales jump 20% with covid-19 outdoor recreation boom
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission has already sold about 150,000 more fishing licenses this year than it did all of last year. “We certainly think that the pandemic situation has had an impact, as more people sought outdoor recreational activities, and either discovered or rediscovered a passion for fishing,”...
1st deadly grizzly attack recorded in nation’s largest park
A hunter has been killed by a grizzly bear in Alaska’s Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. It’s the first-known grizzly attack death in the nation’s largest national park. Park officials said in a statement that the hunter was killed Sunday, attacked while the hunter and a friend were near...
North Huntingdon man recognized for helping keep Linn Run park trout stream clean
On a warm September morning atop a wooded ridge where only insects and a small stream break the silence in Linn Run State Park, Dennis “Denny” Hess shoveled pure limestone into the water to neutralize acid rain in the water so the insects that trout thrive upon can populate the...
Invasive ‘rock snot’ algae found in Somerset County’s Quemahoning Creek
Quemahoning Creek in Somerset County has a “rock snot” problem. The invasive algae didymo, also known as “rock snot,” was recently discovered in the creek, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission announced Friday. Somerset Conservation District employees found the algae about two months ago in a section of stream used...
Flash sale: Pa. offers $1 fishing licenses for Labor Day only
Knowing that good weather is in store for the holiday weekend, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission at the last minute is offering $1 fishing licenses for Labor Day, Sept. 7, only. However, there is one caveat: the Fish and Boat Commission are reminding anglers and boaters to practice safe...
Pandemic provides boost for river recreation businesses in Western Pa.
The covid-19 pandemic appears to have spurred more people to take to Western Pennsylvania’s waterways this summer. Neill Andritz, co-owner of River’s Edge Canoe & Kayak in Gilpin, said kayaking, tubing and canoe rentals have increased 25% this season as people have sought covid-friendly outdoor pursuits. “We’re realizing the outdoors...
Southern California sees summer of mountain lion kittens
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — A mountain lion baby boom has occurred this summer in the Santa Monica Mountains and Simi Hills west of Los Angeles. Thirteen kittens were born to five mountain lion mothers between May and August, according to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. It’s the first...
