Outdoors category, Page 13

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,”...

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...

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...

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...

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...

The herds of roaming deer causing vehicle accidents, spreading Lyme disease through the ticks they carry and gnawing away at expensive landscaping may soon have one less place in the North Hills to escape the hunter’s snare. McCandless council has given town planning commission member Dan Kortum the green light...

The 2020-21 hunting season officially gets under way on Sept. 1 as two species of migratory birds become legal game: Canada geese and mourning doves. The early seasons on both seasons this year will be pretty much the same as last year. Although it doesn’t impact the early season opening...

Lacking a 2020 Pennsylvania Great Outdoors Elk Expo as a venue, the Pennsylvania Game Commission plans to reveal the names of the hunters being drawn to receive 2020-21 elk hunting licenses in a Facebook Live online event on Saturday. The elk expo has been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic,...

BILLINGS, Mont. — U.S. wildlife officials on Wednesday rejected special protections for a rare, freshwater fish related to salmon that’s been at the center of a long-running legal dispute, citing conservation efforts that helped increase Arctic grayling numbers in a Montana river. The Associated Press obtained details of the decision...

Kayakers will be able to get out on the water in Aspinwall this weekend, Venture Outdoors announced Thursday. After a stalled start to the season amid covid-19 concerns, the group said it will open its Kayak Pittsburgh site at the Aspinwall Riverfront Park on Friday for members. Access will be...

As people search for summer fun in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, camping has quickly become a popular alternative to bustling beaches and large crowds. At Ohiopyle State Park, park manager Kenneth Bisbee said attendance has skyrocketed this season. “Since the governor issued the stay-at-home order in March, our...

The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine is studying if covid-19 has been contracted by local bats who are recovering from white-nose syndrome, a deadly fungus that has been decimating populations. If the state’s fragile but recovering bat population contracts covid-19, it could create another stressor for the night...

The Pennsylvania Game Commission reported 200 more cases of chronic wasting disease last year in white-tailed deer and is enlarging three disease management areas across the state that include Westmoreland and Armstrong counties. There is no cure or live-animal test for CWD, a brain disease that is deadly for deer,...

It’s safe to go hiking in groups again, at least for some groups. State restrictions for the prevention of covid-19 on group activities have prohibited group hikes since mid-March. However, with Allegheny and surrounding counties moving into the green phase allowing a number of public activities, local groups are offering...

Beginning in September, an organized group of archery hunters will fan out on public and private land in Ross Township to thin the herd of deer blamed with causing vehicle accidents, spreading Lyme disease through the ticks they carry and damaging expensive landscapes. Commissioners on June 15 voted 7-1 to...