Outdoors category, Page 4

The Pennsylvania Game Commission released a springtime alert Tuesday, urging the public to avoid young wildlife. The release informed Pennsylvanians that during the spring it’s possible to encounter young wildlife that appear to be alone. According to the Game Commission’s wildlife management director, Matthew Schnupp, many people attempt to assist...

PHOENIX — They’re not fluffy, they don’t play fetch and they certainly don’t roll over. But there is such a thing as a lap tortoise. What’s more, pet tortoises can wag their tails, will plod on up to greet you and some can even recognize their own names. The surprising...

Pennsylvania anglers can expect to pay more to fish next year, now that the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) has voted to increase the costs of licenses for the second year in the row, after license prices had not changed since 2005. At its meeting Wednesday, the agency’s Board...

Margo Malone was no stranger to running marathons, but Sunday’s 26.2-mile race on the streets of Downtown Pittsburgh was her first in her hometown. Hearing the cheers from the thousands of spectators who lined the course and the loud response heading down the home straightaway, the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team...

Thousands of runners toured Pittsburgh’s bridges, hills and streets Sunday morning, all as part of the 2023 Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon. To the tune of fireworks, the full 26.2-mile race and 13.1-mile half-marathon kicked off at 7 a.m. Downtown. A slight rain greeted runners as the race began but...

South Hills resident Timmy Morgan, 36, was introduced to the sport of ultra running the same way a character in a movie discovers a destined journey. It was a dark and stormy night. Morgan and a friend had decided to set up camp after hiking along the Pacific Crest Trail...

An evening nature walk at a North Huntingdon nature preserve will help participants learn about the frogs and toads that make the area their home. Herpetologist AAron Capouellez will lead the walk at the Otto & Magdalene Ackermann Nature Preserve, near Ardara, and share his love for amphibians while hopefully...

A vintage fishing lure show will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 29, at the Holiday Inn in Weirton, W.Va. Early Americana vintage fishing tackle and lures from the 1890’s to the 1980’s will be on display. The event is open to the public, and patrons can...

Don’t look now but the sun is shining a little more, and the temperatures are starting to warm up. It’s a beautiful thing after slogging through another Pennsylvania winter, but humans aren’t the only creatures ready to get out and about in the nice weather. The rising temperatures mean snakes...

Seven out of 10 people who buy an annual fishing license in Pennsylvania also spring for a trout permit. But most of those anglers probably wouldn’t be able to catch a trout if not for the state’s long-running, $10 million stocking program, which sees millions of trout put into creeks...

SAN DIEGO — As drought dried up rivers that carry California’s newly hatched Chinook salmon to the ocean, state officials in recent years resorted to loading up the fish by the millions onto trucks and barges to take them to the Pacific. The surreal and desperate scramble boosted the survival...

It may take place on April Fool’s Day this year, but it’s certainly no joke. Each year, thousands upon thousands of anglers across Pennsylvania eagerly look forward to the opening day of trout season. It’s a cherished time of the year when people get together with family and friends to...

A few years ago, Randy Santucci’s deer hunting season would begin at a leisurely pace once Thanksgiving was over. “People would start trickling into camp on Saturday, we’d do a campfire Saturday night, my brother would fly in from South Carolina with a bunch of dove breasts from hunting, and...

As the debate around the timing of the opening day of the Pennsylvania’s firearms deer season continues, a Lehigh Valley legislator has joined the ranks of those considering moving the opener back to its traditional Monday after Thanksgiving. Last week, state Sen. Lisa Bosola posted a legislative memo looking for...

Fresh off competing in the collegiate national championships, Lower Burrell’s Austin Aikins is taking the next step in his fishing career. “I’m going to try to pursue it on a professional level right now,” said Aikins, who represented Bethel University in the Major League Fishing (MLF) College National Championships, Feb....

The state Game Commission and Ducks Unlimited have partnered to form the Pennsylvania Wetland Habitat Initiative that would improve 1,600 acres of wetland habitats on 61 state game lands. Outdated pipes, damaged dikes and dilapidated infrastructure limit site managers’ ability to the wetlands and leave the species in these habitats...

Hunters and members of waterfowl organizations can attend the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s virtual annual waterfowl briefing, streamed by the agency’s Facebook page, on March 9 at 1 p.m. Waterfowl Program Specialist Nate Huck and Wildlife Operations Division Chief Ian Gregg will review the proposed 2023-24 waterfowl hunting seasons, regulations, and...

A remote section of the Great Allegheny Passage between Ohiopyle and Confluence is closed for the next two months while construction crews replace an aging culvert. The section between mile markers 68 and 69 was closed earlier this month in Ohiopyle State Park and construction vehicle traffic is heavy in...

Philip Ferry has been one with the woods since he was a young boy. Growing up in Youngstown, Pa., surrounded by forest and wildlife, his affinity for hunting and being an outdoorsman is what led him to become Westmoreland County’s new game warden. “Most people …. they find out early,...

While the number of black bears harvested in Pennsylvania in 2022 was down, some of those were “tremendous” animals that weighed more than 600 pounds. The Pennsylvania Game Commission said of the 3,170 bears harvested, three weighed more than 700 pounds and 11 weighed more than 600 pounds. It was...

Pennsylvania Game Commission officials are considering a plan to reintroduce a native species of weasel to the state’s woodlands after its disappearance more than 100 years ago. The American marten, or pine marten, and its potential habitats are being studied to determine if the proposal is feasible. Tom Keller, the...

The Pennsylvania Game Commission could soon be using specially trained dogs to help sniff out deer infected with chronic wasting disease as part of a new effort to learn more about the fatal, contagious ailment that continues to spread among the state’s herd. Studies from the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn...

As of Feb. 1, applications are open for Pennsylvania’s 2023-24 elk hunting seasons. Three seasons, archery, general, and late, have been preliminarily approved by the Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners. Interested parties can apply for $11.97 per season, or $35.91 for all three. Applications can be purchased online at huntfish.pa.gov...

The Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Board of Commissioners have given preliminary approval to the 2023-24 hunting seasons and dates, including a firearms deer season that opens on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The board took the action at its meeting last week. While some hunters had been urging the agency to return...