Outdoors category, Page 7

Kayak rentals returned to Allegheny RiverTrail Park this month after a year without the service. 3 Rivers Outdoor Company (3ROC) launched an outpost on May 1 at the 16-acre site tucked off Freeport Road in Aspinwall. “Bringing people to the water and showcasing the rivers of Pittsburgh, the beauty right...

Work on the West End Trolley Trail has been delayed, with construction now scheduled to begin next summer. The trail follows the former path of a public transit trolley and includes on-street shared lanes, as well as a path reserved only for pedestrians and bicyclists. Plans for the trail include...

Hampton Community Trail’s Phase 2 has begun, with unanimous approval of the engineering proposal during municipal council’s April 27 meeting. The first phase of the project has been completed, connecting the Rachel Carson Trail at Community Park’s northernmost end with the center of the park, next to its playground. Phase...

Even the king cobra is “vulnerable.” More than 1 in 5 species of reptiles worldwide are threatened with extinction, according to a comprehensive new assessment of thousands of species published Wednesday in the journal Nature. Of 10,196 reptile species analyzed, 21% percent were classified as endangered, critically endangered or vulnerable...

A vintage fishing lure show will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday 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 bring...

Several years ago, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy biologists documented the first freshwater mussels — eight species in all — found in the Kiski River in over a century. Then, last summer, the biologists implanted some baby mussels in concrete silos in the Kiski, as well as a dozen other waterways, to...

If you’ve been to state parks or public lands in Southwestern Pennsylvania, chances are John C. Oliver III had a hand in acquiring some of that acreage. Regional parks that Oliver helped secure additional property for include Ohiopyle, Moraine, McConnell’s Mills and Raccoon state parks. That’s just a small part...

Hunters should find the largest wild turkey population they’ve seen at any point in the past few years when they head out into the Pennsylvania forests for the upcoming spring gobbler hunting seasons, according to Pennsylvania Game Commission turkey biologist Mary Jo Casalena. Recruitment of new, young turkeys into the...

The Pennsylvania Game Commission has created a seventh Chronic Wasting Disease Management Area expanded two existing DMAs in response to recent discoveries of CWD-positive deer in new parts of the state. The new DMA 7 is a response to a CWD-positive deer in a captive facility in Lycoming County. At...

Trout fishing season opens at 8 a.m. Saturday. It’s the first single statewide opening day since the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission last October approved an end to dual opening days. From 2007-20, there was a statewide opening Saturday preceded by an earlier regional opening in 18 southeastern counties. When...

It’s raining deer in a small northwestern Pennsylvania town, and residents say that’s disgusting and dangerous. Approximately 25 whitetail deer have leaped to their deaths from the U.S. 219 bypass that runs through the town of Johnsonburg, Elk County, in recent years, according to a recent report by WJAC-TV of...

In their 10th year of nesting, the Pittsburgh bald eagles in Hays welcomed their second chick of the season on Tuesday morning. A third egg is expected to hatch between Friday and Sunday, according to the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania and PixCams, which sponsors the live webcam where viewers...

Allegheny County officials on Friday released a feasibility study for a project connecting the Westmoreland Heritage Trail to the Great Allegheny Passage by way of the Turtle Creek Valley, which runs through Pittsburgh’s east suburbs. Several proposed routes could serve to link the Westmoreland Heritage Trail from its western terminus...

The tiny wings of the endangered Indiana bat seem to be taking the creature on longer journeys. The Pennsylvania Game Commission recently documented the longest known, single-season migration of the federally and state-endangered bat from Pennsylvania to Kentucky. As the migration, at least 418 miles, broke the record for longest...

While PixCams of Murrysville is best known for its live Pittsburgh Hays bald eagle webcam, the small company has been expanding and now has 30 live webcams. They rolled out a new product for the public, businesses and nonprofits to set up their own live webcam system and broadcast it...

O’Hara Township is seeking a second round of grants in as many months to finance a trail stabilization project in O’Hara Community Park. Township officials on March 8 approved applications for a $125,000 grant through the Commonwealth Finance Authority’s Statewide Local Share Assessment Program, and a $62,500 grant through the...

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, with some help from the Tri-County Trout Club, has stocked Deer Creek in Emmerling Park, Indiana Township. It was the first time since the beginning of the covid pandemic that volunteers from the trout club could assist in transferring thousands of trout from commission...

Workers at the U.S. Steel Works Irvin plant in West Mifflin last month successfully diverted a great horned owl that was pestering nesting bald eagles at their home on mill property. Now they are celebrating the first eagle egg of the season. The female eagle delivered early Sunday evening. “We...

There’s something fishy in Westmoreland County’s waters. During the next three months, hatchery-raised rainbow, brown and brook trout will be released into the county’s waters for anglers to catch during trout season, which opens statewide April 2. Locally, the first trout of 2022 were released Tuesday in Loyalhanna Creek. Throughout...

Hunters and target shooters in Pennsylvania spent more than $1.8 billion on their sports in 2020, according to a new report from the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation. The report looked at the economic impact of hunting and target shooting at the national, state and legislative district levels. The researchers found that...

More than 80 rescued Florida manatees are in rehabilitation centers across the U.S. as wildlife officials try to stem starvation deaths by the marine mammals because of poor water quality. The latest numbers were released Wednesday by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service...

America’s national bird is more beleaguered than previously believed, with nearly half of bald eagles tested across the U.S. showing signs of chronic lead exposure, according to a study published Thursday. While the bald eagle population has rebounded from the brink of extinction since the U.S. banned the pesticide DDT...

Snowmobiling adds $65 million to Pennsylvania’s economy each year, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. More than 40,000 snowmobiles are registered with the department, which requires registration and titling of all snowmobiles in the state. Registration is $20 for two years. Titling is $22.50. In addition,...