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Outdoor

Hunters up, harvest down for black bears

The black bear harvest declined to a 10-year low, according to state data, despite a dramatic spike in interest among hunters during that same time. The Pennsylvania Game Commission announced that 2,920 bears were killed in the 2023 seasons, an 8% drop from the 3,171 bears taken in 2022. The recent high came in 2019 when 4,650 bears were killed by hunters, but most of the last decade has seen 3,100-3,700 bears taken every year. The decline isn’t a result of bear hunters leaving the woods. More than 206,000 hunters bought bear licenses in 2023 — the fourth-highest sale total ever. ...

Seeds are nearly in season in region

The recent winter warm spell has been challenging. As a gardener, I’ve been dreaming of turning over garden soil and tucking in seeds. The sunshine tempts, but I must resist. Despite the lack of snow, it’s just not time yet. The ground is still cold and many plants are still dormant. And ...

How does a moth view time?

Time flies when you are having fun, but how does a moth feel about time? These are the thoughts that wake me up in the middle of the night and make me think (and have bizarre dreams). What does a moth notice about time? They don’t have watches, clocks or phones to tell time, or lose an hour ...

The importance of friendships

As I write this, it’s Valentine’s Day; a day to celebrate relationships. While traditionally, romantic relationships are celebrated on this day, recent trends, like Galentine’s Day, have encouraged the celebration of friendships. There are many types of relationships in the natural ...

In defense of nature’s rodents

The mammalian group gives us some of the most well-known, large, charismatic animals out there. They are fuzzy and cute, and on average have a larger body size than many other animals. If I asked you, without any context, to make a list of animals that live in the habitats closest to you, what ...

Do the great backyard bird count

Let’s be honest, mid-February is an absolutely lousy time to ask people to count birds, but that is exactly what the National Audubon Society and Cornell Lab of Ornithology ask people to do. The weather is often intolerably cold, for people and for birds. The winter snow in some years is as ...