by Nelson Haas WOOLLY BEAR CATERPILLAR Pyrrharctica isabella The Woolly Bear is the larval stage of the Isabella Tiger Moth. It became North America’s most recognizable caterpillar in the 1950s when Dr. C. H. Curran of the American Museum of Natural History tested the age-old tale that the caterpillar could predict the coming […]
by William Crisp There I was staring at a blank piece of paper wondering what to write about, when I heard an unusual sound outside. I thought perhaps one of the family was being a little clumsy and knocking around on the porch. Then Delta dog, the scaredy cat, did her bear bark […]
Dy-no-mite – Part 3 by Phil Burkhouse The Emporium Powder Manufacturing Company operated as Hercules Powder under the DuPont Corporation in present day Hercules Hollow located two miles west of Emporium. Last week’s question asked for the original name of Hercules Hollow. The answer is Haggerty Hollow. This week I will write about […]
Written by Emma Daghir, Forestry Intern Being from St. Marys, I enjoy hobbies such as hunting, fishing, and boating. When coming into the 2017 summer, I knew I wanted to pursue an internship in my area of study, Environmental Science-Biology. I worked with DCNR State Parks last summer, and I knew I wanted to […]
The Bucktail Rod and Gun Club will offer a handgun training class on September 13th from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. in classroom and September 16th at the Range. The class will cover How to Select a Pistol; Safe Handling; Storage; Your Responsibilities as a Gun Owner; Selecting Correct Ammunition; Ways to Carry Properly […]
Due to the threat of chronic wasting disease (CWD) coming closer to our local area, the game commission may be curtailing artificial feeding in our area. The Sinnemahoning Sportsmen’s Association will discontinue corn distribution at our club because of this. With that being said, all activities that took place during corn days: meat raffle, […]
by William Crisp You can smell autumn now in the morning. That wonderful smell is from the turning of the foliage on the trees. Trees are such wonderful creatures that even their decay smells good to humans. I have been accused of loving trees too much and at times my wife has become a little […]
Dy-no-mite – Part I by Phil Burkhouse In some of the small native streams where the boys and I fish for brookies, we often pass by remnants of buildings remaining in our county from a once-thriving business known as the dynamite industry. Some of the names of these companies became the permanent name for […]
Ticks / Permethrin by Phil Burkhouse The grandsons and I have been spending a lot of time wandering aimlessly through the Big Woods the past several months. I love spending time on our outdoor adventures, but one small item causes me alarm: ticks. We have been picking them up on our clothes and bodies since […]
by William Crisp The season has drawn nigh. It is the eve of deer season and so conversations have turned to deer wherever I go. It would be a glorious time if it wasn’t for the fact that they are the same old conversations I’ve had for decades and decades. Guys who predicted deer “eradication” […]
The investigation into the origin of two ear-tagged deer euthanized recently in Elk County has resulted in a conviction. A 56-year-old Ridgway man pleaded guilty Aug. 16 to two counts of disturbing wildlife after reporting he’d handled the deer, saying both were wild and he tagged them in separate years while they were fawns. […]
NORTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA Even the most casual observer has noticed a rise in deer numbers in Wildlife Management Units 2-G and 2-H in North Central Pennsylvania. I haven’t heard any scientific rationale for the increase in deer numbers except for some Game Commission personnel hinting that it’s probably due to the lack of deer hunters. […]
by William Crisp I love to camp and have always loved to camp; that hasn’t changed but how I prefer to camp has evolved or devolved tremendously depending on how you look at it. “Back in the day” I was a roughing it kind of guy. A poncho tied up with bungee cord was […]
Nessmuk by Phil Burkhouse Last week’s question asked: who was Nessmuk? Since Nessmuk is an Indian word meaning wood duck, we might surmise Nessmuk was of Indian origin, but that would be incorrect. Nessmuk was born in Massachusetts in 1821 and given the birth name George Washington Sears. Nessmuk was a tiny man, five foot […]
Joe-Pye Weed by Phil Burkhouse Last week’s question asked what local native wildflower presently in full bloom is named for an Indian healer named Jopi. Jopi in native tongues was an Indian healer in the 1800s from New England. He used the plant, which led to the name Joe-Pye weed to treat a variety of […]
We live in a world where change is the norm and the natural order of things. The seasons change, the chemical makeup of things changes, geology changes, the weather changes and, yes, even a changing climate has been the norm since before the ice ages and warm periods. Interestingly though, there are also severe […]
by Nelson Haas THE DROP -POINT HUNTER Robert Waldorf Loveless (2 Jan. 1929 – 2 Sept. 2010) Bob Loveless was on shore leave in the early ‘50’s and tried to buy a Randall knife and was told that there was a 9-month waiting period so he set about making his own and the results were […]
Hi-Power Nationals 2017 by Phil Burkhouse Last week I wrote about the NRA Small Bore National Championship held at the Ridgway Rifle Club. This week I will write about the following three-day shoot where competitors fired hi-power rifles at metallic silhouette targets at various differences. The small bore competition attracted 216 shooters in […]
by William Crisp Over the past two weeks I’ve been fortunate enough to be privy to the conversations of very young men, each of whom I’ve known for years. I wasn’t eavesdropping as I was part of the conversations but each time I found myself just nodding while sitting back and just listening […]
Two deer previously part of a captive deer herd were discovered and had to be euthanized last week near Ridgway. On Wednesday evening, the two free-ranging deer were euthanized after being discovered approximately 20 miles north of Disease Management Area (DMA) 3, which is an area being monitored for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), […]
Chronic wasting disease has spread to free-ranging deer in an area of the state where it previously had been detected only in captive deer. The Pennsylvania Game Commission today announced a free-ranging whitetail buck in Bell Township, Clearfield County, has tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD). A news conference about the new […]
by Randy Horning The Emporium Country Club ladies’ Thursday scramble was won by Meg Whiting, Judy Armanini, Pat English and Jill Carlson with a score of 37. On Sunday, the men’s tournament was the annual Tom Roberto Memorial. The format was a two-man scramble with a total handicap of 30, using four […]
A Pennsylvania ATV Safety Course (Official Certified PA Course) will be held Saturday, August 26, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the DCNR office, 3150 East Second Street, Coudersport. The course is open to ages 8-15 and participants must have their own ATV. You must preregister by Friday, August 11 by contacting Potter […]
The Bucktail Watershed Assn. and Residents for Protecting Cameron County Wilds has set a tentative date for a public meeting/forum to address concerns by county residents over the proposed ATV road route through Cameron County. Since the article in last week’s Echo concerning the Watershed Group’s activities, there has been an overwhelming response by […]
by William Crisp In a recent article I explained damage that occurred to the forest from All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs). The damage will and does cost taxpayers money. I’ve been wondering why the taxpayers should pay any more money to fix the places that people destroy when recreating. Meanwhile, ATV organizations wanting more access (to […]
Whitey with Phil Burkhouse Mary and I are wanderers. We are not world class wanderers, although we have managed to visit Canada a few times and had one adventure to Switzerland that was breathtaking. Most of our wanderings have been in the United States, and we have been fortunate to have explored many of the […]
The House Wren by Phil Burkhouse It was the summer of 1976, and Mary, Julie, and I moved from the city life in downtown Emporium to the isolated country life of West Creek. Jessie had yet to put in an appearance, and so the three of us settled into our new house on the edge […]
by William Crisp “Mother, mother ocean; I can hear your call. I’ve been wanting to sail your waves since I was three feet tall.” Jimmy Buffett. My wife and I are restless souls; we’ve been looking for a home or at least a great vacation spot since we’ve met. In general she likes flat lands […]
by Rich Summers Cameron County Echo The Emporium Alle-Catt baseball team was not adjusting to their first season after the league disbanded so last Sunday they traveled to Smethport for an exhibition doubleheader with the Crosby Mud Hens. Crosby won both ends of the twin bill by scores of 8-2 and 10-3. In the […]
The Pennsylvania Game Commission tested 5,707 deer and 110 elk for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) during 2016. Twenty-five wild deer tested positive for CWD. All of the wild CWD-positive deer were in or near Disease Management Area 2 (DMA 2), the only area of the state where CWD has been detected in the wild. These […]
Visitors to the Game Commission’s Facebook page will pick the two winners of the agency’s inaugural Turkey Harvest Photo Contest. Entrants who make it to the finish line will receive a personalized, engraved box call. The Game Commission received hundreds of photos of excited hunters with their 2017 Pennsylvania spring gobblers. They are competing in […]
Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks, Sinnemahoning State Park has announced that sediment removal from the George B. Stevenson reservoir has been completed but weather conditions have slowed progress of paving and modifications being made to mooring and launch area. Park officials have extended the opening of the lake from July 4th to August 4th, 2017. […]
by William Crisp In my decades of being paid to carry guns, I’ve come to recognize that there are different kinds of shooters. This recently came up in conversations at an annual mandatory fire instructor’s qualification and workshop. People can really only communicate to reach another’s level of perception. Unfortunately, at times, what people perceive […]
A First Tom For Kamden by Phil Burkhouse It was the night before the 2017 Youth Spring Gobbler hunt and Seth Fragale’s seven-year-old son Kamden was preparing for his first-ever turkey hunt. The crew would be hunting in Cameron County, had done some scouting, and knew there were gobblers in the vicinity. Accompanying Kamden were […]
by William Crisp We just celebrated the opening day of snake season and bass season; my twenty second such adventure of overseeing the magical second Saturday in June in a row. Before that there were such weekends that I partook more so than just observed and as I ventured through the forest and […]
Duck Wars by Phil Burkhouse I never believed it would happen to me, but as I progress through the journey of life the time has come that I now understand more clearly the views expressed to me by some of the elder hunters I crossed paths with during my younger years. I vividly […]
Aliyah’s Hunt of a Lifetime by Phil Burkhouse On Saturday, May 6th, the Cameron County Long Beards Chapter of the National Wild Turkey federation held their 10th Annual Hunting Heritage Banquet. There are a myriad of fundraising banquets organized by focus groups to support a variety of different wildlife species. In our area […]
by William Crisp I’ve finally made it. I have achieved a lifelong milestone that has been a personal goal since I was a young boy. It wasn’t easy and it took years of hard work, scratching and saving but I’ve finally hit the pinnacle of my own perception of manhood. Yes, by now […]
by Nelson Haas CINNAMON FERN – Osmundastrum cinnamomeum A large fern of wet woodlands is in full “bloom” now. The fertile, spore-producing leaf stalks in the center of the plant are a rich, cinnamon-colored brown. They grow from a dense, dark, wiry root ball called osmunda fiber which is used by horticulturists to […]
Mountain Lines by Nelson Haas FIELD ANTS On a recent turkey hunt, I sat next to an old stump. Petals from Choke Cherry trees were falling like snow from an adjacent clear-cut. Next to me in the leaf litter I noticed a small ant carrying one of the petals. I’ve often seen leaf-cutter ants […]
by William Crisp I’m transmitting from deep in the forest, disguised as a moonshine runner. I’ve changed my name and have shacked up with other like-minded pretend miscreants. Muddy is hanging from a tree, waiting for turkeys to land on a nearby limb where he can talk them into letting him shoot one. […]
Papalio Continued by Phil Burkhouse This week I will conclude the story about the elusive Prohibition bootlegger Joseph Papalio, the murder of Charles Ludwig, and the prosecution of corrupt sheriff Bucky Norris and Joseph Papalio. As stated last week Papalio took leave from the Cameron County Jail, with the help of Sheriff Norris, […]
by Nelson Haas HOBBLE BUSH Viburnum lantanoides I dropped down into a steep ravine where Rhododendron grows along the stream. There I found a striking, white -flowering shrub growing in contrast to the dark foliage surrounding it. I surmised it was one of the Viburnum but I’ve never noticed this April-flowering verity before. […]
by William Crisp Fishing vests have a very unique purpose in the outdoor garment world. They don’t keep you warm or dry, nor do they shield you from the wind. They don’t find fish or even look fashionable; in fact, they are very unfashionable. I’ll prove it. You can see sportsmen and hipsters […]
First For the Zeke by Phil Burkhouse As I related last week, about 8 a.m. on the Youth Mentored Spring Gobbler Day, Jake’s ears detected a distant shotgun report. He said to Gary and me, “I think that was in the general direction of Zeke.” Isaac, aka Zeke, is our youngest grandson. and […]
A Good Morning by Phil Burkhouse There is a feeling of awe I will never lose about being in the woods as dawn makes its appearance. Each new day officially begins at midnight, but for me the new day begins as light seeps into the woods. Trees become barely visible, and you can […]
by William Crisp I don’t want to alarm you but feel the need to warn you that there is a great environmental change coming. We are about to endure massive global environmental fluxes. These changes will be palatable in the deciduous forests around here as bare branches will begin to sprout leaves and […]
by William Crisp Last week I read an article called the, “Six Unwritten Rules of Bass Fishing Etiquette.” I really enjoyed the article until I got the sinking suspicion that the author was serious. Then I thought maybe bass fishermen were different than trout fishermen. The more I think about it, the more […]
Scouting For Fish by Phil Burkhouse The month before fishing season I keep busy doing a variety of tasks: some fun and others not so much. Pruning apple trees, rototilling the garden, planting onions, cutting and splitting firewood, and trying to get the lawn mower running fall into the not so much fun […]
Umbrella Rock: Revisited by Phil Burkhouse Mary and I have indeed been blessed with the wandering aimlessly bug. Some people are happy living their lives in close proximity to their birth place while others experience itchy feet and the urge to travel. Many years ago I hunted with an elderly gentlemen in the […]
by William Crisp It is the week before the regular trout opener. If you’re confused about what and where that is there is no excuse to be. It is easy to figure out which opener is “regular.” Just get out a sundial, an abacus, your Chinese lunar cycle calculator and a summary book, […]
A membership meeting of the Bucktail Rod and Gun Club will be held on Wednesday, April 19, at 7 p.m. at the clubhouse on Sizer Run Road. On the agenda will be a presentation about birds by Randy Flament; discussion of club and range work; an upcoming spaghetti dinner and shoot; and the yearly […]
Cameron County School District (CCSD) recently held a local National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) competition with 22 students attending. CCSD students, grades 5-12, had the opportunity to shoot in the tournament and are reaping the benefits of the lifelong sport of archery. NASP involves physical activity in which virtually every student […]
How To Kill A Turkey by Phil Burkhouse It’s Thursday morning, March 31st, and as I look out the window at the bird feeder, I grin when I note the goldfinches are beginning to live up to their name—they are turning gold. Mary strolls through the room with her usual sage advice, “It’s […]
by William Crisp This may be embarrassing to admit because it is a reflection of my pet ownership skills, but my dog is useless. Her name is Delta, but it should be “useless.” Currently, she is lying right next to me as I write, watching me. She’s not guarding me. No, she is […]
A company’s plans to build a 435-foot tower on State Game Lands 34 in Elk County will provide the opportunity to hunt and trap on an additional 800 acres of game lands in nearby Centre County, based on a proposal approved by the Board of Game Commissioners recently. The land transfer is part […]
Early Spring 2017 by Phil Burkhouse Our unusually mild conditions in February were rudely interrupted in March when cold temperatures, snow, and wind made a comeback in the Big Woods. I awoke in the wee hours of the morning last Thursday and noted it was starry out and a balmy 14 degrees. I […]
by William Crisp Conservation work has changed a lot since I started in the biz. It has gotten a lot stricter with bureaucratic chains a lot longer, heavier and more entangling. There are some changes that have been good, some changes for the worse, some are just ugly and others are just changes […]
The Fox Sparrow Migration by Phil Burkhouse Spending a week exploring the desert southwest certainly fired up my bird brain. Finding and identifying many new species of birds in the arid flats, foothills, and mountains surrounding Tucson was exciting, but this is also an exciting time in Pennsylvania because the annual spring bird […]
by William Crisp Back in 1993, I wrote a book on growing food plots called “Backyard Bucks” or something like that; I think there was another adjective in it but I’m not sure. You see I’m not familiar with my own title because while I wrote it, I never submitted the book for […]
Pennsylvania’s buck harvest increased 9 percent, and the overall deer harvest was up 6 percent, in the 2016-17 seasons, which closed in January, the Pennsylvania Game Commission reported today. Hunters harvested an estimated 333,254 deer in 2016-17 – an increase of about 6 percent compared to the 2015-16 harvest of 315,813. Of those, […]
The Southwest by Phil Burkhouse Most of my wandering aimlessly adventures occur at the local level, but occasionally Mary and I will get an opportunity to wander off on distant adventures. Leaving your local comfort zone and wandering into unknown places can be intimidating, but the rewards of having new and exciting experiences […]
by William Crisp Over the past few weeks I’ve been placed on injured reserve with a medical problem that is now resolved. For a period of time, I was uncomfortable but not too uncomfortable to fish. While I’ve been laid up, other guys have been busy with a major sap run and making […]
The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners recently gave preliminary approval to fall turkey seasons for 2017 and spring gobbler dates for 2018. The board preliminarily approved a conservative, midweek fall turkey season in Wildlife Management Unit 5B, which long has been closed to fall-turkey hunting. The board also gave preliminary approval to reducing […]
The PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship (PA Wilds Center) is now taking nominations for the “Champions of the Wilds” Awards. The awards will be presented at the PA Wilds Annual Dinner and Awards Banquet, to be held Thursday, April 27 at the DuBois Country Club. Do you know a person who has gone […]
by William Crisp March is here and, on cue, the good people of America will start thinking about fishing again. It won’t be long that bacon smoke will be rolling out of the camps and residences along the Driftwood Branch, the First Fork and other creeks during the wee hours of the morning […]
Wandering Aimlessly Swinging Bridges by Phil Burkhouse Saturday, February 11th, was overcast and quite mild for a mid-winter day. There was eight inches of wet snow on the ground, and I had cabin fever. I said to Mary it would be a good day to go to Lick Island and get some winter pictures […]
Semiautomatic rifles soon could be approved for Pennsylvania hunters participating in most seasons in which manual rifles can be used. The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners recently gave unanimous preliminary approval to regulatory changes that would permit the use of semiautomatic rifles and shotguns while hunting big game, small game and furbearers. A […]
A 20 acre aspen cut was done on the Elk State Forest along McDonald Run Road, an administrative road off of Dents Run Road. The area consisted of a 45-year-old aspen stand with scattered American beech, chestnut oak, white oak and ironwood. All of the aspen and beech were cut while all other […]
by William Crisp There are eight official wonders of the world; most are natural, some are man-made. I have my own wonders about the world that don’t match the contemporary great eight. Things I wonder about include but are not limited to, “Why do choosy mothers choose Jiff? What do choosy fathers choose? […]