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Outdoors

Their wild ‘relatives’

FORT BELKNAP AGENCY, Mont. (AP) — Native species such as swift foxes and black-footed ferrets disappeared from the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation generations ago, wiped out by poisoning campaigns, disease and farm plows that turned open prairie where nomadic tribes once roamed into cropland and cattle pastures. Now with guidance from elders and outside wildlife groups, students and interns from the tribal college are helping reintroduce the small predators to the northern Montana reservation sprawling across more than 1,000 square miles (2,600 square kilometers) near the U.S.-Canada ...

Bees face natural challenges

By Jennie L. Durant University of California, Davis THE CONVERSATION The extreme weather that has battered much of the U.S. in 2022 doesn’t just affect humans. Heat waves, wildfires, droughts and storms also threaten many wild species — including some that already face other stresses. I’ve been researching bee health for over 10 years, with a focus on honey bees. In 2021, I began hearing for the first time from beekeepers about how extreme drought and rainfall were affecting bee colony health. Drought conditions in the western U.S. in 2021 dried up bee forage — the ...

Altoona bow business known by hunters and Hollywood

By Walt Frank Altoona Mirror wfrank@altoonamirror.com Creating bows found nowhere else has been the key to success for an Altoona-based business whose work can be seen not only in the real world, but also in the digital world of “Avatar: The Way of the Water.” The movie opened in theaters recently. It’s Grayvn Traditional Archery’s biggest project to date, said Ned Miller, who along with his wife, Marlana, owns the company. “We have worked on this for years with their props department,” Miller said, noting he traveled to California about four years ago to help put ...

PFBC quarterly meeting to be held on Jan. 23

HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) will hold its quarterly business meeting on Monday, Jan. 23, 2023, beginning at 1:45 p.m. at its Harrisburg headquarters, located at 1601 Elmerton Avenue in Harrisburg. The meeting is open to the public. The complete schedule and agenda for this meeting and information on how to provide public comment is available on the PFBC website (Fishandboat.com). The meeting may be viewed remotely by joining the webinar from your internet browser using this link: ...

Why you should always wear a life jacket in the cold

November 1 through April 30 Beginning in 2012, the following regulation was established: •a person shall wear a Coast Guard approved personal flotation device (PFD or life jacket) during the cold weather months from Nov. 1 through April 30 while underway or at anchor on boats less than 16 feet in length or any canoe or kayak. I’m a good swimmer, so why do I need to wear a life jacket? Cold water shock is a major factor in boating fatalities when water temperatures are less than 70 degrees F. Cold water shock causes an involuntary gasp (often resulting in aspiration of ...

Outdoors Calendar

Atkinson Mills Sportsmen’s Club • Meetings — held on the first Wednesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. The club is located at 55 Sportsmen Club Lane, McVeytown; email atkinsonmillssportsmensclub@gmail.com; online at http://atkinsonmills-sportsmensclub.weebly.com. Blue Rock Sportsman Club • Club meetings — 2 p.m. on the fourth Sunday of each month on the gun range, and at 7 p.m. in January and February in the barn. To east end Blue Rock: From Milroy, follow signs to Reeds Gap State Park. Free camping available and kitchen is open during all events except trap ...