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Outdoors

Places to visit to celebrate America’s national parks

The National Park Service in the United States has been around for more than a century. Created in 1916, the National Park Service was initially tasked with protecting the country’s 35 national parks and momuments. Today, the National Park System comprises more than 400 areas that cover more than 84 million acres in 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Saipan, and the Virgin Islands. The growth of the National Park Service is proof of the undeniable allure of the great outdoors. The call of the wild can be answered anywhere in the United States, and ...

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 ...

US, Trout Unlimited eye stream restoration on national forest lands

By KEITH RIDLER The Associated Press BOISE, Idaho (AP) — U.S. officials recently announced a five-year, $40 million agreement with the conservation group Trout Unlimited to improve watersheds on national forests and grasslands that contain key habitat for trout and salmon. The U.S. Forest Service said the agreement includes cleaning up abandoned mines, removing barriers to fish passage and other stream habitat improvements. The agency said that more than 40% of trout streams in the U.S. flow through nearly 200 million acres of national forests and grasslands. “Our agreement ...

PA Game Commission: Late archery and flintlock season

HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Game Commission reminds hunters archery hunting has resumed and the flintlock season has opened across the state. Hunters will have one last opportunity to fill tags. These two seasons will run through Monday, Jan. 16, with the exception of WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D with their season running through Saturday, Jan. 28. Hunters in WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D also have an opportunity to extend their firearms season with a special extended season running through Jan. 28. This extended season is for antlerless tags only in those specific WMUs. Please reference the ...

You’re not a polar bear: The plunge into the cold water comes with risks

By Laura Williamson American Heart Association News Jumping into icy cold water in the dead of winter might seem like a crazy idea, but the so-called polar bear plunge has become a popular activity, often paired with raising money for charity. Boosting its allure is another anything-but-hot trend, the practice of cold therapy, based on the belief that exposing the body to cold water and air may strengthen the immune system and improve cardiovascular health. Actor Chris Hemsworth of “Thor” fame helped promote the idea when he took an Arctic swim without a wetsuit as part of ...

Dubuque man snags lots of customers with hand-tied flies

By GRACE NIELAND Telegraph Herald DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — CJ Klenske’s basement is an eco-artisan’s dream. There are shining silver strings, small ruffled feathers and fuzzy bits of fur carefully organized in plastic baskets all across a large table. A giant magnifying glass sits on his desk, alongside spools and spools of brightly colored thread. Klenske, of Dubuque, uses these myriad supplies to craft small, hand-tied flies for fly fishing. Over the past decade, he has gained state and regional acclaim for his flies, meticulously tying thousands each year for customers in all ...