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Outdoors

Traumatized veterans heal through the power of nature

ALLENTOWN (AP) — Mario Kovach stood at a trailhead near Hawk Mountain the other day, with the Appalachian Trail stretching to Maine one way and Georgia the other and a perfect blue sky spilling sunshine over everything — a red car parked on the side of the road, a gaggle of genial thru-hikers pausing among their heaps of gear to rest and drink water. He slowly rotated his right forearm, displaying 20 surnames of men and women tattooed in a font patterned, he said, after the one on the tombstones at Arlington National Cemetery. All died in service of their country. Solesbee, Bell, ...

US national parks to offer look into green-friendly transit

Americans may soon get a better glimpse into a future of green-friendly transportation by visiting a U.S. national park. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg signed a joint pledge Wednesday to test some of the newest and most innovative travel technologies on public lands and improve visitors’ tourism experience. Under multimillion-dollar pilot programs made available by the $1 trillion infrastructure law and other federal spending, visitors to national parks could see self-driving shuttle buses, along with electric scooter or bike stations and ...

Development and conservation clash at Komodo National Park

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — On a dirt path, forked yellow tongue darting from its mouth, a member of the world’s largest lizard species lazes on an island in eastern Indonesia’s Komodo National Park as tourists snap photos. And about 18 miles (30 kilometers) away on another park island that harbors Komodo dragons, trees have been removed and concrete poured for new tourist facilities that have aroused the ire of residents and environmental activists. The construction is part of an ambitious Indonesian initiative that has generated tensions between a government that wants to develop ...

Outdoors calendar

Atkinson Mills Sportsmen’s Club • Meetings are 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 at 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 shoots. Decatur ...

Glacier National Park’s historical architect loves his job

WEST GLACIER, Mont. (AP)- Glacier National Park’s Kim Hyatt loves his job. As the park’s historical architect, it has been Hyatt’s duty for the past two years to ensure that any work done on the park’s buildings and structures is done in a way that preserves their history. With Glacier National Park’s 400-plus historic buildings and more than 300 historical structures, Hyatt has no shortage of projects from which to choose. “As you can imagine, the Park Service has a huge inventory of historic buildings. We are all about preserving the cultural and natural resources for ...

New job keeping Grand Teton’s 1st female chief ranger busy

JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) ­— Erika Jostad’s baseline for what Grand Teton National Park is like in the summer is skewed by 2021, easily the busiest year in the park’s 92-year-and-running history. Teton Park’s incoming permanent chief ranger has been in the job for months on an interim basis, during which time she’s overseen some 60 “incident responses” to fire- and that’s with a couple months of wildfire season remaining. The more general emergency call caseload has ballooned, too, outpacing gains in visitation and increasing nearly 70% over the average from the past five ...