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Pathway to Parks’ aim is diversity

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — There were some sketchy moments as Tanya Cummings thought her self-described “short, little legs,” wouldn’t get her up and over the boulders way taller than her 4-foot-11, well-coiffed and manicured frame, or out of the deep woods in the Plott Balsam Mountains. But with her two trusty walking sticks (which she sometimes tossed aside, saying “I don’t need you” before grabbing for them again), a Super Girl determination in those “little legs” and occasionally a “Help me!” directed at her boyfriend, Larry Pender, Cummings came through the ...

Montana bear specialist has 30 years of wildlife work

KALISPELL, Mont. (AP) — Erik Wenum is known as the “bear guy,” and it’s an apt moniker, given the fact that he’s handled nearly 5,000 bears during his tenure with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. He’s the bear and mountain lion specialist for the state agency, but truth is, there just isn’t enough space on his business card to provide a simplified description of the work he does. Wenum, 56, has been working with large mammals for more than 30 years, including 28 with Fish, Wildlife and Parks. He earned his degree at Colorado State and studied deer in that state before ...

CDT director has devoted her life to trails

DENVER (AP) — Teresa Martinez said she’ll probably never thru-hike something like the Appalachian Trail or Continental Divide Trail, but that hasn’t stopped her from devoting her life to them. “To know that I’m a small part of something that, for 50 years, has been protecting landscapes like this is pretty amazing,” Martinez said. “So there’s just this deep commitment to give back to that.” Martinez is the executive director of the Continental Divide Trail Coalition, which was founded in 2012 by volunteers and recreationists looking to improve and protect the ...

Champion archer: Practice, practice, practice

With bow season in full swing in most states and the transition to muzzleloader already happening in others, I took a moment to reach out to two dear friends with insurmountable experience in the archery world. First up, a mentor and hunting buddy Curtis Ashcraft. The second part of this two-part article will be a Q&A with Pennsylvania legend and Juniata County native Larry Wise. Curtis and I talked some hot archery topics for both new archers and archers of old. Discussing his credentials that seemed endless at times included an Indoor World championship, and an ASA Tru-ball ...

Dog trained to detect sewage

WILLIAMSPORT — Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Carol Parenzan uses many resources to aid her in patrolling the Susquehanna River watershed, but only one has a furry body and a nose that is being trained to sniff out the presence of raw sewage in the water. Little Susquehanna, or “Sussey” as Parenzan affectionately calls him, is 3 years old this month. He is a Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever, an unusual breed she chose for two reasons. “There are just a handful of dogs trained to do sewage, and he’s probably the only Nova Scotia duck toller right now being trained to do ...

The time is here for Hunters Sharing the Harvest

HARRISBURG — According to Hunters Sharing the Harvest executive director John Plowman, a lot of people and organizations share in the ongoing success of the organization To date, since the formation of HSH in 1991, the program has generated more than 1.3 million pounds of venison donations, and much of that is the result of the hunters and landowners who permit access. Based on imaginative season-and-bag limit opportunities, more hunters can have tags, continue hunting and are donating more deer in many areas. In 2017 the various deer seasons resulted in an all-time program record ...