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Fish hatchery’s new app encourages learning

SPEARFISH, S.D. (AP) — Visitors to the D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery and Archives in Spearfish can now become “agents of discovery.” “We’re really excited about that,” said Archivist April Gregory, who assisted in creating the hatchery’s version of the Agents of Discovery, an interactive, educational technology platform. The free app is up and running and can be downloaded onto a smartphone or tablet. Users assume the roles of secret “agents” on a “mission” as they complete challenges specific to the location. For example, at the Spearfish hatchery, ...

Inline muzzleloaders have become nearly foolproof

There is a well-worn saying often heard at hunting lodges in the Deep South concerning one’s hunting accomplishments — “It ain’t braggin’ if it’s fact.” With opening day of the seven-day statewide antlerless muzzleloader season in Pennsylvania Saturday, flintlock hunters who have the urge to use what are referred to as “modern” muzzleloaders should be aware that some manufacture claims are more braggin’ than fact. Concurrent with this season, Oct. 18 to 20 is the statewide special firearms season for properly licensed junior, senior, mentored youth, disabled and ...

Hunters win with legalization of leashed tracking dogs

LEESPORT — Andy Bensing never lost hope that sooner or later Pennsylvania legislators would do the right thing and allow the use of leashed tracking dogs to track and recover big game animals. Showing the patience that typifies a professional dog trainer, Bensing, who holds a Bachelor of ...

Mentor programs may merge

HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners gave preliminary approval to a measure that will bridge the mentored youth and mentored adult hunting programs at their meeting Monday. The mentored hunting programs are designed to increase hunter recruitment by providing an opportunity to experience hunting without the requirement to obtain a license. Hunters and furtakers in Pennsylvania can purchase their first licenses at age 12, after successful completion of a Hunter-Trapper Education course. The mentored youth program enables those younger than 12 to participate in ...

Man hikes trail over 226 days

PEABODY, Mass. (AP) — Paul Truesdale once came across a mother bear and three cubs while on a hike with his longtime friend, Frank Palazzi. “They were just sitting there, munching on vegetation, wandering back and forth,” Truesdale said. “I think the mother saw us and she started walking towards us and grunted at a cub. Eventually they wandered off. Just sitting there, watching the bears munch away, it was an incredible thrill, really.” It was just one of several encounters with bears and other wildlife Truesdale, 74, recalls over quest to hike the Appalachian Trail. But ...

Biologist composes stream ‘requiem’ as insects decline

PALMER (AP) — A caddisfly larvae wriggled on Pat Bradt’s steady fingertip as she nudged it onto a white plastic spoon, hoping to get a better look at the critter through the magnifying lens looped around her neck. She was perched on a concrete wall a few feet from the Bushkill Creek on the border of Forks and Palmer townships, the same waterway that the leggy, translucent creature calls home and Bradt, after four decades of researching its underwater insects, has adopted as her own. “This is my stream,” Bradt said, smoothing bug spray on her hairline to fend off the midday ...