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Gun ranges big business, especially in Pennsylvania

COOPERSBURG (AP) — Pennsylvania is one of America’s most populous when it comes to gun owners. Almost one in three Pennsylvanians owns a firearm, or 31 percent. So where do they learn how to shoot? (Legally, that is.) I’m under-educated on the gun-owner side of our national debate. So, I persuaded my editors to let me take a gun class, learn gun safety, and understand more about gun culture. On Aug. 4, I took a group class with Ron Flowers, a retired Allentown police officer and professional weapons handling trainer based in Broomall. He and his wife, Kathleen, operate Citizens ...

Visit to Hawk Mountain Sanctuary worth the trip

DREHERSVILLE — Even in the pitch-black darkness of predawn the telltale rumble of crossing railroad tracks and the mist rising off the Schuylkill River indicate to visitors they are just minutes away from reaching their destination. They are winding their way to the top of the Blue Mountain where the visitor center parking lot and hiking trails of Hawk Mountain Sanctuary await them. For visitors living in central Pennsylvania these trips to participate in a sunrise hike requires little effort other than self disciple and dedication. For visitors such as Marissa Hipp, however, ...

September means time for geese

The first day of September always has been circled on my calendar. That date ushers in the official start to my hunting season with the opening of resident goose and dove seasons. For years I counted on a great goose hunt during the opening morning. Farmers cut their fields earlier, geese were plentiful and fellow hunters were few and far between. Back then my free time was also very abundant. Those variables made for a month full of great honker hunts with some afternoon dove adventures mixed in. The last few years, quality goose hunts have been minimal on the first morning. In ...

Bear, snail, snake and sunburn on river

WILKES-BARRE (AP) — Sure, there was the bear cub that seemed to disappear into thin air, the snail they named Gary and the snake named Rizzo. There was the evening movie about peoples native to the river, the obligatory (and tasty) campfire s’mores and the realization most people make the first time they actually paddle the Susquehanna: It’s a lot cleaner than you thought. But then there’s the sunburn. “I learned to always put more sunscreen on earlier than you think you need it,” Meyers High School senior Victoria Collum said of her number-one lesson from a recent school ...

PFBC issues invasive species alert state waterway

HARRISBURG — After confirming the presence of the aquatic invasive species known as New Zealand Mudsnail in Little Lehigh Creek, Lehigh County, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is reminding anglers and boaters that cleaning their gear is the easiest, most effective means of preventing its spread to other waters. PFBC biologists collected Mudsnail specimens this month in Little Lehigh Creek west of Emmaus, near the Wildlands Conservancy. New Zealand Mudsnail expert Dr. Edward Levri of Penn State and PFBC Lead AIS Ecologist Bob Morgan confirmed the identity. New Zealand ...

Game wardens combine training with vacation

LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) — A stiff breeze pushed two floating hoops around one of Granite Springs Reservoir’s small coves at Curt Gowdy State Park. Hiding in what little shade could be found, spectators anxiously watched Nebraska game warden Jeff Jones wind up his first cast. With a rod and spinning reel, Jones aimed to pitch his fishing rig into the farther of the two hoops, about 60 feet from the bank. Beside him, his team hovered over a canoe, waiting to shoot out into the lake, weave around buoys, collect duck decoys and set a bear trap. The elaborate course was but one of four ...