Wildlife/Outdoors
Rural America a focus for bipartisan health caucus formed in U.S. House
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan congressional caucus aims to improve accessibility to quality health care and services in rural U.S. communities. The Bipartisan Rural Health Caucus had its first meeting Sept. 20 and serves as a forum for U.S. representatives to promote legislation and policy actions regarding rural health. Members came together to discuss the issues […]
Nearly all national park sites to close during government shutdown
Almost all National Park Service sites will be inaccessible during a partial federal government shutdown likely to start this weekend, the U.S. Interior Department said Friday. The agency will bar access to most of the nation’s 425 parks, recreation areas, national historic sites and other units, according to a fact sheet from the Interior Department, […]
Bucks Co. lawmakers introduce bill to prevent suicides at state parks and forests
State Reps. Kristin Marcell and Kathleen “KC” Tomlinson, both Republicans, have cosponsored legislation requiring suicide prevention information, including 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline information, to be posted at state parks and forest facilities across the Commonwealth.
GOP lawmakers concerned gun safety law could affect school hunting programs
WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers are concerned that the Biden administration is interpreting last year’s bipartisan gun safety law to cut funding for school archery and hunting programs, though programs themselves say they haven’t been affected. A provision in the law – a bipartisan effort to curb gun violence that established new criminal offenses, and expanded background […]
Pa. launches Office of Outdoor Recreation
The office will coordinate efforts across state agencies such as the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), the departments of Community and Economic Development (DCED), Health, and Transportation (PennDOT), to create a “cohesive strategy for the growth and expansion of the outdoor sector,” state officials said from Yough River Park in Connellsville, Pa. on Thursday.
Pa’s Little Brown Bat, decimated by a pathogen, is now endangered
A 2021 study from the United States Geological Survey found that WNS killed more than 90% of the nation’s northern long-eared, little brown and tri-colored bat populations in less than a decade.
Sleep-away camps can’t snip the data umbilical cord between parents and children | Opinion
My son's 12-day odyssey into the wilderness was aimed at catapulting him away from our grasp and our watchful eyes.
Pa. Animal Protection Caucus highlights legislative priorities
Members of the caucus have introduced legislation in both chambers aimed at furthering animal protection measures, including HB 508, which would ban cat declawing for nonmedical reasons, and a package of Senate bills known as Beagle Freedom Bills, which would increase oversight of kennels, breeders, and testing facilities.
State agencies planning for the future of Pa.’s outdoor recreation economy | Five for the Weekend
State agencies, including the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and the Department of Community and Economic Development, are joining forces to develop an Office of Outdoor Recreation, which "would be responsible for coordinating and synergizing among entities within and connected to state government to help align and support strategic initiatives, partnerships, policies, resources," according to DCNR.
Resolution for conservation corridors study to be reintroduced in House
It would assist state agencies, such as the Game Commission and Department of Transportation in their efforts to manage wildlife habitat, limit forest fragmentation, and plan connectivity and crossings, “as well as maintain and enhance Pennsylvania as one of the nation’s top destinations for outdoor recreation tourism,” the Jan. 30 memo reads.
DCNR to host ‘first day’ hikes at Pa. state parks to boost health, foster connection to public lands
The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) announced this week that it will host nearly 60 guided hikes in 34 state parks and three forest districts on New Year’s Day as part of the nationwide “First Day Hike” effort to promote a “healthy start in the new year.”
Pa. awards more than $12M in Chesapeake Bay cleanup grants to counties
On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced that it had awarded $12.2 million in 2023 Countywide Action Plan (CAP) Implementation Grants to 34 counties to reduce sediment and nutrient pollution in local waterways that flow into the Chesapeake Bay.