+ Diaries Of The Diabolical

The October 7 Take Five Fridays With Pam is now available from the PA Parks & Forests Foundation-- Celebrating 3 New State Parks ! Enjoy the latest Fall Foliage Report - 4 Counties At Their Peak. Lots of events on the Foundation’s Events webpage and DCNR’s Calendar of Events for activities happening near you. Click Here to read the entire Take Five . For more information on programs, initiatives, special events and how you can get involved, visit the PA Parks & Forests Foundation website.  Click Here to sign up for regular updates from the Foundation,  Like them on Facebook or Follow them on Twitter or tune in to their YouTube Channel .  Click Here to become a member of the Foundation. The Foundation and their 48 chapters mobilize 65,000 volunteers annually to steward YOUR state parks and forests. ( Photo: New Vosburg Neck State Park , Wyoming County.) Related Articles: -- Fall Visitors To Conventional Oil & Gas Drilling Are...

The South Mountain Partnership recognized the Monterey Pass Civil War Battlefield Park Trail System Improvements Project in Washington Township, Franklin County with the 2022 Spirit of the South Mountain Award . Each year at our Power of the Partnership event we announce our spirit of south mountain award to an individual, a project or an organization that advances the mission of the South Mountain Partnership and has made a significant contribution to the landscape. This year we recognize a project that has made a significant contribution to the landscape by elevating a unique place, conserving a piece of history, and connecting folks to the natural and recreational resources at this site. This year we award the Spirit of the South Mountain to the Monterey Pass Battlefield Park Trail System Improvements Project . The Monterey Pass Park Trail Project is located just outside of Waynesboro in Washington Township, Franklin County, and is a 125-acre natural, cultural, and historical park...

The South Mountain Partnership recently announced the award of $50,000 in Mini-Grants to support eight local recreation, restoration and education projects. The Mini-Grant Program is intended to catalyze on-the-ground projects that further the goals of the Partnership, and to advance the capacity of partners to complete projects throughout the region.  The Program provides funding, on a competitive basis, to projects that sustain the South Mountain landscape’s sense of place by protecting and promoting the region’s Landscape Resources like farms and farmland; historic places; wildlife, habitat and water; and trails and parks. Mini-Grant Awards -- Adams County Trout Unlimited received a grant of $13,200 for the Zeigler Mill Road Access Site Recreational and Restoration Development project. Located just south of Biglerville, the project includes: installing stream restoration devices in Conewago Creek; constructing an educational nature trail and three teaching stations, removing i...

The South Mountain Research Corps is seeking opportunities to support academic and student-focused research in environmental sciences, forestry, agriculture, cultural and historic resources, geology, geography, and land use planning. The deadline to apply is November 18. Linked here are four PDF documents that list potential inventory, research, and monitoring priorities that could be conducted on public or private lands within the South Mountain landscape. -- Environmental Sciences, Forestry, and/or Agriculture -- Geology, Geography and Geosciences -- Land Use Planning -- Cultural and Historic Resources The documents are organized by general program area. The potential projects listed are the result of priorities expressed by researchers and agencies, as well as community feedback over the last six months.  More detailed problem statements for each potential project are available upon request, and there is a contact name and email attached to each one. This year the SMRC will aw...

On October 7, the Department of Environmental Protection partnered with local leaders in Luzerne Borough in a litter cleanup on Toby Creek and called on all Pennsylvanians to join in the “ Pick Up Pennsylvania ” statewide fall campaign to clean up streams, rivers, and lakes in their community. “Pick Up Pennsylvania, which began in 2004, is a lynchpin in the anti-litter movement growing in Pennsylvania, and DEP is pleased to support this grassroots campaign for community volunteers,” said DEP Acting Secretary Ramez Ziadeh. DEP Northeast Region Acting Director Joe Buczynski joined leaders from the Luzerne County Citizens’ Blight Committee, Keep Northeastern Pennsylvania Beautiful, and other community volunteers at the creek cleanup near the borough fire hall this morning. “Anyone who frequents their local creek or stream, whether for swimming, fishing, kayaking, or other recreation, can tell you how unpleasant it is to have to look at trash while trying to enjoy the water,” said Buczynsk...