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Reporting harvest a must

Successful turkey hunters must immediately tag their bird before moving it from the harvest site and are required by law to report the harvest to the Game Commission. Hunters, by law, must report harvests within 10 days. Reporting harvests is key to turkey management, as it allows the Game Commission to more accurately estimate harvest and population totals. Hunters can report turkeys in any of three ways: n by visiting [http://www.pgc.pa.gov”]http://www.pgc.pa.gov” TARGET=”—blank www.pgc.pa.gov and clicking the blue “Report a Harvest” button near the top of the home ...

Gobbler season around corner

Timing alone would make it special. Pennsylvania’s upcoming spring gobbler season — the state’s only big-game hunt outside of fall and winter — takes place when the world seems new, freshly green and alive. This year’s season begins on Saturday, April 23 with a one-day hunt for junior and youth mentored hunters, then runs from Saturday, April 30 to Tuesday, May 31 for everyone else. But it has a lot more going for it than just that. Gobbler hunting is huge on excitement, too. No wonder more than 150,000 hunters take to forests and fields each spring to chase these ...

Some tactics for week 2 of trout season

By Walt Young For the Mirror It is now the second week of trout season. And what a difference a week makes. On the opening weekend, countless anglers flocked to just about every trout stream, but in spite of the crowds and all the ensuing commotion, many of those hopeful fishermen were able to hook a trout or two for their efforts. Plenty of folks will also be out fishing for trout this weekend but in only a fraction of the numbers that turned out for the season opener. That trend will continue over the next few weeks. The reason so many folks turn out for opening day and then ...

Even Smoky Mountains hit by tough economy

The Associated Press GATLINBURG, Tenn. — Great Smoky Mountains National Park announced a plan earlier this week to start charging parking fees along with higher rates for campsites, day-use cabin rentals and picnic pavilions starting next year. Visits to the park have increased 57% over the past decade to a record 14.1 million last year and have taken a toll on facilities, the park said in a news release. Additional revenue from the changes would allow the park to address renovations along with law enforcement staffing challenges and services including trail maintenance and trash ...

Tourists find wild horse on island, take it home

The Associated Press HARKERS ISLAND, N.C. — A newborn wild horse will be raised as a domesticated animal after well-meaning tourists took it with them as they left a North Carolina barrier island, officials at a national park said. The foal followed a group of visitors on Shackleford Banks for two hours on March 26 with no other horses around, according to a recent news release from the Cape Lookout National Seashore. When the visitors moved their boat to leave the island, the young horse tried to follow them. The park said the group was worried that the newborn would drown, so ...

Company fined over killing eagles

The Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. — A wind energy company was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay more than $8 million in fines and restitution after at least 150 eagles were killed over the past decade at its wind farms in eight states, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. NextEra Energy subsidiary ESI Energy pleaded guilty to three counts of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act during a Tuesday court appearance in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It was charged in the deaths of eagles at three of its wind farms in Wyoming and New Mexico. In addition to those deaths, golden and ...