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FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS
Our Mission: Inspire Stewardship of Pennsylvania's State Parks and Forests
Full Moon Over Spruce Flats Bog - Forbes State Forest
Photo by Bob Fescemyer
I kept waiting for Mother Nature to yell "April Fool!" yesterday and make the snow stop but it didn't happen.
What a wonderfully moody shot Bob Fescemyer captured at the Spruce Flats Bog this week. I was tempted to save it for Halloween!
The shot was posted to the Exploring PA Parks and Forests Facebook page. We have had a lot of new requests to join the group over the past few weeks and we are grateful for the interest and look forward to lots of wonderful new photos from everyone. Unfortunately, we had a lot of spam/bot accounts join or try to join so we instituted the requirement to answer a few "member questions" to gain entry to the group in hopes of weeding out fakes. Anyone who fails to answer the questions will be automatically declined.
Pam Metzger
Membership Coordinator
Pennsylvania Parks & Forests Foundation
News of Note
A few months ago Marci was contacted by Olivia Fulton of the Upper St. Clair High School, who was interested in our Year of the Trees campaign. Inspired by time outdoors, Olivia wanted to do a project to raise $1,000 for the tree-planting effort. Of course we were delighted! After Marci, Olivia, and her teacher Mrs. Sarah Susa met, Olivia ventured forth, creating a presentation and case for the value of trees.
Well, Miss Fulton has exceeded her $1,000 goal with a week to go (although if you'd like to pitch in a few dollars moreI doubt she would turn you down). The next stop will be to find the perfect time for the tree-planting effort in one of our state parks or forests to help her complete the companion community service piece. The need to replace trees lost to disease and storms is high, and Ms. Fulton's efforts will make a difference for years to come.
It warms your heart in the face of an April snow shower!
Don't forget that our next Lunch & Learn features a presentation by Samuel Black of the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh. The presentation features the museum's From Slavery to Freedom exhibit. View the stream live on our Facebook page and YouTube channel on Monday, April 5 at noon.
Remember, this weekend is the opening day for trout in Pennsylvania.
A core project of the Friends of Yellow Creek is messing about in boats. They teach sailing, lead community sailing programs, restored a sailing base at the park. So the recent gift of a 22' Catalina sailboat for use in park programs had the same effect on them as a 10 knot breeze across the lake.
Florita Montgomery of Morgantown, WV made the gift of her late husband Jim's boat to the Friends. Although Jim relocated to Morgantown in 1970 where he was for nearly 40 years a lab supervisor and senior photojournalist for West Virginia University, he frequently returned "home" to Indiana County to sail in Yellow Creek Lake. According to Mrs. Montgomery, Jim wouldn't officially name his Catalina but she always considered it to have been named "Monty," the nickname given Jim by the WVU athletics staff and students with whom he traveled as videographer.
Friends group chair Ken Sherwood says, "We are grateful for the chance to introduce IUP students and community sailors to sailing a small keelboat. Our volunteer instructors and group sailors enjoy sharing their time to help beginners get involved in sailing. ”Monty” really caps off the Yellow Creek fleet. We have a one person Sunfish, a Hobie 16, a pair of Flying Scots, and now a 22 foot keelboat. It is wonderful when a donor is able to help us pass on the gift of sailing."
Jim enjoyed introducing others to sailing. We think he would be happy to know that his boat will continue to share that teaching gift for years to come.
The natural state of our public lands adds unmeasurable value to our health and economy. What does the preservation of natural value mean to you?
Share your thoughts in a haiku poem (3 lines following the syllable pattern 5,7,5) and submit it to PAEnviroRights50@paparksandforests.org. Winner chosen for National Haiku Day on April 17.
Our winning clean water cinquain came to us from Ami Dalkner saluted additionally as one of the NEW Friends of Tuscarora & Locust Lake.
Pictures of the Week
What a wonderful illusion is presented by this shot from Lucy Casarin at Hickory Run State Park's Shades of Death trail. How tall is the waterfall?
Discover NEPA shared this photo from countrygirl913 of Rattlesnake Falls in the Pinchot State Forest. It has a bit of a 3d effect as well.
Resizing this to fit the email definitely takes away the sparkle of the lake at Nescopeck State Park captured by Sharon Lewis Harvey. So give a click.
Where Are We?
Click for a larger view.
Take Five for Trivia
Well, we got to close out the month of March with a questionable question. We heard from Park Manager Mike during our organizational meeting for the new Friends of R.B. Winter that the Halfway Dam was the first masonry dam constructed by the CCC in Pennsylvania. But so many of you answered "Parker Dam," that I fear we have controversy. How I wish we still had John Eastlake to consult.
However, in his memoir Halfway to Winter, Raymond B. Winter himself writes, "The first big job [for the CCC] was the dam. Forester Sayers, Engineer Wagner, Camp Superintendent, Foremen, and boys labored hard and willingly with the excellent cooperation from our Army Commander, Lieutenant Sheppard, who later was promoted to general and headed the U. S. Marines. In a little over a year, they had cleaned a seven acre area of brush debris including stumps. They removed the old dam and constructed the first cement and stone dam ever built by CCC in the United States [emphasis added - not even just Pennsylvania!], making a beautiful seven acre lake."
Congratulations to our March winner, Peanut Butter Kim. You may recall her answer way back at the beginning of the month about layering creamy peanut butter over a softened marshmallow and drizzling it with Hershey's chocolate syrup. For that alone, she should win a prize. But she WAS drawn randomly!
Let's kick off April with a salute to Read a Roadmap Day on Monday, and the good old days before GPS. If I took Route 422 west from Ebensburg, what's the first state park I would come to?
Enter each week to increase your chances of a fabulous prize at the end of the month when I'll draw one entry from all correct answers received during the month.
Pennsylvania Parks & Forests Foundation (PPFF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization - contributions to which are tax deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law. The official registration and financial information of PPFF may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling, toll-free within Pennsylvania, to 800.732.0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.
A few months ago Marci was contacted by Olivia Fulton of the Upper St. Clair High School, who was interested in our Year of the Trees campaign. Inspired by time outdoors, Olivia wanted to do a project to raise $1,000 for the tree-planting effort. Of course we were delighted! After Marci, Olivia, and her teacher Mrs. Sarah Susa met, Olivia ventured forth, creating a presentation and case for the value of trees.
