Pennsylvania Mixed Bag: Drought watch lifted for last eight counties

Harrisburg — The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced this month after a meeting of the Commonwealth Drought Task Force that a drought watch/warning will be lifted for the last remaining eight counties.

Adams, Cameron, Clinton, Cumberland, Franklin, Fulton, Westmoreland and York counties have returned to normal status.

Pennsylvania has received adequate precipitation over the past six months to return many of the drought indicators to normal and reduce long-term precipitation deficits.

Enter ‘Save the Bay Photo Contest’

Harrisburg — Photographers in the Keystone State are invited to submit their top photographs from throughout Pennsylvania’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s annual Save the Bay Photo Contest.

CBF is seeking photos that illustrate the beauty of the Chesapeake Bay and its local tributaries, as well as the plants, animals, and people that rely on it. Photos must include a river, stream, creek, or other body of water within Pennsylvania’s portion of the bay watershed or other parts of the bay region itself.

Winners can receive cash prizes ranging from $100 to $500.

More information and submission instructions can be found at cbf.org/photocontest.

PGC to Host Open Houses

Harrisburg — The Pennsylvania Game Commission invites the public to attend upcoming two-hour open houses, during which the public can interact with agency staff and have questions answered, at Game Commission Region Offices.

The open house at the North-central Region Office, 1566 South Route 44 Highway, Jersey Shore, will be held Tuesday, April 16, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

And the Southwest Region Office, 4820 Route 711, Bolivar, will host an open house on Tuesday, April 30, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Open houses provide an opportunity for the public to engage with Game Commission staff, one on one. Those attending can stop by any time within the two-hour window. No formal presentations are planned.

MORE COVERAGE FROM PENNSYLVANIA OUTDOOR NEWS:

Wild bobwhite quail return to Pennsylvania, but hunting is a long way off

Pennsylvania Game Commission won’t renew lobbying firm contract after facing scrutiny

Turkeys for Tomorrow group focuses on research-based approach to repopulating wild turkeys

DeRojas New Luzerne County Game Warden

Harrisburg — Patrick DeRojas was recently commissioned as a Pennsylvania state game warden after 44 weeks of intensive training and assigned as the district game warden for eastern Luzerne County.

Originally from Dallas, Luzerne County, he is a 2009 graduate of Holy Redeemer High School and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture from Penn State University in 2014.

State game wardens are responsible for administering a wide variety of Game Commission programs within an assigned district of about 350 square miles.

Northampton County Offers Hunting Land

Bethlehem, Pa. — Hunting is expressly permitted on 1,766 acres of Northampton County parkland under a contract with the Pennsylvania Game Commission recently approved by the county council.

The agreement is aimed at securing Game Commission wildlife habitat management assistance for the properties, according to Bryan Cope, county parks and recreation superintendent.

In a public hearing March 7, without discussion, council voted 9-0 to approve the contract and send it to county Executive Lamont McClure for his signature and the Game Commission for approval.

The contract is expected to be finalized in coming months, in time for the fall 2024 hunting seasons. Some of the land, near more populated portions of Northampton County, is marked as archery only, Cope said.

NASP Tournament Held March 22

Harrisburg — The Pennsylvania Game Commission on March 22 hosted a huge student archery competition, when nearly 1,000 archers from more than 50 schools throughout the Keystone State competed in the National Archery in the Schools Program Tournament at Spooky Nook Sports in Manheim, Lancaster County.

The highest placing teams and individuals in three different categories (elementary, middle and high school) can represent Pennsylvania at the national competition in Louisville, Kentucky, and even at the World Tournament.