Deborah Weisberg

Forestry is very much a part of Scott Bearer’s family tree.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission’s new chief of wildlife recovery comes from a long line of woodsmen.
He learned to hunt from his father, who was chief of wildfire operations and planning for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. His great grandfather was the first district forester of Forbes State Forest in Westmoreland County.

Rivers and streams across Pennsylvania regularly test positive for harmful levels of fecal-related bacteria, according to a newly released report from PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center.
More than half of 653 monitoring sites sampled in 2024 and 2025 revealed at least one day when E. coli bacteria reached potentially unsafe levels for swimming. And 39% of monitored locations had potentially unsafe levels of fecal contamination on at least one-quarter of testing days.

Grassland bird communities, which include Henslow sparrows, upland sandpipers, northern harriers, Eastern meadowlarks and other ground-nesting species that rely on open, treeless habitats, have suffered some of the most alarming declines due largely to loss of habitat, changing agricultural practices and other impacts.