By: Jonathan VanNoy, Natural Resource Specialist
     If I were to tell you to close your eyes and describe what comes to mind when you hear the word “wetland”, what would you describe?  A stagnant, slimy waterbody?  A grassy, soupy area with cattails?  Maybe that lower field that you can only make hay on every few years?  How about that special place that you love to hunt ducks, or trap muskrats?  You may have an archery stand on the edge of a swamp that comes to mind.  You might describe that spot in your woods that pools water each spring, and for one or two warm nights a year is just crawling with toads or salamanders as they congregate to lay masses of eggs.  (Go to a local vernal pool, pond, swamp or wetland on a warm, spring evening and pull up a chair and just listen and watch.  There is NOTHING that can compare to the sound you will hear if the frogs or toads have congregated!)

By: Miranda Neville, Agricultural Resource Specialist, BCCD
     As temperatures are getting warmer and summer is rapidly approaching, farmers are gearing up for hay season and farm kids are preparing for cow shows. Like a kid going off to summer camp with butterflies of excitement to meet up with friends, have new experiences and make hundreds of memories, so many farm kids (and adults) are getting those butterflies thinking about packing up the cattle trailers and heading out to the county fairs. In the farming world, the cow show circuit is not only a place for cattle breeders to show off their top genetic cows- it’s also a place where they can connect with each other and have an opportunity to educate the public, but most importantly to have fun!

By: Nathan Dewing, Agricultural Team Leader, Bradford County Conservation District
     Sustainable food production and distribution is getting people’s attention today.  Thankfully, we have had leaders among us who haven’t taken this for granted.  Let’s remember some.

By Tess Flynn-Belles, Natural Resource Specialist
     Imagine this; it’s an early spring morning, the sun is shining and most of the snow has melted. You decide to take a walk down to your pond and see if the ice has melted off. You’re enjoying your walk, the warm sun softening the crisp of the morning air. As you approach your pond, you take in the light sparkling off the water. YAY!! The ice is off, time to start casting a line out and see what you catch. You’re cruising the edge of your pond when you notice a dead sunfish…. A little more walking… a dead largemouth bass. You look up and notice that the shoreline of your pond is littered with dead fish!! It’s then that it hits you in the gut…… FISH KILL!!!

By: Guest Columnist Cheyenne Bastian-Brown, Bradford County FFA President
What do you think of when you hear FFA?  When confronted with the concept of what FFA (formally known as the National Future Farmers of America Organization) is, many people focus primarily on the word farmer and look no further for any other explanation. Since the title includes the phrase “Future Farmer,” it is then believed that each member of the organization is in pursuance of one day becoming a farmer, a landowner, and someone to feed the world population… nothing else. Typically, this is the idea that most parent/guardians have in mind when their student pursues an interest in agricultural education.

By: Kevin Brown, Agricultural Resource Specialist
     Every year the Conservation District organizes education days at all the local schools.  We bring in the Game Commission, beekeepers, maple producers, farmers, and the like.  We also do a station or two ourselves.  Luckily, I often get to run one of the stations.  It is the most fun I have all year.  I love educating young people.  I tweak my topic each time I do it, but the most basic stuff is always there.  I try to bring it “home” for them.  I would like to ask all of you the same thing I ask them, and really try to bring it “home” to you.  What are the four things that we absolutely, positively must have to survive day in and day out?  The younger kids usually get close to the right answers.  I am sure there are some older folks that think cell phone, internet, cable TV and a car.  You know the good stuff.  My, how some of us have become “removed” from the important things that we absolutely MUST have.   Have you guessed any of the four things yet?​

​Excerpt taken from Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy (NPC) newsletter. To learn more about NPC or to sign up for their newsletter, visit https://npcweb.org/
     With the winter solstice passing and holiday celebrations in full swing, what’s your go-to way of staying cozy and warm?  Throw another log on the fire?  Pull out your favorite sweater for an extra layer?  Or perhaps, you’re in the kitchen cooking up a hearty stew?
     As humans, we have many ways that we can keep out the cold by altering our environment.  But of course, for our Pennsylvania wildlife, adjusting the thermostat is not an option.  Fortunately, they have a variety of amazing physical and behavioral adaptations to help them survive the winter.
     Here’s a look at a few of those wintertime adaptations!