By: Tori Bristol, Dirt and Gravel Roads Specialist

Last week we talked about The Mighty Oak Tree, and this week we are focusing on how to collect and plant acorns to successfully grow them. “The best time to plant an oak tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is today.” 

By: Tori Bristol, Dirt, Gravel & Low Volume Roads Specialist
The time of year has come during which, many of us might hear a sharp thwack! on the roof, followed by an increasingly quieter bump bump bump bump. Yes, the annual attack of the oak trees has commenced, signaled by the sound of acorns storming the roof. We all know that from tiny acorns mighty oak trees grow, but we should also add that those tiny acorns will also grow whitetail deer, squirrels, chipmunks, turkeys, crows, rabbits, opossums, blue jays, quail, raccoons, wood ducks, bear—more than 100 wildlife species eat acorns. 

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 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: Tori Welliver, Dirt Gravel & Low Volume Roads Specialist
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     While the best time to plant a tree is during our first seedling sale 50 years ago, the second-best time is today!
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     Planting trees is an investment in the future and locals have been making that investment through the conservation district’s annual sale for 50 years.  Each winter when the “green papers” start showing up at local store fronts, we know that spring is drawing near.

By Tim Russell, Quality Deer Management Association Certified Forester
Excerpt taken from Quality Deer Management newsletter. To learn more about QDMA or to sign up for their newsletter, visit www.qdma.com
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Apple trees can provide an ample supply of quality food to whitetail deer and often retain fruit late into the season, continuing to drop apples into the winter. While establishing new food sources on your property can positively impact the herd’s nutrition, the abandoned, overgrown orchards that pepper the landscape in some regions can offer a great deal with some revitalization. If you are lucky enough to have an old apple tree or orchard where you hunt, consider reclaiming it by following these three steps.

​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!

Excerpt taken from Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy (NPC) fall newsletter. To learn more about NPC or to sign up for their newsletter, visit https://npcweb.org/
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Halloween is less than a week away and chances are you’ve seen some kind of bat décor on display to complement the “spooky” festivities.  It’s probably bats’ nocturnal nature, unique appearance, and folklore affiliations (hint, hint: “I vant to suck your blood”) that have long left bats misunderstood and sometimes even feared.  However, bats are actually amazing creatures, vital to our environment.  Today, we’re helping to kick off Bat Week 2019 (visit https://batweek.org/ for lots of cool bat info), an annual, international celebration of the role of bats in nature, by sharing 3 reasons why you really should LOVE bats.
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