Ned Smith Center Visit

Mont Alto forest technology students attended the Keystone SAF Chapter meeting at the Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art in Millersburg on Tuesday, June 2. The Center, dedicated to the memory of wildlife artist Ned Smith, hosts many art exhibits in its gallery and has over 500 acres of land in a nature preserve with many hiking trails.

The program featured a presentation by retired biology teacher John Laskowski, the "Mothman". John is one of the foremost experts on moths and butterflies of Pennsylvania's forests. A fun part of the visit was a short hike across the center's bridge over the Wiconisco Creek to see a chainsaw sculpture of wildlife species carved from a white pine log. John also pointed the rare forest plant, minniebush (Menziesia pilosa), which grows by the banks of the creek.

Woodland Owners Visit the Waynesboro Watershed

Mont Alto forest technology students led a tour of forest management and silvical activities on the Waynesboro Watershed for members of the Cumberland County Woodland Owners Association and the Waynesboro High School Envirothon team yesterday afternoon (9/22) Below is a map of the sites visited:


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At the reservoir Dave Gillen discusses the purpose of the watershed, butternut canker, the importance of hickories for biological diversity and wildlife feed, and stand dynamics in an old norway spruce plantation.

Matt Reitzel described a 20+ acre clearcut to remove some stagnant softwood plantations, the problems with invasive plants, the use of herbicides, the re-establishment of american chestnut, and hybrid loblolly pine planting.

Adam Luther described a hardwood removal cut to release oaks. The twenty acre site was then fenced to keep deer. Today the oak stand is doing very well. The acorns were falling like rain.

The deer fence is essential.

Click here to see the full set of pictures.

Squirrel Nests

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Originally uploaded by P_Linehan.

Leaf drop can reveal hidden aspects of the environment. In this yellow poplar on the Mont Alto campus all the squirrel nests now show up. It's like a squirrel condominium complex.

Pennsylvania Deer Season

Tomorrow is the start of Pennsylvania's two week statewide deer hunting season. As this article in the Harrisburg Patriot News shows there is still a great deal of mistrust among hunters of the increased doe limits and the concurrent doe and buck season. (See the PA Game Commission site, where I linked to this picture.)

Many of the hunters are saying that deer are becoming scarcer and harder to find. The article points out that with more bucks surviving each year, they are becoming more wily and better able to evade hunters. In any case, it's still true that in much of Pennsylvania it is impossible to regenerate a hardwood forest without a big investment in deer fencing. See my previous post. It doesn't make sense to allow one use of the forest (deer hunting) to monopolize all the other uses and even deter efforts to regenerate forests for future use.

I truly hope this year's hunt goes off in safety with no hunter accidents.

Deer Fencing

PICT0128
Originally uploaded by P_Linehan.

To regenerate a forest in Pennsylvania deer fencing is a must. Here in the Michaux State Forest next to Penn State Mont Alto campus a deer fence has been set up to allow oak regeneration after a thinning in a pine stand. The gate is to let people in, but keep deer out.