Ben Moyer

A paper by researchers from Cornell and the University of Wisconsin warns that future recreational hunting will not be capable of keeping pace with deer populations. It recommends national cooperation to reach solutions. (Photo by Ben Moyer)

While participation in some outdoor activities has dropped in recent years, fly-fishing has enjoyed booming popularity. At gatherings or parties, if the topic of fishing comes up in conversation, invariably someone will share their desire to learn to fly-fish.

A creative partnership is reducing the scourge of invasive species in the Laurel Highlands. On Tuesday, June 25, the group worked to protect eastern hemlock trees, Pennsylvania's official state tree and a critical component of the region's forests.

In response to recreational trends and a need for Bureau of Forestry presence in the southern zone of Michaux State Forest, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has elected to build a visitor center and restore habitats on the 47-acre South Mountain Golf Club. (Photo by Ben Moyer)

The Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission’s Sgt. Bryan Bendock prepares to do the touchdown test on writer Tyler Frantz’s lifejacket. Waterways Conservation Officer Jeremy Yohe is at right. The officers presented a safe boating seminar at the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association conference in Luzerne County earlier this year. (Photo by Ben Moyer)

You've heard of skeet, and probably trap. In each, shooters attempt to break flying clay discs with a shotgun. Both sports are shot on a standardized course, where every shot is much the same.

Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.Good luck and safe hunting to all Wisconsin deer hunters! Mississippi River duck hunting shines this fall. New book explores trout fishing the Driftless Area of Wisconsin. You can support wildlife habitat management when you purchase a hunting or fishing license. Jeff and Dan head north for gun deer season.

As this drought-stricken year wanes, there are many good reasons to hope for rain. One good reason on the minds of some fishermen is steelhead trout. Tributary streams flowing into Lake Erie have been low, clear, and warmer than normal throughout the fall. Only a long, steady rain will entice more steelhead up out of the big lake to ascend the tributaries, just like salmon do on their annual spawning runs in Alaska.

The columnist’s good friend, Marshall Nych, with a big Pennsylvania steelhead caught in tough low-flow conditions. Conditions must have been rough because the columnist got skunked. (Photo by Ben Moyer)

Much of our modern lore surrounding Christmas has roots in nature. Symbolically, at least, we take a tree from the woods and display it in our homes. We hang representations of a parasitic European vining plant above doorways to entice seasonal kisses, and we celebrate Christmas just after the winter solstice, as Earth's northern hemisphere begins to incline toward the sun and daylength here increases.