Rail trail committee to meet
WATERVILLE - The Pine Creek Rail Trail Advisory Committee meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the conference room at the Tiadaghton State Forest Resource Management Center.
For more information, contact the Tiadaghton State Forest District Office at 753-5409 or fd12@pa.gov.
Mother Earth News Fair planned at Pa. resort
SEVEN SPRINGS - Seven Springs Mountain Resort will host the third annual Mother Earth News Fair from Friday through next Sunday.
Dozens of hands-on workshops will cover organic gardening, real food, renewable energy, small-scale livestock, green building and remodeling, do-it-yourself projects, natural health, green transportation and related topics. Sustainable and rural lifestyle experts from across the country will lead the sessions.
Nationally known keynote speakers will offer attendees a broader perspective on today's environmental issues, including:
Animal welfare activist Dr. Temple Grandin will teach attendees how animals think and feel to create strategies for improving their overall welfare.
Organic farmer and author Joel Salatin will discuss ways to use technology to regain a relationship with our food, energy, water, air, soil, fabric and shelter.
Barbara Pleasant, a Mother Earth News contributing editor, will share how to become more self-sufficient and save money by growing crops that store well.
Self-taught fermentation expert and author Sandor Katz will show attendees the scope of fermentation beyond food and beverages.
Food historian Dr. William Woys Weaver will cover the history and nutritional ramifications of heirloom food plants. Weaver owns the Roughwood Seed Collection in Devon and is a Mother Earth News contributing editor.
In addition to workshops, the fair will host an heirloom seed display, children's activities, vendor and livestock demonstrations, a green shopping pavilion, and local and organic food options.
Adult tickets cost $30 for the weekend or $15 for a one-day pass in advance, or $35 and $20, respectively, at the gate. Children 17 and under get in free.
To purchase advance tickets, go to www.MotherEarthNewsFair.com or call toll-free 800-234-3368.
Gates will open at noon Friday and close at 7 p.m. The fair hours will be 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sept. 23.
Take a hike with regional group
The Otzinachson Regional Group of the Sierra Club and the Edward Abbey Hiking Society will hold a number of hikes throughout the region in the fall.
They are open to the public, but hikers must contact the hike leader prior to the event. Participants are advised to bring lunch and water on every hike.
Hikes will be held:
Sept. 23 - Loyalsock Trail, Lycoming County, 13.5 miles, strenuous. Hike from Miller Road to Route 87 and see views of the Loyalsock Creek Valley from Smith's Knob. Meet at 8:30 a.m. at the Minit Mart/Sovereign Bank parking lot along Route 87 (off of Route 220) in Montoursville. Leader: Roy Fontaine, 220-4707.
Sept. 30 - Gillespie Point Figure 8 Loop, Tioga County, 11 miles, strenuous. From Blackwell, we will climb to the top of Pennsylvania's Matterhorn, Gillespie Point, with fine views of the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. After looping back to Blackwell, we will continue on the Bohen Run Falls Trail to the West Rim Trail, then back to Blackwell on the Pine Creek Rail Trail. Meet at parking lot behind Lewisburg Post Office at 7:45 a.m. or boat launch parking lot in Blackwell at 9:30. Leader: Duane Button, 596-3454.
Oct. 6 - Sones Pond and Haystacks, Loyalsock Trail, Sullivan County, 6.5 miles, easy to moderate. Meet at 8:30 a.m. at the McDonald's in Hughesville. Leader: Roy Fontaine, 220-4707.
Oct. 7 and 14 - R.B. Winter State Park, Union County, 10 miles, moderate to strenuous. Meet at the parking lot at the breast of the dam along Route 192 at 8:30 a.m. Leader: Joe Rebar, 259-0134.
Board of Game Commissioners plans meeting
FRANKLIN - The state Board of Game Commissioners will hold its final quarterly meeting of 2012 on Sept. 24-25 in the Venango Room of the Quality Inn and Conference Center, 1411 Liberty St., in Venango County.
On Sept. 24, the board will gather public comments and hear Game Commission staff reports beginning at 8:30 a.m. Doors to the meeting room will open at 7:45. Registration for those interested in offering public testimony also will begin at that time.
On Sept. 25, beginning at 8:30 a.m., the commission will take up its prepared agenda, which will be posted on the agency's website prior to the meeting. Doors to the meeting room will open at 7:45.
The meeting will be videotaped and rebroadcast through the agency's website, www.pgc.state.pa.us, at a later date.
Learn about raptors at Audubon meeting
At 6:30 p.m. Sept. 26, the Lycoming Audubon Society will meet in the Lowry Room of the James V. Brown Library. The guest speaker is Joe Yoder, of Williamsport, who will present a program on identifying the raptor species commonly found in the Northeast, with an emphasis on what to look for at hawk watches. The presentation will feature raptor photographs taken by Meredith Lombard, of Lancaster County.
Yoder and Lombard are avid birders and hawk-watchers who have served as volunteer observers each fall for many years at Pennsylvania Audubon's Waggoner's Gap Hawk Watch near Carlisle. They participate annually in the Winter Raptor Survey conducted by the Hawk Migration Association of North America.
For several years, Yoder served as compiler for a spring hawk watch he started at North White Deer Ridge in Lycoming County. Observations there confirmed that golden eagles are using the migration corridor near Williamsport on their way to nesting sites in Canada. In 2007, Lombard discovered a peregrine falcon pair nesting on a bridge near Columbia on the lower Susquehanna. She has extensively monitored and photographed their activities since then.
More information about the meeting and program may be found at the Lycoming Audubon Society website, www.lycoming.org/audubon.
Game Commission to conduct game farm tours
The state Game Commission will offer public tours of its four pheasant game farms in Armstrong, Crawford and Lycoming counties from noon to 3 p.m. Sept. 30, rain or shine.
Tour stops will include hatcheries, brooder houses, and rearing, "grow-out" and over-wintering pens. Workshop discussions will focus on objectives in propagation management, including sportsmen's organizations participating in raising day-old chicks provided by the farms to increase local hunting opportunities and surplus day-old hen chicks that are sold to the public. Also, after registration and before taking the tour, visitors may view a brief DVD highlighting farm operations throughout the year.
When visitors arrive, they will register before game farm personnel take them on a guided tour. In order to maintain biosecurity and minimize human contact with the birds, visitors must remain with tour groups.
For directions to the game farms, visit www.pgc.state.pa.us or call the particular regional office.
PA Wilds plans annual trails conference
BRADFORD - The 2012 PA Wilds Trails Conference will be held 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 4 at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. The theme is "Land and Water Trails: Trailing Across the PA Wilds, Strengthening Connections."
It is designed for revitalization partners, small businesses and trail advocates. Attendees will meet the members of the newly formed PA Trails Advisory Committee and will learn:
About the benefits of forming a regional trail group;
About trail startups;
About advanced trail design;
How to promote and market a trail using social media and trail apps; and
How to map a trail.
For more information, visit www.PAwildsResources.org.
Tour a cemetery
DANVILLE - Iron Heritage Festival Cemetery Tours will be offered from 4 to 6 p.m. Oct. 5 and 5 to 8 p.m. Oct. 6 at the Fairview and Episcopal cemeteries.
Get up close and personal with the men and women who once walked this valley. Hear their stories and imagine what it was like to live in this community when they did.
Walking shoes required and flashlights are needed at dusk.
A fee applies. For more information, call 275-6700 or visit www.ironheritagefestival.net.
See vehicles from years gone by
EAGLES MERE - The fourth annual Bi-Planes, Trains & Antique Cars Fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 6 at Eagles Mere Historic Village in Sullivan County.
An admission fee applies for those ages 13 and older.
For more information, email emgreenevents@gmail.com or call 525-3370.
Family fun day scheduled
MILLERSBURG - The Ned Smith Center for Nature & Art will hold a Fall Family Fun Day on Oct. 13.
The annual event is designed to increase awareness of the natural world with many activities for children and families. See live animal presentations, get your face painted, visit the pumpkin patch, create a fall decoration at the Art Creation Station, try your skills with a round of pumpkin bowling or stroll across the Wiconisco Creek on the footbridge.
For more information, call 717-692-3699.
Annual harvest festival planned
PENNS CREEK - Shade Mountain Winery's annual Harvest Festival will be held Oct. 13-14 at the winery, 16140 Route 104.
On Oct. 13, T & D's Cats of the World will be on hand with a display. Grape stomping will be held in a handmade vat at 1, 2 and 3 p.m., food vendors will be set up and The Pepper Street Band will perform outside from 3:30 to 6 p.m., weather permitting.
On Oct. 14, carriage rides through the vineyards will be held from noon until 4 p.m. and guided tours of the facility by the winemakers will be offered at 1, 2 and 3 p.m.
The vintner's pig roast and special bean soup available for a fee.
For more information, call 837-3644.
Outdoor events sought
Do you have a meeting or outdoor event you'd like to publicize in the Sun-Gazette?
Announcements must be submitted at least three weeks prior to the date of the event, preferably earlier.
Information and news releases may be:
Mailed to Outdoor editor, Williamsport Sun-Gazette, 252 W. Fourth St., Williamsport PA 17701
Emailed to outdoors@sungazette.com
Dropped off at the Sun-Gazette office, 252 W. Fourth St., Williamsport
Submitted through the Outdoor section of the Virtual Newsroom on the paper's website, www.sungazette.com.
All submissions must contain the name, telephone number and, if available, email address of a contact person.
Photographs by area residents of trophy fish or game animals or other interesting outdoor occurrences also will be considered. Digital photos may be sent by email.
Hard-copy glossy prints, negatives or slides may be dropped off or mailed. Polaroid prints typically cannot be reprinted in the newspaper.
Only photos sent with a stamped, self-addressed envelope will be returned.
Announcements published in the "Outdoor Briefs" section will print in chronological order as space permits.
The Outdoors section is published weekly on Sundays, but it goes to print early on Wednesday mornings.
Therefore, all information for publication on any given Sunday must be submitted by noon on the Monday prior.
For more help, call 326-1551, ext. 3116.
