Party time, Conservancy style

MILANVILLE — On Saturday September 15th, with a rain date of Sunday, September 16th, from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., the Delaware Highlands Conservancy will hold its 5th Annual Party in the Meadow.

Activities include a food buffet, a presentation on beavers and their habitat, a puppet theater, roving mime Skip Mendler, and live Bluegrass music performed by Big Al & Friends and fiddlers Erin & John Slaver.

Food for the buffet is generously donated by area restaurants and businesses including The Settler’s Inn, Dave’s Big Eddy Diner, Beach Lake Bread, 1906 Restaurant, The Whistle Stop Café, Pete’s Pub, Beach Lake Café, Woodloch Pines, Tyler Hill Country Farm, Three Wishes, Beach Lake Inn, Days Bakery, Central House, and the Bridge Restaurant.

Admission is free, but there will be T-shirts for sale, a kayak raffle, and a silent auction. Contributions for the buffet and all profits from the events will go to the Conservancy’s Land Protection Fund and will be used to protect a special piece of land in this area.

The Meadow Party is located on the PA River Road one mile south of Milanville and 4.5 miles north of the Narrowsburg, NY bridge.  Directional signs will be posted on the morning of the event.  In case of rain the event will take place on Sunday, September 16.

For more information call 570/226-3164 or 845/252-7546.

‘Be vewy, vewy quiet…’

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania state parks again will allow Canada goose hunting during the state’s early season beginning next month.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service authorized the early season, which runs from Saturday, September 1, to Tuesday, September 25. As the early season starting date may vary among parks, and not all state parks are open to hunting, hunters should contact individual park offices for starting dates and other details.

Non-migratory Canada goose populations have increased drastically in recent years, drawing complaints of crop damage and creating nuisance problems in residential neighborhoods. Many state parks also are seeing the effect of non-migratory geese overpopulation and have taken measures, including anti-goose fencing and the use of loud noisemakers, to scare geese away.

Major changes for this year are a statewide five-goose daily bag limit and a 10-bird possession limit. For details, call 717/787-4250 or write the PA Game Commission, 2001 Elmerton Ave., Harrisburg, PA 17110-9797.

A sure sign of summer’s end

WHITE LAKE — The Town of Bethel announced that its pool will be closing on Saturday, September 1 for the 2001 season.

The pool will be open every day until then from 12:30 until 6:30 p.m.

The pool had a successful year thanks to the support of its members. The Parks and Recreation Department hopes to see everyone again next year.

Still waters run deep

THOMPSON — Floyd Schnakenberg, president of the Northeast Pennsylvania Audubon Society, will lead a walk to the glacial pond in Florence Shelly Preserve on Sunday, September 9, at 2:00 p.m.

Walkers will also be treated to a wide ranging discussion of glacial geology and the pond at the Shelly Preserve.

Schnakenberg has led several nature walks in the past, in the Preserve and in other sites.

Participants on the walk are advised to wear footwear appropriate for trekking in a wetlands area. Binoculars are also recommended for closer looks at parts of the pond that are inaccessible due to the spongy vegetation.

The group will meet in the parking lot on Stack Road, one mile north of Thompson, PA.

For further information call 570/879-4244 or 727-3362.

Lake F.X. seminar

HONESDALE — The Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Management District (LWWMD) and F.X. Browne, Inc. recently sponsored an all-day seminar on Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration at the Woodloch Springs Resort. It was designed to teach natural resources professionals innovative strategies and practical methods for restoring degraded streambanks and shorelines.

Topics included stream hydrology, stream and lakeshore restoration with an emphasis on site assessment and bioengineering design, and several case studies that illustrated innovative combinations of designs and techniques. The seminar included a field trip to a stream restoration site, where participants were able to apply techniques from the morning’s site assessment sessions.

The LWWMD and F. X. Browne, Inc. intend to present additional watershed management seminars in the future. To be included on the seminar announcement mailing list, call 215/362-3878 or visit www.fxbrowne.com.