Pennsylvania Mixed Bag: Kinzua Quality Deer Cooperative shares deer check station results – Outdoor News
Bradford, Pa. — The Kinzua Quality Deer Cooperative recently announced winners of its hunting season contests.
John McClintick, of Lewis Run, won the $500 raffle for bringing in an antlerless deer on Saturday, Dec. 2. Stanley Zawatski, of Bradford, won the $250 raffle for bringing in a buck on Saturday, Nov. 25.
The heaviest buck weighed 170 pounds dressed; the heaviest doe weighed 130 pounds dressed. The oldest deer recorded for both sexes at the two check stations were both 5 1⁄2 years old. Twelve points was the most points recorded on a buck. The widest, inside, antler spread was 18¾ inches.
Of the antlerless deer brought to the check station, 32% were harvested with DMAP tags and 68% were harvested with wildlife management unit antlerless tags.
New Manager for Mount Pisgah State Park
Harrisburg — The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources recently announced the appointment of Haley Redmond to serve as the manager of Mount Pisgah State Park in Bradford County.
Redmond assumed managerial duties in August, overseeing the 1,302-acre park, which is along Mill Creek at the base of Mount Pisgah.
MORE COVERAGE FROM PENNSYLVANIA OUTDOOR NEWS:
In-lieu-of-tax payments doubled for Pennsylvania public lands
Drone operator busted by Pennsylvania Game Commission after undercover operation
Pennsylvania bills to address crop damage would also add a 10th seat to PGC board
Prior to managing the park, Redmond worked as a law enforcement ranger in Colorado, held various environmental technician and scientist roles in the private sector, as a resource ranger at Pymatuning State Park, and served as a DCNR park manager trainee.
DEP Plugs 132 Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells
Harrisburg — On Dec. 6, the Shapiro administration announced it has capped and plugged 132 abandoned conventional oil and gas wells in 2023 – plugging more wells in the governor’s first year than in the previous eight years combined.
Unfortunately, the Department of Environmental Protection issued 499 notices of violations for new conventional oil and gas well abandonments without plugging in 2023. New conventional well abandonments is the number one violation cited by DEP, according to a 2022 compliance report.
DEP expects to receive a $44 million U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant soon from the federal Methane Emission Reduction Program to plug active, marginal oil and gas wells leaking methane.
State Reaches Big Solar Milestone
Harrisburg — The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission recently announced that the commonwealth’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards program has surpassed one gigawatt, or 1,000 megawatts of solar energy.
This is an important milestone to help cement Pennsylvania’s position as an energy leader and accelerate innovation across a diverse set of energy technologies, the PUC said.
The current one gigawatt of installed solar generation in Pennsylvania is enough to power nearly 140,000 homes – equivalent to the number of households in a city the size of Pittsburgh. The additional solar now under construction across the commonwealth will be enough to supply the combined residential populations of Altoona, Harrisburg, Scranton and West Chester.
Low Stream Flows Trigger Shutdown of 4 Shale Gas Drilling Water Withdrawals
Towanda, Pa. — The Susquehanna River Basin Commission Hydrologic Conditions Monitor on Dec. 4 tracked the shutdown of four shale gas-drilling water-withdrawal points due to low streamflow conditions in Bradford and Tioga counties.
The commission’s bypass trigger flows are independent of general drought condition changes reported by the Department of Environmental Protection. The shale gas water withdrawals shut down include:
– Repsol Oil & Gas USA, Fall Brook Water Withdrawal in Troy Township, Bradford County
– Repsol Oil & Gas USA, Seeley Creek Water Withdrawal in Wells Township, Tioga County
– Seneca Resources Company, Elk Run Water Withdrawal in Sullivan Township, Tioga County
– Seneca Resources Company, Marsh Creek Water Withdrawal in Delmar Township, Tioga County.
Asst. Manager, Delaware Canal State Park
Harrisburg — The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources recently announced the appointment of Ronald Gilliland to serve as an assistant manager for the Delaware Canal State Park Complex in Bucks and Northampton counties.
Gilliland officially began assisting with operations in the park complex in October, managing the northern portion of Delaware Canal State Park and overseeing operations at Ralph Stover State Park.
He earned associate degrees in park and recreation management and business management from Butler Community College. His roles at DCNR span multiple positions, recently as a park manager trainee.
Shimkin Director of Chesapeake Bay Program
Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Dec. 15 announced Martha Shimkin will lead the Chesapeake Bay Program Office in the Mid-Atlantic Region.
Shimkin has served as the deputy director of the Chesapeake Bay Program Office since May 2021.
EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program coordinates activities and implements strategies for meeting the restoration goals of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which covers 64,000 square miles across New York, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
