In like a lion? I hear stories of some vicious winds in the Mid Atlantic this week so that roar you hear might be that of the wind. I have a feeling, however, that March will be gamboling out like a lamb all too quickly. It's been that kind of lightning fast year so far. Wasn't Groundhog Day just yesterday?

February did fly by awfully quickly. It was only minutes ago seemingly that Marci was installing the Photo Gallery Showcase in the State Capitol and now its month-long installation has concluded and the pictures are all boxed up in order to make their way to Sinnemahoning State Park before coming "home" to Camp Hill for our banquet in May.

This week's masthead from the Beam Rocks Trail of the Forbes State Forest is by way of apology for my having missed announcement last week of the return of public programs in the Forbes. A full slate of Forbesian fun awaits you so bookmark the Book of Faces. (Nope, it doesn't look like that now.) Keep an eye out, too, for visits to the Rocks by the Stewards of Penn's Woods Graffiti Busters who did a late summer clean-up there and made serious headway in their restoration. Another of the Busters' award-winning restorations took place at Hammonds Rocks in the Michaux State Forest, where a Plein Air event will take place on April 15 and a Geology Day is in the works. Busy times!

Pam Metzger
Membership Coordinator

News of note

Speaking of busy times, Marci was up at the Capitol this week attending the DCNR budget hearings in both House and Senate, and met with the Pennsylvania Forestry Association on ways to work together to be better, more united voices for our forested areas. Stay tuned!

There is so much good and interesting work being done out there that it's hard to keep up sometimes. A really intriguing invitation came into the Inbox this week from the Center for Performing Arts at Penn State where a multimedia presentation entitled Wilderness will be presented on March 15 by En Garde Arts at the Eisenhower Theater on PSU's main campus. Wilderness is a look at six families dealing with addiction, depression, and anxiety and the impact wilderness therapy has on their progress to mental health. Both the presentation itself and a March 13 roundtable with the cast and crew and community leaders engaged in wilderness and mental health therapies in Centre County (Wilderness Cafe: From Conversation to Action) are potentially impactful as we take a long local look at some of the themes we talk about a lot here at PPFF - the outdoors and your health. Instructions on how you can obtain discounted admission to Wilderness can be found in the attached. And do visit the website to check out all the activities related to the presentation.

All you webcam fiends out there are invited to add another bookmark to your regular visits. The Friends of Yellow Creek have a Weather Underground station set up to keep an eye on up to the minute conditions at the park. I just looked and the sun is shining!

An outgrowth of the Goddard Legacy Project is the Goddard Legacy Leadership Institute, open to all 13- to 15-year olds. This five-day residential (at Pine Grove Furnace State Park) program helps cultivate the next generation of conservation leaders, and some scholarship funding is available. Deadline to apply is June 4, 2017.

What with it being Women's History Month, you ought to pay a visit to the Stories page of the Pennsylvania Conservation Heritage website (the bigger outgrowth of the Goddard Legacy Project) and take note of the amazing women of Pennsylvania who have done so much for the Commonwealth.

Have you participated in a Get Outdoors PA (GOPA) program or event? Have you ever heard of Get Outdoors PA? Do you ever go outside, or would you rather not? In any case, the GOPA folks would like your input through a CONFIDENTIAL survey of your outdoor recreation habits and preferences. Who doesn't love a survey? Take this one here before March 22.

At work and play in the parks and forests

Tomorrow is one of two days on the calendar that just automatically bring a smile. March Forth everyone, and have fun!*

North

As you know, we are actively seeking entries for our annual photo contest (you did know that, didn't you?) and the good people of Sinnemahoning State Park are making it easy for you to submit a guaranteed winner. Well, they may not be able to guarantee a win but you can learn valuable skills at the park's three-part photography workshop beginning tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM with Getting to Know Your Camera.

South

Do you have cabin fever? Shake it off on Sunday afternoon with a short "shake off the cobwebs" hike at Kings Gap Environmental Education Center.

East

Another season of monthly open houses at the Nolde Forest mansion kicks off on Sunday afternoon. On the first Sunday of each month come out and tour the historic home of the Nolde family and enjoy a special program with the Friends of Nolde Forest.

West

Madness! Madness! Mountain Pie Madness at Canoe Creek sponsored by the Friends is Sunday afternoon. A little hike, a little mountain pie, a lot of fun.

No matter what region of the commonwealth you want to visit, our website Events and the DCNR Calendar of Events are great sources for things to see and do. Bookmark them!

* The other fun day comes up the day before Cinco de Mayo. Star Wars Day! May the Fourth be with you.

Picture of the week

Thanks to Jeff of the Friends of Beltzville for sharing this photograph of a PPL crew installing an osprey nesting platform at Beltzville. Jeff reports that four such platforms have gone in throughout Carbon County. The others are at Owl Creek Reservoir, Mauch Chunk County Park, and Lehigh Gap Nature Center. Ospreys are elegant flyers and exhilarating to watch so we hope you'll have the chance to enjoy these additional opportunities to observe.

Take five for trivia

As we ended February, our question concerned February 25 birthday "boy" Howard Zahniser, Pennsylvania conservation hero, and his life achievements. Mr. Zahniser was born in Franklin (Venango County) in 1906. His boyhood in Tionesta along the Allegheny River certainly helped formed his worldview and led to his eventual service as the director of The Wilderness Society and as prime author of the federal Wilderness Act. He shepherded the legislation through eight years of drafts, rewrites, face-to-face lobbying of every member of Congress, and eventual passage of the Act and its establishment of the National Wilderness Preservation System and protection of more than 106 million acres of federal public land that belongs to all of us.

Congratulations to February trivia winner WPC Kara. That girl needs a bandana!

To begin March, let us pay tribute to the osprey. It is a World Bird, found on every continent but Antarctica, and if you have ever watched one fishing it is not an experience you will likely forget. There are many cool facts about osprey so choosing one bit of trivia is really tough; however, since it's nearly lunchtime as I write this we'll focus on the bird's diet. What's so unusual about it?

Send in your answer and we'll enter your correct response into our monthly prize drawing. All correct answers each week will go into the hat and at the end of the month we'll draw one lucky winner. The more correct answers you submit in a month (up to four or the occasional five depending on the month), the more chances you'll have to win.

In closing

Yeah, Read Across America Day was yesterday but you're never too late, too busy, too shook (up) to hide in a corner and read a good book.

Pennsylvania Parks & Forests Foundation (PPFF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization - contributions to which are tax deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law. The official registration and financial information of PPFF may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling, toll-free within Pennsylvania, to 800.732.0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.

Pennsylvania Parks & Forests Foundation is a proud member of EarthShare and is a Gold GuideStar Participant.