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State Rep. Gerald Mullery will host a public meeting with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission on March 26 at the Luzerne County Community College Education Conference Center from 6 to 8 p.m. Speakers for the event will be announced in the near future. For more information, call Mullery’s office at 570-740-7031.
The Western Pocono Chapter of Trout Unlimited will sponsor a special presentation of its Speaker Series program on Thursday, March 19 at the Hazleton Penn State Campus, Kostos Classroom Bldg. Auditorium. Special guest speaker will be U.S. Forest Service spokesperson Melody Remillard, who will provide a slide presentation on legendary Pennsylvania conservationist Gifford Pinchot and his ancestral home, Grey Towers. The program title is: “Gifford Pinchot, the Greatest Pennsylvania you Never Knew.” A close friend and adviser to President Teddy Roosevelt, Pinchot was a visionary who advocated sustainable forestry and sound management of America’s natural resources at a time when the natural treasures were being decimated. A two-time governor of Pennsylvania and an avid fly fisherman who authored two books on fishing, Pinchot’s life and his magnificent family estate, Grey Towers, in Milford are subjects that all Pennsylvanians should take pride in.
A special video will be shown of President John F. Kennedy’s speech from Sept. 24, 1963 (just two months before his assassination) when JFK visited Milford and dedicated Grey Towers to the U.S. Forest Service proclaiming Gifford Pinchot: “The Father of Conservation in America”. The program is free to the public. Call 570-454-4862 or 570-233-0099 for more information.
The Stanley Cooper Sr. Chapter of Trout Unlimited will hold its monthly meeting on March 11 at the VFW Anthracite Post on 757 Wyoming Ave. in Kingston at 7:30 p.m. Joe Humphryes is scheduled to visit. His topic will be announced closer to the meeting date. Humphryes, now retired, is a noted fly fisherman, author, educator, conservationist. He taught fly fishing courses for over 40 years and taught the Penn State University fly fishing course in State College for 19 years. The public is invited to attend all meetings.
Stanley Cooper Chapter Trout Unlimited will hold their Annual Conservation Banquet at the Holiday Inn, formally the Best Western Inn, in Wilkes Barre Township on March 28. The conservation banquet has been held for nearly 30 years. For more information, visit www.sctu.org.
The Northeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the Friends of NRA will hold its 23rd annual fund raising banquet on Saturday, March 28 beginning at 4:30 p.m. at Genetti Manor, 1505 N. Main Ave., Dickson City (off Exit 190 of Rt. 81).
In 2014, for the second year in a row, the Northeastern Penna. FNRA banquet was attended by more than 500 people. In addition to a three entrée family style dinner and open bar, the banquet consists of live and silent auctions, bucket drawings, door prizes, and other games and special events. Included in the auctions and games are firearms, limited-edition prints and many other valuable items. One highlight of this year’s auction program will be a Stars and Strips Guitar autographed by Ted Nugent. Tickets are $45 each, $85 for couples, $25 for young adults (under 21).
In 2014, at over 1,000 banquets, Friends of NRA Committees raised $66 million for shooting programs across the country. The NRA Foundation allocates half of all net proceeds for use at the national level and the other half goes back into the state in which it was raised.
For additional information on the Friends of NRA or to apply for a grant, visit their web site at www.nrafoundation.org, click on ‘Friends of NRA’ and then click on ‘Grants”. For information on the banquet, call Carl Mozeleski at 570-587-2662 or e-mail at dbcmoz@epix.net.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission will present an educational program on the life history and extinction of the passenger pigeon at the Trinity Presbyterian Church, 105 Irem Rd., Dallas, at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 16. The free public program is part of the Greater Wyoming Valley Audubon Society’s monthly educational series and meeting.
“The passenger pigeon was the most abundant bird in North America and several major roosting colonies were documented here in Northeastern Pennsylvania,” Willilam Williams said. “The forces of habitat loss and unregulated hunting resulted in their numbers going from billions to none in a matter of decades. The last passenger pigeon in captivity, named Martha, died in the Cincinnati Zoo in September 1914, marking the end of a species.”
The 2014 American Conservation Film Festival award-winning documentary “From Billions to None, The passenger pigeons flight to extinction”, will be presented.
For driving directions and additional information, visit the Greater Wyoming Valley Audubon Society website grwyovalas.org or contact Williams at the Game Commission’s Northeast Region office at 570-675-1143.
Volunteers are needed for litter and brush clean up on the Susquehanna Warrior Trail, including light trail maintenance and other projects. The cleanup is scheduled for March 28 and will run from 9 a.m. to noon. If you or your group would like a hands-on way to get outdoors and give back to the community contact Susquehanna Warrior Trail Council board member Tony Pszeniczny at 570-868-3109 or Max Furek at 570-542-7946, to let them know you plan to attend.
Volunteers will meet at the Shickshinny trailhead near the borough playground and the intersection of North Susquehanna and Oak streets. All tools and equipment will be provided.
The rain date is April 25.
The cleanup is taking place in conjunction with the Great American Cleanup Of PA program sponsored by the Keep America Beautiful program running from March 1 through May 31 and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
The NEPA Chapter of Whitetails Unlimited will hold its first banquet, “Hunters Night Out,” on Saturday, April 18 at the Triton Hose Company on 126 Warren Street in Tunkhannock. The event begins at 4:30 p.m. with raffles and a social hour followed by a buffet at 6 p.m. Tickets are $50/single, $20/spouse and $20 for those under 15. Sponsorships are also available. There will be raffles for numerous firearms, including a Henry Golden Boy .22 and a Remington 700 .270.
For tickets or more information, call Linda Coolbaugh at 570-836-2765 (evenings), Chris Denmon at 570-332-3012 or Randy Storrs at 570-690-7514. Deadline to order tickets is April 13.
A Sportsman and Outdoor Show will be held on April 11-12 at the Sugarloaf Township Fire Station on 95 West County Road in Sugarloaf. Times are Saturday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Sunday, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. The show is presented by the Arbutus Masonic Lode #611. Admission is $5 and children under 12 are free. For more information or for vendor tables, call Joe DiSabella at 570-497-6005.