written by fishin_musician | 4794 Views | Rating: (0 rates)
Some of you may have seen my posts regarding a little writing job I got last winter. I am writing a monthly column, a
"Web Review", on websites that would be particularly useful to sportsmen and other lovers of the outdoors for the regional
magazine "Outdoor Adventurer". The column has been well recieved and I am on my fifth month now. I have obtained permission to re-publish these reviews on fishin247.com for anyone who may be interested in reading them. This then, is the second, it appeared in the March issue of "Outdoor Adventurer:". If any of you are interested in picking up your own copies of this magazine here is a link with the distribution points listed. http://www.outdooradven.com
"Web Review", on websites that would be particularly useful to sportsmen and other lovers of the outdoors for the regional
magazine "Outdoor Adventurer". The column has been well recieved and I am on my fifth month now. I have obtained permission to re-publish these reviews on fishin247.com for anyone who may be interested in reading them. This then, is the second, it appeared in the March issue of "Outdoor Adventurer:". If any of you are interested in picking up your own copies of this magazine here is a link with the distribution points listed. http://www.outdooradven.com
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources was established on July 1, 1995 and is responsible for maintaining and preserving Pennsylvania’s state parks; managing the 2.1 million acres of state forest land; providing information on the state's ecological and geologic resources; and establishing community conservation partnerships with grants and technical assistance to benefit rivers, trails, greenways, local parks and recreation, regional heritage parks, open space and natural areas. They also have a magnificent web site.
According to Christine Novak, Press Secretary for the DNRC, the website went up in the fall of 1995 and has roughly a half dozen dedicated staff with another dozen making periodic contributions. You can find the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ website at this address, http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/ . The site is chock full of info and ideas. Simply browsing this site is enough to stimulate the imagination of any Outdoor Adventurer. Before you know it you will be planning a canoe trip, a hike to view a waterfall, or any number of other outdoor activities.
I first, became acquainted with the DCNR’s web site while searching for maps of Pennsylvania’s woodland trails. There is a Find a Forest and a Find a Park link, which takes you to a page where you may select the particular StateForest or State Park you wish to investigate. At this point, you will be taken to a page dedicated to the selection which you have designated; there you will find a variety of links from which to choose. For instance, say you are planning a canoe camping trip down the Pine Creek Gorge this June. You would select the TiogaStateForest link and be taken to a page with a variety of informational links regarding the TiogaStateForest. History, Activities, Natural and Wild Areas, State Parks, Forest Maps and Snowmobile Trails are among your selections. Going one step further, if you were interested in hiking up some of the trails that run along the Pine Creek in search of some wilderness waterfalls to photograph you could choose, Forest Maps, then select a particular portion of the Tioga Forest Map to view, and even print out a copy of your own if you chose to.
There are other pathways to travel when surfing around the DCNR site. Along the top portion of its letterhead style front page are links to more fodder for the imagination. There are two tabs which are titled Outdoor Adventures and Natural Treasures. Click the first of these, the Outdoor Adventures tab, and you will find a page with a list of 33 special interests ranging from ATV and Camping to Scenic Views and Wildlife Watching. Clicking any of these will get you to pages with more info devoted to that particular special interest. Moving on to the second tab, Natural Treasures brings you to a similar page but with a different organization. You will find a list of links along the left hand side of the page: State Parks, StateForests, Greenways & Trails, Rivers, and Geology. Clicking on one of these could take you off on a geological survey of Pennsylvania, viewing a photo gallery of some of Pennsylvania’s geological wonders or reviewing an archived collection of posters commemorating the Scenic Rivers Program dating back to 1984.
There are two other areas of interest on the front page. They can be found on the right hand side of the page and are titled Hot Topics and Quick Links. Hot Topics are a series of links to seasonal subjects and issues that are currently newsworthy such as Pennsylvania’s deer management program. Quick Links are shortcuts to various DCNR programs and mandates.
There is just so much to see on this site the only way to really do it justice is to get in there and start exploring it for yourself. I am convinced that if you do, you will find as I have that, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources' website is an indispensable resource for lovers of Pennsylvania's great outdoors.
