Keystone State Park

For this week's Notable Naturalists, we're bringing it into the present and much closer to home. And as a bonus, we're also making it a double! Dr. Michelle Duennes is a professor of biology at Saint Vincent College who's specialty lies in the field of entomology. Her primary focus is on pollinating insects, with a heavy focus on bumblebees. Taylor Hatchet is a student at Saint Vincent College who is interning with Dr. Duennes. Taylor's internship project involves tracking ...the emergence of bumblebee queens in the spring. According to Dr. Duennes, Taylor is "tracking the phenology/timing of spring queen bumble bee emergence from hibernation. To do this she or I or both of us go out on campus and to WPNR most days of the week to look for spring queens. We note their species (so far we’ve only caught Bombus impatiens and Bombus bimaculatus), their behavior (were they on a flower or were they nest searching, were they sluggish), if they have pollen in their pollen baskets (if they do, they’ve found a nest site and have started building up food reserves for laying eggs), and the species of flower they were visiting if they were on a flower. We also mark them with non-toxic paint so we know if we’ve caught them before. We’re hoping to better understand the seasonality of different bumble bee species emergence from hibernation as well as what food sources they are visiting so they can start feeding their growing colonies." Many mainstream conversations about pollinator insects tend to focus on honeybees, so why the intense interest in bumblebees? Pennsylvania has 14 species of bumblebees. Being bees that are native to Pennsylvania, they've had millions of years to evolve a very close relationship with native wildflowers. As opposed to the introduced honeybee, which is more of an agricultural organism and is not quite as effective at pollinating the local wildflowers. Dr. Duennes and Ms. Hatchet are doing really interesting work that could help us all gain a better understanding of some of our most important pollinating insects! We're excited to see the insights and information that comes out of Taylor's research!

THE 2021 FLYER IS READY please feel pre to print out the flyer and return if you would like to pre register for this event and feel free to reach out to us with any questions

This week's Notable Naturalists are the members of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the early to mid 20th century. Please click the link below for a great blog post on the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources website that details the history of the CCC and the important role that these citizens played in reforesting Pennsylvania's state parks and natural areas. Today's CCC legacy continues in the form of AmeriCorps, which is often described a...s a domestic Peace Corps. In addition to providing service in the environmental sector as it was initially started, citizens can serve their communities and country as AmeriCorps members in the social and educational sectors as well. Serving as an AmeriCorps member can be a deeply rewarding experience that also provides invaluable work experience and professional networking. If you are interested in serving your Western Pennsylvania community as an AmeriCorps member, you can do so with the Pennsylvania Mountain Service Corps AmeriCorps, or PMSC. You can visit their website at https://www.pmsc.org/. https://www.dcnr.pa.gov//Hist/CCCYears/Pages/default.aspx.

Don’t forget to check yourself and pets for ticks after spending time outdoors, especially during the spring when they are in their active nymph stage and are about the size of a poppy seed making them difficult to find.

The Quandrantid Meteor Showers are an annual astronomical event that occur early in the year. They are the result of a large asteroid that some scientists think may have once been a comet and that others believe is something new that they are calling a 'rock comet'. As our planet passes into its debris trail, it leaves behind a spectacular winter light show. While most meteors are seen as a trail of light in the sky, getting them the name 'shooting star', the Quandrantids wil...l likely appear more like a large fireball. This anomaly in appearance is due in part to the perpendicular angle at which the planet enters the debris trail and the larger than usual pieces of debris that make up that trail. The Quandrantids will be visible from approximately December 27th through January 10th with the peak visibility occurring in the pre-dawn hours of January 2nd-3rd.

I don't know about you, but the Loyalhanna is mighty nice.

The National Audubon Society's 121st Annual Christmas Bird Count starts TOMORROW! Click the link to find out how you can get involved in one of the longest running citizen science projects.

In response to the continuing rise of COVID-19 cases across the state, DCNR has canceled all in-person events and programs organized by its staff and volunteers in all state parks and forests, beginning Sunday, December 6. Learn more https://bit.ly/37CpdcD

From our families to yours, have a safe, healthy, and pleasant Thanksgiving.

https://www.media.pa.gov/Pages/DCNR_details.aspx?newsid=707

Want to learn more about recycling in your community? Today is a great day to start because it's America Recycles Day! Check out these great resources from Keep America Beautiful .

The arrival of the remnants of Hurricane Zeta will likely bring the fall foliage season to a rapid halt. This week’s report will be the final installment for th...e year, ending reporting on what has been an exceptionally vivid fall foliage season in Penn’s Woods. Learn more in the week 6 #PAFallFoliage report http://bit.ly/2OCvs8C #FallinPA

The narrative of what makes a healthy yard is changing. Let the lawn go. It's good for nature and less work for you!

As of Monday, November 2, 2020, most of the public restrooms at the park will be winterized and closed for the season. This will include the beach house restrooms and those located at the pavilions. The park is, of course, still open to visitors for walking, hiking, fishing, boating, etc. from dawn to dusk. The only restrooms that will be available for public use, however, will be those located at the boat mooring area.

There’s no need to rake up all the leaves in your yard! Leaving some on the ground is not only good for wildlife, but your yard and garden as well. Check out some more tips #iConservePA #FallinPA #PAFallFoliage

Now accepting applications for the 2021 training session

A great job from our colleagues at the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in finding these unique creatures in the Kiskimenatas River for the first time in over a century! And kudos to our friends at the Conemaugh Valley Conservancy for all their hard work over the years protecting and conserving the Kiski watersheds, allowing the water to become clean enough for these crucial species to come back to the ecosystems! https://triblive.com//after-missing-for-more-than-100-ye/

This past weekend multiple organizations, businesses, and volunteers answered the call for a citizen in distress on Keystone State Park grounds. We'd like to thank everyone who came out and assisted including the Bradenville Volunteer Fire Department, Murrysville Medic One, Mutual Aid EMS, Greensburg Bloodhound Team, Westmoreland Teams 175 and 211, Pennsylvania State Police, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and all the volunteers who assisted. We'd also like to thank Mr. Rob Rockwell of Pit Stop for his generous donation of pizza and water to the over 60 volunteers. Thanks to everyone's hard work and dedication, the citizen was found safe and has been transported to a local hospital.

Westmoreland may be listed as 'approaching best color' but it's been a great year for leaf peepers so far!

Haunted Keystone may be canceled this year but check out what one of our partner organizations is doing to celebrate Halloween! With Halloween celebrations in many communities still being uncertain and many folks uncertain about how much they want to participate, this virtual event is a great alternative way to participate in the spooky festivities!

With many folks spending more time outdoors this year than before, this is good information to keep in mind, no matter your experience level or location. Remember, if you get lost on one of the trails at Keystone, they all loop around so eventually you'll end up back at the park. Just be sure to follow the blazed trees.

Start looking for Thursday’s Full Harvest Moon after 7:00 P.M. The Harvest Moon is the full moon closest to the autumn equinox, which usually occurs in Septembe...r; however, the Harvest Moon falls in October this year. Between 1970 and 2050, there are 18 years when the Harvest Moon comes in October. The last time was in 2009. #NightSkyWatching #ProtectTheNight

In order to provide more opportunities for participation, this event has been extended until Saturday evening at 8PM. All you have to do to participate is come ...the park and submit observations of insects and plants to the iNaturalist platform. The iNaturalist user who submits the most observations will win a prize package that includes the framed photos that were highlighted in a previous post. Ms. Jean will be available today at the wildflower fields across from the visitor center from 3PM-5PM to help anyone that would like assistance getting started with iNaturalist and this particular project. She'll also have a monarch butterfly or two ready for release. Stop by and say hi!