Close encounters
      Any time spent in the forest is time well spent. But some experiences are a cut above the rest. This past deer season I had a couple close encounters with bucks that I'll never forget. On Monday of the second week, a cold front was moving through the area. It was so windy that treetops were being...
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     He's not only the host of the 2007 Big Woods Whitetail Classic buck contest, he's a contestant, too. That's Glen Boyd who with his wife owns the Beef & Ale House in Coudersport, the site of the first Big Woods Whitetail Classic. He shot this nice 8-point the opening morning, after watching him throu...
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     Elk State Forest District in Emporium has welcomed aboard Joe Kellert, a native of Coudersport, as assistant district forester position in charge of forest operations and maintenance. He holds an associate degree in forest technology and a bachelor's degree in forest science from Penn State and serv...
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Rates rising at Pennsylvania parks
      Rates for overnight accommodations, boating and picnic pavilions will be increased at Pennsylvania's state parks. This rate hike comes for the first time since 2001. The new price schedule will be effective on Jan. 1, reflecting about a 10-percent increase over the current rates, with the excepti...
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Furbearer seasons beginning
      Trapping season for coyotes, foxes, raccoons, opossums, skunks and weasels, continues through Feb. 17. Minks and muskrats can be trapped until Jan. 6; beavers, Dec. 26 to March 31. Raccoon hunting season continues through Feb. 16.
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Program enables hunters to donate their venison
      A statewide organization that encourages deer hunters to donate venison to the needy is looking for volunteers in Cameron and Potter counties. Under the "Hunters Sharing the Harvest" program, meat is donated to families, as well as churches, food banks and social service organizations.
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     Four employees of the Elk State Forest office in Emporium recently received service awards from the Pa. Bureau of Forestry. Honored, from left, were Jan Slottje and Greg Burkhouse, each with 15 years of service; Mike Simon, 10 years; and Tom Asp, five years.
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