Johnsonburg, Pa.:  The Pennsylvania Chapter of Women in Timber visited the Rolfe Beagle Club in NC PA on Monday to learn how wood harvest for society also benefits wildlife habitat.  Women in Timber is led by the Allegheny Hardwood Utilization Group (AHUG) out of Kane, and consists of women in the wood products industries, trucking, conservation groups, and oil and gas industries.  The purpose of the tour at the Rolfe Beagle Club in Johnsonburg, Pa, was to learn about ‘across the aisle’ efforts the club has made over the last two decades to improve wildlife habitats on their 80 acres of managed land.

Amy Shields, Executive Director of AHUG said, “We had heard over the years that this club does a lot for wildlife and asked them for a tour to see first-hand how organizations working together can improve the landscape.”  Over the last two decades the club has worked with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Ducks Unlimited, the Ruffed Grouse Society, Pheasants Forever, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and the NWTF to obtain advice or support to improve wildlife habitat.

Cecile Stelter, Bureau of Forestry, DCNR, stated, “What impressed me the most about the club’s stewardship program was the development of a mosaic of habitats that help support each other for wildlife’s needs.”

The women on the tour viewed a Crop Tree Release for Wildlife, a Pre-Commercial Thin for wood production, and a proposed clearcut to develop a young aspen/black cherry stand of wood.  They also viewed buckthorn treatments at this first stop.  The second stop on the tour was strictly wildlife-oriented as they viewed a pond reclamation, installation of boxes for wetland critters, and development of a riparian habitat near the created wetland.