MFA NEWS

Combating the Gypsy Moth   by Ann Raley

There�s a tale about an old man walking the shoreline tossing one starfish after another back into the ocean. A fellow walker approaches, observes, and remarks on the folly of attempting to save all the starfish. The old man replies, "Well, I just saved that one." Protecting our forest from the gypsy moth damage may seem equally overwhelming but perhaps with one tree after another, after another . . . .

Several weeks ago cabin lessees in Michaux Forest and Pine Grove State Park received a card from Jack Roeder, a forester with Bureau of Forestry. He outlined plans for extensive gypsy moth spraying in our area this month. Annual spraying will certainly curtail the loss of trees in our forest; but there is a way your attention to individual trees could help as well.

The aerial spraying is scheduled to exterminate the new generation of gypsy moths hatching from those tan "patches" you may have seen on many tree trunks (especially oaks.) Each of those egg masses will produce 500 to 1000 caterpillars who will crawl up the trees toward the tender foliage above. At this stage your intervention could make a difference. Identify a tree where you have seen several egg masses or baby caterpillars, those 1/4" black insects crawling on the tree. Cut a 12- to 18-inch wide piece of burlap long enough to circle the tree(s), and overlap a bit, at about shoulder height. Secure the strip around the middle with a length of twine or nylon cord. Fold the top half down over the cord and flare it out. (Or buy sticky gypsy moth barrier bands that can be wrapped around mature, thick-barked trees.) You will need to collect the trapped caterpillars every day or so and put them into a container of strong detergent solution.

Caterpillars who have eluded your traps and the overhead spraying will spend much of May and June ravenously chewing, digesting, and producing a "rain" of excrement onto surfaces below. They will then go in search of hiding places where they will spend 10 to 14 days in shell-like pupae from which adult gypsy moth emerge in July and August. The females have 2-inch long tan bodies and white wings and do not fly. The males are a bit smaller and dark brown; they have feathery antennae. On both, wings meet in an inverted V. After the adults mate, the female lays her eggs on trunks of trees that will provide food for her babies next summer. (Some may choose to hide their egg masses in sheltered areas under fallen trees, pieces of scrap lumber or firewood, wooded or log house siding, picnic tables where they will be less vulnerable to natural predators: mice, ants, beetles, birds, and others.)

The eight months while the eggs are incubating - throughout the fall, winter, and early spring - is another time when your intervention could help. You can destroy the egg masses by using a spoon to scrape them into a container - again of strong detergent solution. (Be careful not to let the mass fall to the ground.) Your scrapings should be kept in the solution for a couple of days before being discarded. Perhaps you will be inspired this fall to involve your family and friends in gypsy moth egg hunting at your cabin or on a hike through the woods - another way to enjoy our beautiful forest and participate in its preservation - one tree after another, after another.. . .

Ann Raley
Penn State Master Gardener
[Reference: "Gypsy Moth Control Options for the Homeowner" -
a Bureau of Forestry brochure available at Pine Grove State Park office]

NEWS FROM MICHAUX STATE FOREST

Michael Kusko Michaux District Forester

Gypsy Moth -
Spraying on the Michaux will begin probably during the first week in May. A total of 31,514 acres of state and private land will be sprayed in the Michaux District ( Adams, Cumberland, Franklin, & York Counties). Of this 14,996 ac. will be on the Michaux ( 90% in Cumberland County). Areas to be sprayed in Cumberland County are: the area from Woodrow Road to Tagg Run including all of Pine Grove Furnace State Park; the area around Michaux Acres and extending down High Mountain Road, Peach Orchard Hollow Road, and Beetam Hollow Road; and the area encompassing Big Pond and Stromes Hollow Roads. Areas are first selected based on the potential for defoliation (number of egg masses/acre). Then these areas are prioritized based on such parameters as timber quality, recreational use, protection of unique plant/animal habitats, watershed protection, etc. Both fixed wing and helicopters will be utilized to apply the biological insecticide, BT. The fixed wing cost is $30.16/acre, while the helicopter cost is $34.22/acre. Folks can access a lot of information by going to DCNR,s website and the Forestry section and clicking on �Gypsy Moth�.

Timber Sales -
Areas that are/will experience active harvests during 2009 are: Spruce Run � 132 acres, Peach Orchard Hollow Rd. � 88 acres, Hammond�s Rocks � 43 acres, Dead Woman�s Hollow � 184 acres, and Beetam Hollow� 69 acres.

Other -
Other than our normal road maintenance activities, we don�t have any special activities planned for the Pine Grove Furnace State Park area of the Michaux.

Spring House -
The power company should contact Forester, Joe Baker or myself concerning removal of the white oak tree leaning over the spring house.

    

COOKE TOWNSHIP SUMMER CLEANUP
The 2009 summer cleanup day for Cooke will be JUNE 6 (the first Saturday in June). Items will be accepted from 8:00 AM to NOON (only) at the Cooke Township Building, 1700 Centerville Road, Newville. No early drop-offs, please! This collection is a service for Cooke Township residents and cabin owners only. It is intended only for large items that are not normally taken by your garbage collector.

Please note:

Brush or lumber must be bundled no longer than 5 feet.

All materials must be contained in cans, bags or boxes.

Doors must be removed from refrigerators and freezers.

All items with compressors must have FREON refrigerant removed and must be tagged to indicate this has been done.

Items not accepted: (1) tires, (2) batteries, (3) propane bottles, (4) paints, paint thinners, cleaning agents & petroleum products, (5) tree stumps, tree trunks, (6) concrete, concrete blocks, rocks, bricks or blacktop, (7) leaves or grass clippings, (8) commercial or industrial waste, (9) trash normally accepted by trash hauler. For recycling information, call Cumberland County at (717) 240-6489. Propane Cylinders may be dropped off at no charge at Aero Oil Company and Agway Energy Products.

COOKE TOWNSHIP ROADS
Road repair in the park: The new water/sewage system installation at Pine Grove Furnace is winding down and repair work will soon take place on Ice House Road, Murphy Road and Old Railroad Bed Road. The actual dates of road repair are still unknown as this work depends on the weather. There is the possibility that roads will have to be closed for a period of time: a matter of hours for Ice House Road but possibly one to two days for Murphy Road and Old Railroad Bed Road. Every effort will be made to keep any road closures to a minimum.

Michaux Road emergency parking: Over the years we have repeatedly had emergencies on the Appalachian Trail (AT) off of Michaux Road. Response by multiple emergency crews often resulted in no room for their large vehicles to be parked next to the trailhead, and vehicles sometimes got stuck (seems these emergencies only happen in snow storms!). Therefore, the previous small parking area near the AT entrance north of Camp Michaux has been enlarged to approximately 45 feet wide by 30 feet deep. This was accomplished by removing all the dirt stored near the entrance to Bunker Hill Road and the first curve on Michaux Road coming from Route 233. A portion of the new area will be marked with signs for �Emergency Vehicles Only.�

Street addresses in the forest: If you see new numbers appear along roads and on forest gates, rest assured that Parks and Forestry are not selling off land for new buildings! Cooke Township has been consulting with Ken Boyles of Pine Grove Furnace State Park and Mike Kusko of Michaux Forestry about assigning �street numbers� to facilitate identification of remote locations by the Cumberland County 911 Center. The computer system that directs first responders to the site of an emergency is dependent upon actual street addresses, which obviously creates a problem when houses are very far apart. We are working to assign numbers to various places throughout the Township For instance, the AT off Michaux Road will be assigned a street address, as will many existing Forestry road gates. The same is planned for multiple locations within the State Park.

FEMA AND FLOODS
A portion of land adjoining Mountain Creek and some of its tributaries has long been designated as a technical �flood plain� or �Zone A -- Area of Special Flood Hazard� by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In recent years FEMA has been recalculating the boundaries of areas subject to flood across the country and tightening up their requirements for local jurisdictions. Cooke Township has been informed that we �must� adopt local ordinances concerning building within the flood plain, or we could lose potential access to emergency funds for any type of disaster anywhere in the Township. Several generations of Supervisors had decided in past decades not to address this issue with formal restrictions, but this is no longer possible. Therefore, Cooke Township just adopted a Flood Ordinance and is in the process of applying to the National Flood Insurance Program. Keep in mind that the existence of a FEMA-defined flood plain is not at all new, however.

The new Flood Ordinance will be posted on the Township website www.cooketwp.org. In brief, it applies special engineering specifications to NEW or SUBSTANTIAL construction (defined as additions worth more than 50% of the value of the existing building) within the 100-year flood plain, and heavily restricts such construction closer than 50 feet from the edge of all creeks and lakes. From the new Ordinance: �In summary, this Ordinance applies the minimum requirements established under the National Flood Insurance Program so as to regulate new construction or substantial improvements to existing structures (including seasonal-use �cabins�) within the designated FEMA flood plain as well as in any area within fifty feet landward from the top-of-bank of any watercourse.�

You may well ask which cabins are within the FEMA flood plain. This is not as easy to answer as it should be, because the maps provided to us are not as clear as we would like. The vast majority of cabins do not appear to be affected, fortunately. Please note again that the engineering restrictions of this Ordinance would not kick in for most building projects, only for total reconstruction or very substantial additions. There are no requirements to make any changes to existing buildings.

One advantage to all this is that Cooke Township will soon be enrolled in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which gives you the opportunity to buy inexpensive flood insurance guaranteed by the Federal government. You certainly do not have to do anything differently unless you want to � this program does not require flood insurance, merely guarantees you can get it if you so desire. For information on the NFIP, which is not administered by the Township, please see www.fema.gov/about/programs/nfip/index.shtm and www.floodsmart.gov/floodsmart.

Hello fellow mountain enthusiasts,

Well, another winter has passed us by and we snow lovers were disappointed once again. At least it was a cold enough winter that the lakes froze and we were able to enjoy ice fishing and skating.

At the time of our last newsletter, I had mentioned that I had just received notice of a break-in of a cottage on the Old Railroad road. Unfortunately, that was not the end of it. About the same time frame, there were at least two more incidents in the same area. Also, not far from there on Ice House road, a cabin owner reported the theft of his and his neighbor�s fuel oil. With the installation of the water line coming from Fuller to Laurel, there was a lot of extra activity in those areas during the fall and winter. I am not sure if that might have had anything to do with it or not.

Later in the fall, I discovered a cabin located on the 1600 block of Pine Grove road that was burglarized. The thieves stole a new Edenpure heater the owner had just purchased. For the next several days, I concentrated my efforts in the neighborhood of this cabin. To the best of my knowledge, it was an isolated occurrence. At this point, it is my understanding, that none of the vandals/thieves of any the above-mentioned intrusions, have been caught.

Things seem to quiet down as the winter season came upon us. But as usual, Mother Nature did her share of damage. High winds on several occasions brought many limbs and trees down on or around the cabins. Fortunately, there were only a few incidences of cabins or outbuildings being damaged. There are still several driveways with debris blocking the access, so keep that in mind when you visit your site this spring. Also, you may notice tire tracks in your yards, but you shouldn�t be too concerned. If your cabin is located in the park, there were new boundary markers placed on the sites, and the park crew had to travel across the property to install many of the posts. They did a good job of repairing any damaged area, but some are still noticeable. In addition, due to need of repair to downed power lines from windstorm damages, the electrical company had to come across several of the grounds as well.

That about sums up my winter season inspections. I hope everyone has opportunity to enjoy your cabins and the wonderful Michaux forest this summer. As always, feel free to call or email me ([email protected])with any questions or concerns. I appreciate any input concerning unusual activity that you might observe.

Sincerely,
by Richard G. Baish

Pine Grove Furnace State Park News Link

Ken Boyles Park Superintendent

Holding Tank Alarm System �
Holding tank alarms will be required for cabins with Pine Grove Furnace State Park. The holding tank alarm is a state regulation from the Department of Environmental Protection. I can only speak for the Bureau of State Parks and our leases as to the notice and deadline to install the alarm if there is running water in the cabin.

Pumpkin Fest �
The Hairy Hand is again scheduled for Halloween this year.

Fuller Lake Lifeguards �
Life guards will be utilized at Fuller Lake for the 2009 summer season. Send any qualified applicants to our office or have them call to get a civil service application. They must be certified in Red Cross Life Guarding, first aid, and CPR.