145-833: Ricketts Glen State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on 13,193 acres (5,280 ha) in Columbia , Luzerne , and Sullivan counties in Pennsylvania in the United States. Ricketts Glen is a National Natural Landmark known for its old-growth forest and 24 named waterfalls along Kitchen Creek , which flows down the Allegheny Front escarpment from the Allegheny Plateau to the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians . The park
290-490: A Cold War radar installation in the park, operated from 1951 to 1975 and still serves as airport radar for nearby Wilkes-Barre and as the Red Rock Job Corps Center . Improvements since the creation of the state park include a new dam for the 245-acre (99 ha) Lake Jean, the breaching of two other dams Ricketts built, trail modifications, and a fire tower . In 1999 Hurricane Floyd briefly closed
435-481: A Franco-American ornithologist and naturalist who painted, cataloged, and described the birds of North America in his famous Birds of America book (1827–1838). Despite these accolades, John James Audubon's legacy has been tarnished by numerous accusations of plagiarism and scientific fraud , which his biographers (and Audubon's leadership) have routinely dismissed or minimized, even while admitting to his history of racism and slavery. John James Audubon
580-584: A National Park at Ricketts Glen was "sidetracked" in 1936 when the money was redirected to the Resettlement Administration for "direct relief". Similar projects at French Creek , Raccoon Creek , Laurel Hill , Blue Knob , and Hickory Run were also defunded (all are now Pennsylvania state parks). The financial difficulties of the Great Depression and World War II brought an end to this plan for development. Arthur James ,
725-505: A beach with bathing facilities, cabins, and a tent camping area. Only the last three were actually built, all south of Lake Jean; the Hayfield area north of Lake Jean was to have had the facilities for golf and tennis, and the inn and winter sports complex were to have been atop Cherry Ridge, at an elevation of 2,461 feet (750 m). A 1947 newspaper article estimated that the new park would have 50,000 visitors that year, and detailed
870-476: A brief history of their development since the first park opened in 1893. State parks range in size from 3 acres (1.2 ha) to 21,122 acres (8,548 ha) and comprise one percent of Pennsylvania's total land area. According to Dan Cupper (1993), "Pennsylvania is the thirty-third largest state, but only Alaska and California have more park land". There are state parks in 62 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties , which nearly reaches Pennsylvania's goal of having
1015-660: A build-up of sediment made up primarily of clay , sand and gravel . Tremendous pressure caused the formation of the sedimentary rocks that are found in the park and in the Kitchen Creek drainage basin : sandstone , shale , siltstone , and conglomerates . There are four distinct rock formations within Ricketts Glen State Park. The most recent and highest of these is the late Mississippian Mauch Chunk Formation , composed of "grayish-red shale, siltstone, sandstone, and some conglomerate". This forms
1160-578: A century, the National Wildlife Refuge Campaign also remains a key component of overall NAS policy. Audubon has begun to certify bird-friendly ranching facilities, such as the Blue Nest Beef enterprise in order to provide consumers with a method of determining the environmental credentials of the businesses advertising that they are providing "bird-friendly", "grass-fed", and similar products, as options for beef that
1305-509: A commitment to build on the organization's strong conservation legacy and expand its commitment to improving the quality of life for both birds and people by aligning Audubon's conservation work along the migratory flyways that millions of birds travel each spring and fall. Following layoffs and complaints about diversity and inclusion programs, an Audubon union organizing drive went public in March 2021 with about 400 workers. Yarnold stepped down
1450-479: A dam blocking water from Ganoga Lake and what became Lake Jean from draining into Big Run, a tributary of Fishing Creek . The water was instead diverted into the Ganoga Glen branch of Kitchen Creek. These diversions added about 7 square miles (18 km) to the Kitchen Creek drainage basin, increasing it by just over 50 percent. The result was increased water flow in Kitchen Creek, which has been cutting
1595-594: A decision to retain the Audubon name for the national organization, with the subsequent resignation of three of its 26 board members. In February 2023, the union representing Audubon employees renamed itself The Bird Union. Seven months earlier, in July 2022, the Seattle chapter of Audubon announced they would change the name, and later announced the new name would be Birds Connect Seattle, effective June 2023. Shortly after
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#17327805499661740-666: A division of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), is the governing body for all these parks, and directly operates 116 of them. The remaining parks are operated in cooperation with other public and private organizations. The first Pennsylvania state park, at Valley Forge , opened in 1893 and was given to the National Park Service (NPS) for the United States Bicentennial in 1976. There are
1885-484: A great variety of trees as it lies at the boundary between the northern and southern types of hardwoods. In 1993, the state designated the Glens Natural Area a State Park Natural Area, which means that it "will be protected and maintained in a natural state". No buildings or latrines are allowed in the natural area, and the bridges in it are built with wood, not steel or concrete. A series of trails parallels
2030-545: A low of 3,500, and with the nation in the Great Depression , John H. Baker became the NAS president. He was a World War I aviator and ardent bird lover, and also a businessman, and he set about to invigorate the society and bolster its budget prosperity through publication. Baker began publishing book-length field guides on major forms of bird and mammal life. Soon, in association with New York publisher Alfred A. Knopf ,
2175-481: A mill and the dam for what became Lake Rose in 1842. Dodson also built a dam south of Mud Pond, near what became Lake Jean; both dams were on the Ganoga Glen branch of Kitchen Creek, and each was used to make a "log splash pond". The other squatter, named Sickler, also built a mill and log dam, at what became Lake Leigh on the Glen Leigh branch of Kitchen Creek. Sickler was active from 1838 to about 1860. In 1865,
2320-629: A park waterfall is named, managed it from then until 1898. Many of the hotel's guests were Ricketts' friends and relations, who arrived after school let out in June and stayed all summer until school resumed in September. In 1876 and 1877, Ricketts ran the first summer school in the United States at his house and hotel; one of the teachers was Joseph Rothrock , later known as the "Father of Forestry" in Pennsylvania. The waterfalls and Ganoga Lake were
2465-512: A pledge to "not molest birds". Prominent members included jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. , abolitionist minister Henry Ward Beecher , and poet John Greenleaf Whittier . In under a decade this society was discontinued, but the name and plan survived. Organizations for the protection of birds were not a wholly new idea. Even before Grinnell's Audubon Society was organized, the American Ornithologists' Union , founded in 1883,
2610-475: A state park within 25 miles (40 km) of every resident in the Commonwealth. Eleven parks do not have "State Park" in their name. Three are " Conservation Areas ": Boyd Big Tree Preserve , Joseph E. Ibberson , and Varden ; four are "Environmental Education Centers": Jacobsburg , Jennings , Kings Gap (also a "Training Center") and Nolde Forest ; White Clay Creek is a "Preserve"; Norristown
2755-543: A total of $ 300,000 (approximately equivalent to $ 9,810,000 in 2023). If the project had been successful, the plan was to rebuild the two log and timber dams in concrete, however, the "dams were poorly constructed and could not be used for hydroelectric purposes". After the Panic of 1907 , Ricketts wife told him to stop the hydroelectric project before he lost all of their money; this prompted him to say "I used to be land poor, but now I'm dam poor". In 1913, Ricketts opened
2900-484: A total of 16,000 acres (6,500 ha) more from the heirs in 1945 and 1950 for $ 68,000; the park today has about 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) from the Ricketts family and about 3,000 acres (1,200 ha) acquired from others. The state's original plans for the new park included building an inn, an 18-hole golf course and country club , and a winter sports complex for skiing, ice boating , and tobogganing , as well as
3045-866: A total of seventeen former Pennsylvania state parks: four former parks have been transferred to the NPS, four to the Pennsylvania Historical Museum Commission , two to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , one to both the Corps and the Pennsylvania Game Commission , five to the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry , and one has ceased to exist. Nine current and two former state parks have had major name changes or have been known under alternate names. The list gives an overview of Pennsylvania state parks and
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#17327805499663190-510: A well was drilled at the Dodson mill site, after a Mr. Hadley fraudulently added oil to springs in what became the park. Hadley, who had hoped that investors would think petroleum was present, got the Wheeler & Wilson sewing machine company to invest $ 40,000 (equivalent to $ 800,000 in 2023) in his scheme. In the next two years they drilled two wells, one 2,100 feet (640 m) deep at
3335-598: A worldwide moratorium on whaling was declared. So successful has this moratorium been in restoring populations of many whales, that "non-consumptive uses of whales" may once again be permitted in some areas. During the 1980s and 1990s, the National Audubon Society produced a notable series of nature documentary television specials, many of which were entitled The World of Audubon . These included specials on many animals other than birds (the traditional focus of this organization) and on natural areas such as
3480-540: Is cross-country skiing , ice fishing on the lake, and ice climbing on the frozen falls. The Glens Natural Area has eight named waterfalls in Glen Leigh and ten in Ganoga Glen, these come together at Waters Meet; downstream in Ricketts Glen there are four to six named waterfalls. The park has four rock formations from the Devonian and Carboniferous periods, and is home to a wide variety of plants and animals. It
3625-550: Is Mohawk Falls in Ganoga Glen at 2,165 feet (660 m); the lowest elevation waterfall is Adams Falls, in Ricketts Glen just south of PA 118, at 1,214 feet (370 m). Ricketts Glen State Park is on the Allegheny Plateau, which has a continental climate with occasional severe low temperatures in winter and average daily temperature ranges (the difference between the daily high and low) of 20 °F (11 °C) in winter and 26 °F (14 °C) in summer. The park
3770-661: Is a "Farm Park"; and Big Spring is a "State Forest Picnic Area". Seven parks are undeveloped with no facilities: Allegheny Islands , Benjamin Rush , Bucktail , Erie Bluffs , Prompton , Swatara , and Varden ; the last four of these are in the process of being developed. Five state parks are small picnic areas: Laurel Summit , Patterson , Prouty Place , Sand Bridge , and Upper Pine Bottom . Five state parks have major U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dams and/or lakes: Bald Eagle , Beltzville , Elk , Kettle Creek , and Sinnemahoning . Three former parks now belong, at least partly, to
3915-594: Is a steep escarpment known as the Allegheny Front , which rises up to 1,200 feet (370 m) above the land to the south. Within the park, Kitchen Creek has its headwaters on the dissected plateau , then drops approximately 1,000 feet (300 m) down the Allegheny Front in 2.25 miles (3.62 km). Much of this drop occurs in Glen Leigh and Ganoga Glen, two narrow valleys carved by branches of Kitchen Creek, which come together at Waters Meet. Ricketts Glen lies south of and downstream from Waters Meet, and here
4060-726: Is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world. There are completely independent Audubon Societies in the United States, which were founded several years earlier such as the Massachusetts Audubon Society, Indiana Audubon Society, and Connecticut Audubon Society. The societies are named for 19th century naturalist John James Audubon . The society has nearly 500 local chapters, each of which
4205-749: Is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization voluntarily affiliated with the National Audubon Society. They often organize birdwatching field trips and conservation-related activities. It also coordinates the Christmas Bird Count held each December in the U.S., a model of citizen science , in partnership with Cornell Lab of Ornithology , and the Great Backyard Bird Count each February. Together with Cornell University , Audubon created eBird , an online database for bird observation. The National Audubon Society also has many global partners to help birds that migrate beyond
4350-579: Is directly below the PA 118 highway bridge, which obscures much of the view. There are also several unnamed falls in the park, such as a good-sized unnamed waterfall on a tributary of the Ganoga Glen branch of Kitchen Creek, or the "forgotten falls" on the South Branch Bowman Creek. List of Pennsylvania state parks As of 2024 , there are 124 state parks in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania . The Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks ,
4495-488: Is given in recognition of outstanding achievement in the field of conservation and environmental protection. 52 people have received the honor in Audubon's 108-year history. In 2011, Audubon created a new model for positioning energy transmission lines along the East Coast to help preserve bird and wildlife habitat . Audubon President David Yarnold has made environmentally friendly siting for renewable energy one of
Ricketts Glen State Park - Misplaced Pages Continue
4640-638: Is home to brook trout , brown trout , brown bullhead , and yellow bullhead . Acid rain with a pH near 3.0 has altered the ecology of the lakes and region; in Lake Jean low pH has decreased the number and quality of insects and plankton at the base of the food chain . Fish which are acid tolerant are predominant, including fathead minnows , muskellunge , pumpkinseed , walleye , and yellow perch . Predators like chain pickerel and largemouth bass are relatively few in number, and adult fish appear to grow rapidly but breed comparatively poorly. Since 1996,
4785-626: Is in Fairmount Township , which was settled in 1792 and incorporated in 1834; the easternmost part of the park is in Ross Township , which was settled in 1795 and incorporated in 1842. The northwest part of the park is in Sullivan County , which was formed in 1847 from Lycoming County ; Davidson Township was settled by 1808 and incorporated in 1833, while Colley Township , which has the park office and part of Lake Jean,
4930-475: Is in the Huntington Creek watershed, where the mean annual precipitation is 40 to 48 inches (1016 to 1219 mm). Weather records for Ricketts Glen State Park show that the highest recorded temperature at the park was 103 °F (39 °C) in 1988, and the record low was −17 °F (−27 °C) in 1984. On average, January is the coldest month, July is the hottest month, and June
5075-528: Is named. Ricketts Glen State Park is in five townships in three counties. After the 1768 purchase, the land became part of Northumberland County , but was soon divided among other counties. Most of the park is in Luzerne County , which was formed in 1786 from part of Northumberland County. Within Luzerne County, the majority of the park, including all of the waterfalls and most of Lake Jean,
5220-646: Is near the borough of Benton on Pennsylvania Route 118 and Pennsylvania Route 487 , and is in five townships: Sugarloaf in Columbia County, Fairmount and Ross in Luzerne County, and Colley and Davidson in Sullivan County. Ricketts Glen's land was once home to Native Americans . From 1822 to 1827, a turnpike was built along the course of PA 487 in what is now the park, where two squatters harvested cherry trees to make bed frames from about 1830 to 1860. The park's waterfalls were one of
5365-991: Is now Cherry Springs , "Codorus Creek" is now Codorus , "Kooser Lake" is now Kooser , "Laurel Hill Summit" is now Laurel Summit , and "Promised Land Lake" is now Promised Land ). Such minor name changes are not included in this table. The following eighteen were once Pennsylvania state parks, but have been transferred to federal ( National Park Service , U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ) or state ( Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission , Pennsylvania Game Commission , Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry ) agencies, or ceased to exist. The following are significantly different former or alternate names for two former Pennsylvania state parks. One former park dropped one word from its name ("Colerain Forge" became "Colerain" sometime between 1924 and 1937). Such minor name changes are not included in this table. Audubon Society The National Audubon Society ( Audubon ; / ˈ ɔː d ə b ɒ n / )
5510-469: Is now Lake Ganoga and some of the park, as their own hunting preserve, and built a stone house on the lake shore by 1852 or 1855. The stone house served as their lodge and as a tavern; it was known as "Ricketts Folly" for its isolated location in the wilderness. Clemuel died in 1858 and Elijah bought his share of the land and house. The Ricketts family was not aware of the glens and their waterfalls until about 1865, when they were discovered by two guests from
5655-476: Is prohibited in the glens area. In 2009, 4.15 miles (6.68 km) of Kitchen Creek downstream from Waters Meet and all of Phillips Creek were classified as Class A Wild Trout Waters , defined by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission as "streams which support a population of naturally produced trout of sufficient size and abundance to support a long-term and rewarding sport fishery". Lake Jean
5800-587: Is raised sustainably and benefits wildlife habitat. An online database is provided by Audubon that displays which native plants are important for birds in different areas that is searchable by USA zip code. Audubon has recently expanded its outreach about the detrimental impact of invasive species like Norway maples, Tatarian honeysuckle and other ecological threats to human health and wildlife. The Audubon society opposes drilling for gas on national reserves . Natural gas has been drilled for and produced at its Paul J. Rainey Wildlife Sanctuary . The society said it
5945-471: Is the wettest month. It has been estimated that before the arrival of William Penn and his Quaker colonists in 1682, up to 90 percent of what is now Pennsylvania was covered with woods: over 31,000 square miles (80,000 km) of eastern white pine , eastern hemlock , and a mix of hardwoods . By 1890, Ricketts' land was the largest tract of old-growth forest remaining in the state, and though he made his fortune clearcutting nearly all his land,
Ricketts Glen State Park - Misplaced Pages Continue
6090-478: Is usually closed to the public, but may be visited if it is staffed by a forest fire warden. From the tower, three states and eleven Pennsylvania counties can be seen. Ricketts Glen State Park was the site of a Cold War era radar station. The Benton Air Force Station in the north of the park at what is now the Red Rock Job Corps Center was constructed during 1950 and 1951. Part of
6235-559: The Audubon Field Guide s became a staple of every artist's and environmentalist's library. Today, many Audubon field guides have been adapted for mobile phone apps . This field guide series covers a wide range of nature-related topics, including the night sky , rocks and minerals , wildflowers , and many animals. This series has sold 18 million copies and uses photographs instead of the commissioned paintings or other drawings that many other field guides possess, such as
6380-484: The Governor of Pennsylvania , signed legislation creating Ricketts Glen State Park on August 1, 1941. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania bought 1,261 acres (510 ha), including the glens and their waterfalls, from the heirs for $ 82,000 on December 31, 1942. The new state park opened to the public on August 1, 1943; however, the park's official history says "recreational facilities first opened in 1944". The state bought
6525-570: The Great Lakes . This series included a special documenting the rescue efforts to save the black-footed ferret from extinction. Arthur Unger of the Christian Science Monitor reviewed this special very favorably and wrote that this special was "further proof that the Audubon series deserves a place in television's splendid wildlife triumvirate alongside Nature and National Geographic Specials ". The Audubon Medal
6670-709: The New Purchase , from the Iroquois in the Treaty of Fort Stanwix ; this included what is now Ricketts Glen State Park. After the American Revolutionary War , Native Americans almost entirely left Pennsylvania. About 1890 a Native American pot, decorated in the style of "the peoples of the Susquehanna region", was found under a rock ledge on Kitchen Creek by Murray Reynolds, for whom a waterfall
6815-508: The Peterson Field Guides . During the post-World War II period, the NAS was consumed by the battle over the pesticide DDT . As early as 1960, the society circulated draft legislation to establish pesticide control agencies at the state level. In 1962 the publication of Silent Spring by long-time Audubon member Rachel Carson gave the campaign against "persistent pesticides" a huge national forum. Following her death in 1964,
6960-655: The United States Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System , Ricketts Glen State Park is at an elevation of 2,198 feet (670 m). The two highest points in the park are Cherry Ridge, made of Mauch Chunk Formation rock, at 2,461 feet (750 m), and the Grand View outcrop of Huntley Mountain Formation sandstone, at 2,444 feet (745 m). The highest elevation waterfall in the park
7105-528: The 1930s, some mere camping and picnic areas in state forests, while others preserved unique sites. The 1930s saw a great expansion of parks and their facilities under Governor Gifford Pinchot , who cooperated with President Franklin Roosevelt , despite their being of different political parties. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) established 113 CCC camps in Pennsylvania (second only to California). Using CCC and Works Progress Administration (WPA) labor,
7250-592: The 1960s and 1970s, the society began to use its influence to focus attention on a wider range of environmental issues and became involved in developing major new environmental protection policies and laws. Audubon staff and members helped legislators pass the Clean Air , Clean Water , Wild and Scenic Rivers , and Endangered Species acts. In 1969, the society opened an office in Washington, D.C., in an effort to keep legislators informed of Audubon's priorities. By
7395-601: The 1970s, NAS had also extended to global interests. One area that NAS became actively involved with was whaling. Between 1973 and 1974 alone, the poorly regulated whaling industry had succeeded in harvesting 30,000 whales. But by 1985, following the 37th annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Bournemouth, England, which was attended by officials from the National Audubon Society and other U.S.-based environmental organizations,
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#17327805499667540-553: The 648th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron based at Fort Indiantown Gap , the radar station was a "frontline defender of national security". About 300 airmen served at the radar station during the height of the Cold War. Barracks were constructed and recreational facilities for the airmen were provided. In 1963 the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) began jointly operating the radar station;
7685-506: The 648th Squadron was inactivated in 1975 and the Job Corps center was established in 1978, using the barracks and recreational facilities as the Red Rock Job Corps Center. As of 2010, the radar dome is still fully functional and is used by the FAA as an auxiliary radar to the tower at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport . On October 12, 1969, the Glens Natural Area and its waterfalls
7830-495: The Allegheny Plateau, Allegheny Front, and Appalachian Mountains all formed in the Alleghenian orogeny . This happened long after the sedimentary rocks in the park were deposited, when the part of Gondwana that became Africa collided with what became North America, forming Pangaea . In the years since, up to 5,000 feet (1,500 m) of rock has been eroded away by streams and weather. At least three major glaciations in
7975-488: The Audubon Society released its Audubon Birds and Climate Change report which found that expected changes to North American climate will have a major, detrimental impact on birds in the United States. The scope of the report includes 588 species of birds and found that 314 of those species could lose up to half of their climatic range during the 21st-century. The society was named in honor of John James Audubon ,
8120-553: The Central New Mexico Audubon Society, Champaign County Audubon Society, Delaware Audubon Society, Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society, Huachuca Audubon Society, Kalmiopsis Audubon Society, San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society, Sequoia Audubon Society, and Audubon South Carolina. The Dan W. Lufkin Prize for Environmental Leadership is a new award that recognizes Dan W. Lufkin's lifetime commitment to
8265-658: The DCNR has added 11 short tons (10.0 t) of powdered lime to the lake each year to make the pH more neutral. A registered National Natural Landmark since 1969, the Glens Natural Area is the main scenic attraction in the park and covers 2,845 acres (1,151 ha). Among perhaps 2,000 acres (810 ha) of old-growth forest, two branches of Kitchen Creek cut through the deep gorges of Ganoga Glen and Glen Leigh and unite at Waters Meet; then flow through Ricketts Glen. These old trees are commonly up to 100 feet (30 m) tall, with diameters of almost 4 feet (1.2 m). The park has
8410-605: The DCNR, the state parks in Pennsylvania are on more than 300,000 acres (120,000 ha) with some 606 full-time and more than 1,600 part-time employees serving approximately 36 million visitors each year. Admission to all Pennsylvania state parks is free, although there are fees charged for use of cabins, marinas, etc. Pennsylvania's state parks offer "over 7,000 family campsites, 286 cabins, nearly 30,000 picnic tables, 56 major recreational lakes, 10 marinas, 61 beaches for swimming, 17 swimming pools" and over 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of trails. Pennsylvania's first state park
8555-515: The Evergreen Trail past Adams Falls, as well as a new parking area for 200 cars and a concession stand, both along Pennsylvania Route 118 (PA 118). The state made other improvements in the park, including replacing or removing all of Ricketts' dams. At Lake Jean it built an earthen dam in 1949–1950 to replace Ricketts' 1905 timber dam; the new dam increased the size of Lake Jean to 245 acres (99 ha) and its eastern end now included
8700-464: The Falls Trail; because of the difficulty of transporting materials on the trail, an Army National Guard helicopter dropped 36-foot (11 m) poles into the glens to rebuild the bridges in early 1997. In the winter of 1997 ice climbing was allowed in the Ganoga Glen section of the park for the first time. That same year training was undertaken by local fire companies to rescue people injured in
8845-676: The Five Nations of the Iroquois , and by 1675 they had died out, moved away, or been assimilated into other tribes. After the demise of the Susquehannocks, the lands of the Susquehanna River valley were under the nominal control of the Iroquois, who also lived in longhouses, primarily in what is now the state of New York . The Iroquois had a strong confederacy which gave them power beyond their numbers. To fill
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#17327805499668990-506: The Lehigh Valley Railroad was constructed through his lands." Trexler and Turrell paid Ricketts $ 50,000 in both 1890 and 1891, and continued to cut his land and pay him for the timber until 1913. By 1911, the main sawmill at Ricketts could cut 125,000 board feet (290 m) a day and was supported by three locomotives with 62 cars on 22 miles (35 km) of track. Within the park, the area around what became Lake Jean
9135-659: The Midway Crevasse, which the Highland Trail passes through, are Pocono Formation sandstone. The third of the rock formations within the park is the Huntley Mountain Formation , from the late Devonian and early Mississippian . This is made of layers of olive green to gray sandstone and gray to red shale. The Huntley Mountain Formation is relatively hard and erosion resistant. It caps the Allegheny Front and has kept it from eroding as much as
9280-553: The NAS established a fund devoted strictly to the various legal fights in the war against DDT. Today, Audubon selects outstanding women in conservation to receive its prestigious Rachel Carson Award . Honorees include Bette Midler , singer, actress, and founder of the New York Restoration Project; Dr. Sylvia Earle, oceanographer and founder of Deep Search International; Majora Carter, Founder and Executive Director of Sustainable South Bronx ; actress and conservation activist Sigourney Weaver, and NRDC President Frances Beinecke. Through
9425-492: The NPS built five Recreation Demonstration Areas , which became Pennsylvania state parks in 1945 and 1946: Blue Knob , French Creek , Hickory Run , Laurel Hill , and Raccoon Creek . The CCC also "fought forest fires, planted trees, built roads, buildings, picnic areas, swimming areas, campgrounds and created many state parks". In 1956, there were forty-four state parks in Pennsylvania, mostly in rural areas. Forty-five parks had been added by 1979, mostly near urban areas, and
9570-596: The Seattle chapter's announcement in February, the Chicago chapter also announced they will change their name. In March 2023, the New York City chapter announced that after studying the issue for eight months, it will change its name; Jessica Wilson, executive director of the NYC chapter, stated that the current name "served as a barrier to getting all New Yorkers involved". Chapters in other cities such as Washington, D.C. , Portland, Oregon , and Buffalo, New York , have made similar announcements. David Yarnold became Audubon's 10th president in September 2010, expressing
9715-422: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Seven parks preserve the industrial past: Canoe Creek is the site of a former lime kiln , and Caledonia , French Creek , Greenwood Furnace , Kings Gap , Mont Alto , and Pine Grove Furnace (plus one former park) are all former iron furnace sites. Eight current parks and one former park contain at least part of eight different National Natural Landmarks . According to
9860-477: The U.S. government to protect vital wildlife areas by including them in a National Wildlife Refuge system. The association also acquired land through purchases and donation. The Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon Center in Oyster Bay, New York was donated to New York Audubon in 1923 by Emlen Roosevelt and Christine Roosevelt in memory of their cousin, who is buried in the adjacent Youngs Memorial Cemetery . The Audubon Center of Greenwich, Connecticut
10005-441: The U.S.'s borders, including BirdLife International based in Great Britain, Bird Studies Canada , American Bird Conservancy , and many partners in Latin America and in the Caribbean. Audubon's International Alliances Program (IAP) brings together people throughout the Western Hemisphere to work together to implement conservation solutions at Important Birds Areas (IBAs). In 1886, Forest and Stream editor George Bird Grinnell
10150-581: The United States and is a key part of Audubon's work with BirdLife International and other conservationists around the globe. Audubon is leading the campaign for U.S. Congressional Reauthorization of the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act which would generate as much as $ 100 million each year to advance hemispheric bird conservation. In Wyoming and across the Intermountain west, Audubon's Sagebrush Initiative works with industry, government, ranchers and conservationists to protect 15 million acres of greater sage grouse Core habitat. It also helps promote
10295-548: The bird population was the desire for their plumage. In the late 1890s, the American Ornithologists' Union estimated that five million birds were killed annually for the fashion market. In the final quarter of the 19th century, plumes, and even whole birds, decorated the hair, hats, and dresses of women. Poachers killed game warden Guy Bradley on July 8, 1905; poachers killed Game Warden Columbus G. McLeod in November 1908 in Florida and Audubon Society employee Pressly Reeves of South Carolina also in 1908. Public opinion soon turned on
10440-511: The branches of Kitchen Creek as they course down the Glens. Glen Leigh features eight named waterfalls and is south of the former Lake Leigh. Ganoga Glen is southeast of the former Lake Rose and has ten named falls, including the 94-foot (29 m) Ganoga Falls, the tallest in the park. The DCNR recognizes three named waterfalls in Ricketts Glen just south of Waters Meet, plus Adams Falls 2 miles (3.2 km) farther downstream at PA 118. Adams Falls,
10585-529: The country, many others were doing the same. These boycotts were largely successful, and the efforts of the early society members helped bring about the end of the plume trade and assisted in the introduction of early conservation legislation such as the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. In 1896, Pennsylvania created their Audubon Society, and during the next few years, bird lovers in many other states followed suit. St. Louis Audubon Society (SLAS)
10730-529: The creek's three glens . The sawmill was at the village of Ricketts , which was mostly north of the park. After his death in 1918, Ricketts' heirs began selling land to the state for Pennsylvania State Game Lands . Plans to make Ricketts Glen a national park in the 1930s were ended by budget issues and the Second World War ; Pennsylvania began purchasing the land in 1942 and fully opened Ricketts Glen State Park in 1944. The Benton Air Force Station ,
10875-560: The destruction left by plume hunters, organized a series of afternoon teas with other wealthy local women, encouraging them to avoid feathered garments. They also sent literature asking these women to, in Hall's words, "join a society for the protection of birds, especially the egret". Later that same year, they founded the Massachusetts Audubon Society . Over 900 women came together with Hemenway and Hall, and across
11020-577: The development of renewable energy projects in the area. Audubon also helped to secure the preservation of 240,000 acres of wild lands at the Tejon Ranch , the largest land conservation area created in California history. In March 2020, the Arkansas chapter of the Audubon Society announced its plan to spend $ 80,000 to install solar panels on its grounds, which will make their Little Rock office
11165-520: The environment and honors individuals who have dedicated their lives to on-the-ground conservation. As part of this award, the recipient receives a $ 100,000 cash prize, made through an endowment established by Dan's family and friends, to help further his or her conservation efforts. This award will become a signature prize in the field of conservation innovation. George Archibald was the inaugural Dan W. Lufkin Prize recipient for his tireless efforts to protect all species of cranes and their habitats throughout
11310-613: The environment." Audubon New York created the Rachel Carson Field Internship in 2012, which is given to young women seeking experience in the fields of "habitat-stewardship and wildlife-management". There is also the Women in Conservation Fellowship. These internships are given to women who wish to learn about areas such as public relations, management, and event planning. In September 2014,
11455-480: The fall of 2001, and yielded 3,500,000 board feet (8,300 m) of lumber. The operation had revenue of almost $ 7 million, and had the ecological advantage of not requiring heavy logging equipment or new roads in the park. Some of the money from the helicopter logging operation was used for park improvements, including a new $ 1.7 million visitor center and park office, which opened in December 2001. In 2002
11600-413: The falls in the glens since. The gradient or slope of Kitchen Creek was fairly stable for its flow when it had a much smaller drainage basin, as Phillips Creek to the east still does. Kitchen Creek is now too steep for its present amount of water flow, and over time erosion will decrease the creek's slope and make it less steep. There are rocks with glacial striations visible within the park. According to
11745-523: The fashion industry. Bolstered by the support of Boston socialite Harriet Hemenway , President of the United States and avowed Audubon Society sympathizer Theodore Roosevelt , and a widespread letter-writing campaign driven by church associations, many of whom distributed the Audubon message in their various newsletters, the plume trade was halted by such laws as the New York State Audubon Plumage Law (May 1910), which banned
11890-423: The forests in the glens of Ricketts Glen State Park were "saved from the lumberman's axe through the foresight of the Ricketts family". The rough terrain of the glens made it difficult to harvest timber from the area. Many of the old-growth trees are believed to be over 500 years old, and ring counts on fallen trees have revealed ages of over 900 years. The forests in and around Ricketts Glen State Park are some of
12035-424: The former Dodson sawmill at Lake Rose and the other 1,900 feet (580 m) deep near the Ricketts mansion. No oil was ever found, and Hadley eventually fled to Canada. While on a hunting trip on Loyalsock Creek north of the park in 1850, brothers Elijah and Clemuel Ricketts were frustrated at having to spend the night on a hotel's parlor floor. In 1851 or 1853 they bought 5,000 acres (2,000 ha), including what
12180-403: The former Mud Pond. On April 20, 1958, the 1907 concrete dam at Lake Leigh developed a hole, causing Pennsylvania State Police to evacuate close to 2,000 people from the park. Engineers from the state inspected the dam and made a second breach in the dam near ground level, draining the lake. The resulting flow of water destroyed some of the hiking paths in Glen Leigh and the fish stocked in
12325-501: The former state parks were also chiefly historic. In addition to preserving historic sites, Pennsylvania also sought to preserve natural beauty and offer opportunities for recreation in its state parks. In 1902 Mont Alto State Forest Park was the second park established, a year after the state "Bureau of Forestry" was set up to purchase, preserve, and restore Pennsylvania's forests, which had been ravaged by lumbering, charcoal production, and wild fires. Parks were added sporadically until
12470-513: The glens and their waterfalls to the public, charging $ 1 for parking. Although this fee was unpopular, it remained in place until the land became a state park. After Ricketts died in 1918, the Pennsylvania Game Commission bought 48,000 acres (19,000 ha) from his heirs, via the Central Pennsylvania Lumber Company, between 1920 and 1924. This became most of Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 13, west of
12615-494: The glens and waterfalls and most of the park. While the stone house had served as a home and inn since its construction, in 1872 R. Bruce Ricketts built a three-story wooden addition north of the house. The addition used lumber from a sawmill Ricketts and his partners operated from 1872 to 1875, about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) southeast of the stone house. The North Mountain House hotel opened in 1873; Ricketts' brother Frank, for whom
12760-423: The glens. One of the highest spots on North Mountain (and in the park today) was an outlook point where Ricketts built a 40-foot (12 m) wooden observation tower for his guests. After the first tower collapsed, he built a 100-foot (30 m) replacement, and named the site Grand View. From the tower, people could see for 20 miles (32 km). For over 20 years, Ricketts was "land poor"; he owed much on
12905-610: The highest points on the Allegheny Plateau and is found north of Lake Jean, forming the land beneath the Red Rocks Job Corps Center and Cherry Ridge to the east. The next formation below this is the Mississippian Pocono Formation , which is buff or gray sandstone with conglomerate and siltstone inclusions. This forms most of the Allegheny Plateau and underlies the park office, Lake Jean and the former Lakes Rose and Leigh. The boulders of
13050-506: The hotel business and closed his hotel in 1903", though the stone house remained the Ricketts family's summer home. Passenger rail service to Ganoga Lake ended when the hotel closed; the fishing club closed that year as well, but was re-formed in 1907. In 1903 another large fire on North Mountain threatened the sawmill in the lumber town of Ricketts. Not all of Ricketts' plans were financially successful; between 1905 and 1907 he built three dams to generate hydroelectric power within what became
13195-423: The hotel's biggest attractions. By 1875 Ricketts had named the tallest waterfall Ganoga Falls; he eventually named 22 of the waterfalls. Ricketts gave most of them Native American names, and named others for relatives and friends. Ricketts renamed Long Pond as Ganoga Lake in 1881. The name Ganoga was suggested by Pennsylvania senator Charles R. Buckalew ; it is an Iroquoian word which Buckalew said meant "water on
13340-424: The ice age, glaciers covered all of the park except the Grand View outcrop. About 20,000 years ago the glaciers retreated to the northeast and glacial lakes formed. Drainage from the melting glacier and lakes cut a sluiceway, or channel, that diverted the headwaters of South Branch Bowman Creek into the Glen Leigh branch of Kitchen Creek. Glacial deposits of debris 20 to 30 feet (6.1 to 9.1 m) thick formed
13485-470: The lake to cut ice for refrigeration. A second dam and lake were added in 1909 and the icehouses were on state park land; the ice industry supported the small village and post office of Mountain Springs. Ricketts ran his own ice cutting business on Ganoga Lake from 1895 to about 1915. Within a decade of the railroad reaching his lands, Ricketts was out of the hotel business. The North Mountain House hotel
13630-415: The lake wound up in Kitchen Creek. The Lake Jean dam was repaired in 1956. The last of Ricketts' dams, at Lake Rose, was breached in 1959 after remnants of a hurricane filled the lake to capacity. The rest of the 1905 dam was removed in 1969. At Grand View the state built a wooden fire tower at the site of Ricketts' earlier observation tower, then replaced it with a 100-foot (30 m) steel tower. The tower
13775-504: The lumber on his land and build a rail line to it. Finally in 1890, Harry Clay Trexler , J.H. Turrell, Ricketts, and partners formed the Trexler and Turrell Lumber Company and leased 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) of Ricketts' land near Ganoga Lake. The company built a sawmill and lumber town named Ricketts on Mehoopany Creek . The town, which was in both Sullivan and Wyoming counties, had 800 inhabitants at its peak and extended into
13920-430: The main attractions for a hotel from 1873 to 1903; the park is named for the hotel's proprietor, R. Bruce Ricketts , who built the trail along the waterfalls. By the 1890s Ricketts owned or controlled over 80,000 acres (320 km; 120 sq mi) and made his fortune clearcutting almost all of that land, including much of what is now the park; however he preserved about 2,000 acres (810 ha) of virgin forest in
14065-509: The mortgages on his vast land holdings, and there were no good means to transport the estimated 1,400,000,000 board feet (3,300,000 m ) of lumber from most of his land to sawmills. Large-scale lumber operations of that time floated logs on major streams or used logging railroads, but neither was available to Ricketts. His small sawmill near the stone house closed by 1875, and he was only able to sell two major tracts of land in his lifetime. In 1872 he sold 14,000 acres (5,700 ha) north of
14210-563: The most extensive in northeastern Pennsylvania, and provide habitat for a wide variety of woodland creatures. The swampy areas in the park provide a habitat for plants like black gum , yellow birch , cinnamon fern , sphagnum and various sedges . The old-growth forest in the Glens Natural Area is mostly eastern hemlock, eastern white pine, and oaks , and the park is home to 85 species of shrubs, woody vines, and trees, including seven kinds of conifers . The streams and lakes of Ricketts are fisheries for many fish species, although fishing
14355-664: The mountain" in the Seneca language . Donehoo's A History of the Indian Villages and Place Names in Pennsylvania identifies it as a Cayuga language word meaning "place of floating oil" and the name of a Cayuga village in New York. Whatever the meaning, Ricketts also named the glen with the tallest waterfall in the park "Ganoga". Ricketts' stone house served as the base for the Ozone hiking club of Wilkes-Barre's excursions on
14500-508: The mountain; the club gave its name to Ozone waterfall in the park. In 1879 Ricketts started the North Mountain Fishing Club, for anglers on the lake and creek. Guests of the hotel paid one dollar to fish as a club member. In 1889 Ricketts hired Matt Hirlinger and five other men to build the trails along the branches of Kitchen Creek and its waterfalls. It took them four years to complete the trails and stone steps through
14645-491: The namesake of the society he founded, and after its failure, that of local, state, and a national organization bearing that name. In 1890, a Chicago -based Audubon Society was started under the presidency of E. Irene Rood . About 70 persons joined and the Society was incorporated in 1893. Within a year of Grinnell founding it his early Audubon Society claimed 39,000 members, eventually growing to 48,862. Each member signed
14790-460: The northernmost section of the park. Rail lines were built to the mills at Ricketts, including the Bowman Creek branch of the Lehigh Valley Railroad which opened in 1883, and also provided passenger service to the hotel on Lake Ganoga. According to Petrillo's Ghost Towns of North Mountain: Ricketts, Mountain Springs, Stull : "Ricketts was on the verge of financial disaster for two decades until
14935-414: The official Ricketts Glen State Park web page classify the falls at Ricketts Glen State Park into two types. Wedding-cake falls descend in a series of small steps. Within the park, this type of falls usually flows over thin layers of Huntley Mountain Formation sandstone. In bridal-veil falls, the second type, water falls over a ledge and drops vertically into a plunge pool in the stream bed below. Within
15080-553: The organization's highest priorities. Audubon played an important part in bird rescue and Gulf Coast wetlands recovery efforts in the aftermath of the April 20, 2010, BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico , the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry . Audubon recruited over 34,000 volunteers to assist in rescuing, cleaning and releasing injured brown pelicans and other water birds. In addition, Audubon
15225-407: The park and downed thousands of trees; helicopter logging protected the ecosystem while harvesting lumber worth nearly $ 7 million, some of which paid for a new park office in 2001. The park offers hiking, ten cabins, camping (one of the two camping areas is on a peninsula in the lake), horseback riding, and hunting. Lake Jean is used for swimming, fishing, canoeing and kayaking. In winter there
15370-464: The park had "up to a half-million visitors each year". Beginning in 2003 the campsites in the park, by then over 50 years old, were refurbished. In 2004 the park and surrounding Pennsylvania State Game Lands were named an Important Mammal Area, and in July the park was featured as a day trip in the Travel section of The New York Times . On June 28, 2006 a 100-year flood caused widespread damage in
15515-399: The park in Sullivan County. These sales left the Ricketts heirs with over 12,000 acres (4,900 ha) surrounding Ganoga Lake, Lake Jean and the glens area of the park. An area encompassing 22,000 acres (8,900 ha) was approved as a national park site in 1935, and the National Park Service operated a Civilian Conservation Corps camp at "Ricketts Glynn" ( sic ). The funding to create
15660-587: The park to a group of investors that included himself; this deal seems to have been for shares of stock (not cash), and the deed for the sale was not recorded until 1893. Ricketts sold 13,000 acres (5,300 ha) along Bowman Creek , including the easternmost parts of the park, to Albert Lewis in 1876; Lewis hoped to build a branch line of the Lehigh Valley Railroad along the creek. In the 1870s and 1880s, Ricketts tried repeatedly and unsuccessfully to find partners and investors who would help him cut
15805-423: The park when icy conditions make reaching and transporting them especially treacherous. In 1998 a project to "repair and improve the Falls Trail" began, with three park employees carrying materials in on foot to stabilize the trail, fix steps, cut down on erosion, and repair some bridges. Originally planned to take four years; it ended up taking six years to complete and cost nearly $ 1 million. In September 1999
15950-453: The park, forming Lake Leigh at the site of Sickler's mill, Lake Rose at the site of Dodson's mill, and Lake Jean (which incorporated the natural Mud Pond) north of these. Lakes Leigh and Jean were named for Ricketts' daughters, while Rose was a Ricketts family name. The Lake Leigh dam was made of concrete and cost $ 165,000 (approximately equivalent to $ 5,396,000 in 2023), while the other two dams were log cribs filled with earth and cost
16095-473: The park, had daily stagecoach service from 1827 to 1851; the northbound stagecoach left Berwick in the morning and stopped for lunch at the Long Pond Tavern on the lake about noon. The earliest settlers in what became the park were two squatters who built sawmills to make bed frames from cherry trees they cut for lumber. One squatter, Jesse Dodson, cut trees from around 1830 to 1860 and built
16240-595: The park, this type of falls flows over Catskill Formation rocks or the red shale and sandstone of the Huntley Formation. In the park, the harder caprock which forms the ledge from which the bridal-veil falls drops is gray sandstone. The softer red shale below is eroded away by water, sand and gravel to form the plunge pool. Brown's book Pennsylvania waterfalls: a guide for hikers and photographers uses four types to classify waterfalls: falls, cascade, slide, and chute. About 300 to 250 million years ago,
16385-484: The park, washing out many of the recently completed improvements to the hiking trails along Kitchen Creek. In 2007 the park was one of the first ten parks to be featured in the Pennsylvania Cable Network 's series on the state's park system. Lake Jean was drained starting April 27, 2015 to allow replacement of the 65-year old dam control tower. The repairs were finished October 20, 2015, and the lake
16530-404: The past million years have been the final factor in shaping the land that makes up the park today. The effects of glaciation have made Kitchen Creek within the park "unique compared to all other nearby streams that flow down the Allegheny Front", as it is the only one with an "almost continuous series of waterfalls". Before the last ice age , Kitchen Creek had a much smaller drainage basin; during
16675-434: The remnants of Hurricane Floyd caused massive damage to the park, temporarily closing it and downing thousands of trees. The DCNR hired Carson Helicopters to salvage timber from the downed beech, cherry, maple, and oak trees for $ 994,000; a crew of 36 workers spent several months cutting the fallen trees into manageable logs, then helicopters flew the logs to the Hayfield area of the park. The salvage operation ran until
16820-509: The sales of plumes of all native birds in the state. By 1920, similar laws were enacted in about 12 other states. Audubon Society activities are responsible for many laws for the establishment of game commissions and game warden forces or prohibiting the sale of game. In 1918, the NAS actively lobbied for the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act . In the 1920s, the organization also played a vital role in convincing
16965-408: The shores of Long Pond (now called Lake Ganoga), which is less than 0.4 miles (0.6 km) northwest of the park. The first development within the park was the construction of the Susquehanna and Tioga Turnpike , which was built from 1822 to 1827 between the Pennsylvania communities of Berwick in the south and Towanda in the north. The turnpike, which Pennsylvania Route 487 mostly follows through
17110-435: The softer Catskill Formation , to the south. The Catskill Formation is the lowest and oldest layer in the park, and is composed of red shale and siltstone up to 370 million years old. The Allegheny Front within the park is named North Mountain and Red Rock Mountain , with the latter name coming from an exposed band of Huntley Formation red shale and sandstone visible along Pennsylvania Route 487 (PA 487). Geologists and
17255-466: The southernmost and one of the most scenic in the park, is about 0.1 miles (160 m) south of PA 118, via an easy stroll along a trail from the parking lot. Brown's Pennsylvania waterfalls: a guide for hikers and photographers recognizes these 22 named falls plus two more in the park. One is on Shingle Cabin Brook as it enters Kitchen Creek just south of Waters Meet; the other, Kitchen Creek Falls,
17400-556: The state from this time includes a range of pottery types and styles, burial mounds , pipes, bows and arrows, and ornaments. The park is in the Susquehanna River drainage basin, the earliest recorded inhabitants of which were the Iroquoian -speaking Susquehannocks . They were a matriarchal society that lived in stockaded villages of large longhouses , but their numbers were greatly reduced by disease and warfare with
17545-461: The state were Paleo-Indian nomadic hunters known from their stone tools . The hunter-gatherers of the Archaic period , which lasted locally from 7000 to 1000 BC, used a greater variety of more sophisticated stone artifacts. The Woodland period marked the gradual transition to semi-permanent villages and horticulture , between 1000 BC and 1500 AD. Archeological evidence found in
17690-616: The state's first nonprofit to utilize 100% solar energy. Nature centers and wildlife sanctuaries continue to be an important part of Audubon's work to educate and inspire the public about the environment and how to conserve it. Some of the Audubon's earliest nature centers are still teaching young and old alike about the natural world. In 2016, Audubon's Hog Island Camp in Maine marked its 80th anniversary. Audubon's national network currently includes nearly 500 local chapters, 23 state programs, 41 nature centers. After nearly three-quarters of
17835-675: The stone house who went fishing and wandered down Kitchen Creek. Elijah's son Robert Bruce Ricketts , for whom the park is named, joined the Union Army as a private at the outbreak of the American Civil War and rose through the ranks to become a colonel in the artillery. After the war, R. Bruce Ricketts returned to Pennsylvania and in 1869 began purchasing the land around the lake from his father. By 1873 he controlled or owned 66,000 acres (27,000 ha), and eventually this grew to more than 80,000 acres (32,000 ha), including
17980-434: The system had increased by 130,000 acres (53,000 ha). This was thanks largely to the efforts of Maurice K. Goddard , who served as director of the precursors to the DCNR for twenty-four years under six administrations. The number of visitors to parks more than tripled in this time and two voter approved bond issues (Projects 70 and 500) raised millions of dollars for park expansions and improvements. All this expansion
18125-406: The terrain becomes less steep. There are 24 named waterfalls in the three glens. The rocks exposed in the park were formed in the Devonian and Carboniferous periods between 370 and 340 million years ago, when the land was part of the coastline of a shallow sea that covered a great portion of what is now North America. The high mountains to the east of the sea gradually eroded, causing
18270-601: The void left by the demise of the Susquehannocks, the Iroquois encouraged displaced tribes from the east to settle in the Susquehanna watershed, including the Shawnee and Lenape (or Delaware). The French and Indian War (1754–1763) and subsequent colonial expansion encouraged the migration of many Native Americans westward to the Ohio River basin. On November 5, 1768, the British acquired land, known in Pennsylvania as
18415-402: The work the state had done since acquiring the land. The Falls Trail through the glens was rebuilt, all the stone steps were replaced, and signs were added. Out of concern for greater safety, footbridges with handrails replaced those made from hewn logs, overhanging rock ledges were removed in places, and the trail was rerouted near some falls. In the southern end of the new park, the state built
18560-643: The world. The Wall Street Journal featured Dan W. Lufkin as the Donor of the Day, for the creation of this new Audubon prize. The Rachel Carson Award is part of a broader Audubon initiative called Women in Conservation Project. Their mission statement is "To recognize outstanding women leaders in today's conservation movement; to support environmental opportunities for girls and young women; and to educate women on important issues related to conservation and
18705-699: Was Valley Forge State Park , purchased by the Commonwealth on May 30, 1893, to preserve Valley Forge . It was transferred to the National Park Service (NPS) on the Bicentennial of the United States , July 4, 1976. Many state parks still preserve history: as of 2012, forty-two Pennsylvania state park sites are on the National Register of Historic Places , including two National Historic Landmarks ( Delaware Canal and Point ), twenty-eight Civilian Conservation Corps sites in nineteen parks, and twelve other parks' historic sites and districts. Eight of
18850-534: Was also a body snatcher who collected human skulls to assist the scientific racism work of Samuel G. Morton . In the wake of the protests following the murder of George Floyd , there have been public appeals to strip the name Audubon from the society and change the names of species that honor him. The Audubon Society has publicly supported the removal of Confederate monuments , including acknowledging that "it's not just an issue of physical monuments". An internal Board of Directors vote in 2023 resulted in
18995-598: Was a leader in pushing for legislation to use BP oil spill penalties to rebuild the Gulf Coast. Audubon's Mississippi River and Louisiana Coastal Initiatives have been helping to restore coastal wetlands and to rebuild Mississippi River delta marshlands. The Mississippi Delta loses an area the size of Manhattan to the sea every year, stripping away coastal protections for both human communities and wildlife habitat. Audubon's Important Bird Area program has been protecting 370 million acres along migratory bird flyways in
19140-400: Was appalled by the negligent mass slaughter of birds that he saw taking place. As a boy, Grinnell had avidly read Ornithological Biography , a work by the bird painter John James Audubon ; he also lived in his early years in a development of the former Audubon estate, Audubon Park in upper Manhattan, and attended a school for boys conducted by Lucy Audubon . The Audubon name would become
19285-639: Was aware of the dangers facing many birds in the United States. There were, however, influential ornithologists who defended the collection of birds. In 1902, Charles B. Cory , the president-elect of the AOU refused to attend a meeting of the District of Columbia Audubon Society stating that "I do not protect birds. I kill them." In 1895, a second iteration of the Audubon Society was created, with an unbroken history that traces to today. Cousins and Boston socialites, Harriet Hemenway and Minna B. Hall , disturbed by
19430-430: Was cut in the 1890s, and Cherry Ridge (east of Red Rock Job Corps Center ) and land around Lake Leigh were the last areas cut by the Ricketts mill. Timber in the east part of the park and along Bowman Creek was cut by Lewis' company, which also used logging railroads and even ran track down the Allegheny Front at Phillips Creek. Lewis' firm built a splash dam on Bowman Creek to help float logs downstream in 1891, then used
19575-674: Was established in 1916 as the St Louis Bird Club. In 1944, the Bird Club became the first local Audubon chapter in the United States. The national committee of Audubon societies was organized at a meeting held in Washington, D.C. in 1902. 1905 saw the organization of the National Association of Audubon Societies for the Protection of Wild Birds and Animals; William Dutcher was president, and T. Gilbert Pearson
19720-470: Was founded in 1943. The Paul J. Rainey Wildlife Sanctuary in Louisiana was acquired in 1924, and at 26,000 acres (110 km ) it is still the largest. In the late 20th century, the organization began to place a new emphasis on the development of Centers in urban locations, including Brooklyn, New York; East Los Angeles, California; Phoenix, Arizona; and Seattle, Washington. In 1934, with membership at
19865-404: Was full again by January 3, 2016. The DCNR has named Ricketts Glen one of "25 Must-See Pennsylvania State Parks", citing its old-growth forest and many waterfalls and its status as a National Natural Landmark. Ricketts Glen State Park covers two different physiographic provinces : the Allegheny Plateau in the north, and the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians in the south. The boundary between these
20010-452: Was intense. For example, great auks , whose habit of crowding together on rocks and beaches made them especially easy to hunt, had been driven to extinction early in the century. During one week in the spring of 1897, nature author Florence Merriam claimed to have seen 2,600 robins for sale in one market stall in Washington alone. By the start of the 20th century, the sale of bird flesh had never been greater. The second equally great threat to
20155-570: Was legally compelled to allow gas and oil drilling at the sanctuary under the terms of the land's donation by its original owners. This explanation, however, has been challenged. The presence of oil and gas drilling on Audubon's sanctuaries has been used to illustrate the difference between private and public decision-making. An August 26, 2009, an open letter was sent to the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee calling for stronger climate protections, including an end to subsidies for drilling companies. This signatories of this letter included
20300-495: Was named a National Natural Landmark , and it became a Pennsylvania State Park Natural Area in 1993, which guarantees it "will be protected and maintained in a natural state". In 1987 the park's ten cabins opened. In 1997 the park was named one of the first 73 Important Bird Areas in the state by the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Audubon Society . That same year heavy rains washed out two bridges on
20445-511: Was named an Important Bird Area by the Pennsylvania Audubon Society and is an Important Mammal Area too. Ricketts Glen State Park was chosen by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and its Bureau of State Parks as one of "25 Must-See Pennsylvania State Parks". Ricketts Glen State Park is in Pennsylvania, where humans have lived since at least 10000 BC. The first settlers in
20590-748: Was not without costs and by 1988 there was an estimated $ 90 million in deferred maintenance. In 1993, as the park system celebrated its one-hundredth anniversary, new tax and bond revenues were earmarked for the parks. Since 2000, parks are being improved through the state's Growing Greener and Growing Greener II and bond programs. The following are significantly different former or alternate names for nine current Pennsylvania state parks. Note that many parks were originally "State Forest Parks" or were state public camping or picnic areas in Pennsylvania state forests. In modern times, some "State Parks" have become "Environmental Education Centers", while other parks have dropped one word from their name ("Cherry Springs Drive"
20735-483: Was secretary and financial agent. During this time, Albert Willcox provided financial support, more than $ 331,072 in 1905 and 1906. At the end of 1906, the Association had an interest-bearing endowment fund of more than $ 336,000 and an income from other sources of approximately $ 9,000. Birds in the United States were threatened by market hunting as well as for the fashion industry. Pressure from shooting enthusiasts
20880-533: Was settled in the early 19th century and incorporated in 1849. A small part of the southwest part of the park is in Sugarloaf Township in Columbia County ; the township was settled in 1792 and incorporated in 1812, the next year Columbia County was formed from Northumberland County. A hunter named Robinson was the first inhabitant in the area whose name is known; around 1800 he had a cabin on
21025-470: Was threatened by a forest fire in 1900; the subsequent loss of much of the surrounding old-growth forest led to decreased numbers of hotel guests. Changing tastes may have also played a role in the decline in popularity; the hotel had over 150 guests in August 1878, but only about 70 guests in August 1894. The wooden addition was torn down in 1897 or 1903, and "despite profits, Ricketts became disenchanted with
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