The public is invited to see the only viable colony of Regal Fritillary butterflies in the Eastern U.S. during free, guided tours beginning at 9 a.m. on July 2, 3, 4, 10 and 11 at Fort Indiantown Gap in Annville, Lebanon County.

 

The guided tours allow the public to see this rare butterfly colony and the many other natural spectacles of the more than 17,000-acre military post that serves as the headquarters of the Pennsylvania National Guard.

 

Tours will leave each day from the Fort Indiantown Gap Recreation Center, located at the intersection of Asher Miner Road, Clement Avenue and Route 443. The tours will last approximately two and a half hours.

 

Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. and will be followed by a brief orientation at the Recreation Center prior to the start of the tour. Participants are encouraged to wear clothing and shoes appropriate for a nature walk. No reservations are required and no rain dates will be scheduled.

 

In addition to the Regal Fritillary, which is considered a federal species of concern, Fort Indiantown Gap is home to nearly 100 state species of concern. It also provides habitat for 36 species of mammals, 224 species of birds, 34 species of reptiles and amphibians, 25 species of fish, 793 species of plants, 83 species of butterflies and 238 species of moths.

 

The installation also has excellent populations of deer, turkey, bobcat, rabbit, squirrel, wild trout and songbirds.

 

Fort Indiantown Gap earned the 2008 Department of Defense Natural Resources Conservation Team award and the 2009 National Military Fish and Wildlife Association Model Conservation Program award.

 

For more information call the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs Wildlife Office at 717-861-2449.