The latest newsletter from the Butler County-based Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition includes announcements of the Statewide Abandoned Mine Reclamation Conference in June, the Northwest PA GIS Conference in October and background on the Synchronous Firefly Season.

AML Conference

Registration is now open for the 2022 PA AMR/AMD Conference, which is being held at the Ramada Inn and Conference Center in State College, PA.

This conference is the longest-running annual environmental conference in Pennsylvania focused on abandoned mine reclamation.

With a theme of “New Opportunities on the Horizon” the 24th annual conference will highlight initiatives underway to ensure the continuation and improvement of reclamation programs and policies.

Click Here to register and for more information.

Northwest PA GIS Conference

The 16th Annual Northwest PA GIS Conference has been scheduled for October 27-28, 2022 to be held at the newly launched Pennsylvania Western University - Clarion campus. This conference will be a hybrid event allowing for both in-person and remote presentations and attendance.

Click Here to register and for more information.

Synchronous Fireflies

Of the over 2,000 species of fireflies found around the world, only three species of fireflies are considered synchronous fireflies in North America.

These amazing insects produce a beautiful light show when thousands of fireflies gather in swarms and flash in harmony as the entire forest alternates between light and darkness.

Synchronous species of fireflies are rare, and can only be seen in a handful of places throughout the world.

Not thought to exist in the western hemisphere until 1991, a large population of Photinus carolinus was found in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

To protect the natural habitat of the fireflies, the National Park Service now uses a lottery system to view this spectacular display.

In 2012, another population of Photinus carolinus was found, this time in Pennsylvania in the Allegheny National Forest.

The Pennsylvania Synchronous Firefly Season lasts from the summer solstice into the second week of July.

Two other populations of Photinus carolinus have since been found in Pennsylvania, in Ohiopyle State Park and Lutherlyn, a summer camp run by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Lutherlyn is located in the adjacent Connoquenessing Watershed!

The Pennsylvania Firefly Festival, a nonprofit organization, has organized several events to enjoy the firefly displays in a manner that does not impact the habitat.

Keep an eye out in your backyard to see if there are some additional populations of this amazing insect!

The KIDS Catalyst

Continue your celebration of Arbor Day with The KIDS Catalyst Arbor Day Word Search.

Click Here to read the entire newsletter.  Click Here to sign up for your own copy.

For more information on programs, initiatives, upcoming events and how you can get involved, visit the Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition website.

Related Article:

-- Registration Opens May 1 For 2022 Annual PA Firefly Festival, Glow & Know Campouts In Western PA

[Posted: May 3, 2022]

5/9/2022