Conservation Archives

A woman with grey hair dressed in blue jeans stands in a forested area over an abandoned gas well

Searching for ‘slimy, shiny, brownish stuff’: A retiree’s quest to help track down Pa.’s abandoned oil wells

Spotlight PA·October 13, 2026

Thousands of abandoned wells remain across Pennsylvania. One Bradford retiree has spent years helping find the ones the state doesn’t know about.

Climate Change Conservation Energy

A man in a park ranger uniform hold an owl feather outdoors in front of autumn trees

Get to know your owls

Kara Holsopple·October 9, 2026

Allegheny County Parks ranger Ben Kehoe shares his love of owls and facts about one of Pennsylvania's favorite raptors.

Conservation Latest Stories Recreation Wildlife

elongated yellowish fruit sit in bowls on a table.

An invasive burrowing beetle threatens pawpaw trees

The Ohio Newsroom·October 5, 2026

A local pawpaw farmer says invasive ambrosia beetles have killed three-quarters of the trees in his southeast Ohio orchard.

Climate Change Conservation Food and Agriculture Latest Stories

Rufous hummingbirds’ cold weather journey through Pennsylvania

Robert S. Mulvihill·October 2, 2026

If you spot a tiny bird after October 15, it could be a rufous hummingbird, a western species that has been known to migrate through Pennsylvania.

Conservation Latest Stories Wildlife

Join The Allegheny Front for an Owl Prowl graphic that includes a barred owl illustration.

Learn about owls! Join The Allegheny Front for an owl prowl

The Allegheny Front·October 2, 2026

Head into woods to look and listen for owls with an Allegheny County park ranger and The Allegheny Front staff. Register today.

Conservation Latest Stories

One man crouches in the water while another man stands holding a net.

Researchers find microplastics in insects from Schuylkill River watershed

Zoë Read·October 1, 2026

Insects were most likely to ingest microplastics by eating algae that contains particles, or by feeding on organic silt along stream edges and in pools.

Conservation Latest Stories Pollution Water Wildlife

A man in a baseball hat looks at a taxidermy deer head

Film fest in Pittsburgh puts spotlight on train crash, pipeline fight

Julie Grant·September 18, 2026

The Allegheny Front is a sponsor of the Backyard Docs Film Festival that opens Thursday, September 24.

Climate Change Conservation Culture East Palestine Energy Environmental Justice Latest Stories Pollution

A black and white photograph of a woman in a black shirt bending over to feed chickens

Author writes a love letter to her western Pennsylvania farm

Kara Holsopple·September 18, 2026

Daryln Brewer Hoffstot's Westmoreland County farm is the inspiration for her latest book, "This Patch of Earth: Observations on a Rural Life."

Conservation Culture Latest Stories

Chimney Swifts Put on a Show Before Fall Migration

Kara Holsopple·September 17, 2026

“It’s like watching smoke go back down a chimney. It’s amazing.”

Conservation Latest Stories Wild Pennsylvania Wildlife

Hemlock trees surrounding A rocky forest stream

A rule change could shrink ‘roadless’ national forest land

Kara Holsopple·September 11, 2026

The U.S. Forest Service has proposed repealing a rule that prohibits new roads in certain areas of national forests, like in the Allegheny National Forest.

Conservation Economy Latest Stories Trump 2.0 Wildlife

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