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Thursday, September 30th, 2010

The Legacy of Logging

William Penn’s woods have been subjected to grievous insults over the past century and a half, and the repercussions are still affecting entire regions of the state. Beginning in the mid-1800s, loggers stripped the hills of nearly every standing tree to fuel a growing nation and to sustain the efforts of the Union during the Civil War. The  loggers began with the magnificent stands of white pine, legendary for the size and quality of the trees, especially for ship masts. As is typical in boom and bust economies, the loggers began to expand their take once the highest quality lumber was […]

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Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010

Measuring the Watershed

After a week on the road, it almost feels like a vacation to stay around Lewisburg for our activities. We nonetheless remained quite busy, visiting Cowan several times, electro-shocking a portion of a small creek to collect samples of aquatic lifeforms, and visiting local farms that ultimately affect the Chesapeake Bay that we just visited the week before. The beginning of the week involved understanding watershed science, from both a geomorphological and an ecological perspective. We measured stream discharge, surveyed a cross-section of Buffalo Creek, and I was amazed at the number of small fish that turned up in a stream that […]

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Tuesday, September 7th, 2010

ON the Susquehanna

Last Friday began the first of our official classes, Bucknell literally on (and occasionally in) the Susquehanna River. At Montoursville, Dr. Ben Hayes, director of the University Environmental Center, explains the significance of the region we are about to explore on this day’s kayak trip. As will be seen throughout the semester, there are many facets from different perspectives to consider. The oldest element is the geologic history of the region, as the Susquehanna here rides the border between two distinct physio-geographic provinces of Pennsylvania. To the south are miles upon miles of ridges and valleys, tortured folds of rock […]

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