Final Lecture of the 2013 South Mountain Speakers Series: 

Thursday, October 24

Conservation law and the history of wildlife protection in the region will be the focus of the next South Mountain Speakers Series lecture on Oct. 24 at Shippensburg University. 

Chad Eyler, chief of the Special Permits Enforcement Division of the Pennsylvania Game Commission, will offer a free public lecture, “Crimes Against Nature: Conservation Law and the History of Wildlife Protection in the South Mountain Region," beginning at 7 p.m. at the Ceddia Union Building Multi-Purpose Room.

“From state hunting seasons to international bans on ivory, conservation law plays an important part in wildlife protection here in South Mountain and around the world,” said Allen Dieterich-Ward, an associate professor of history at Shippensburg University and the chair of the South Mountain Partnership committee on the speaker series.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission was established in 1895 as one of the Progressive-era reforms spearheaded by conservation leaders such as Joseph Rothrock, Gifford Pinchot and Mira Lloyd Dock. Eyler will explore the evolution of conservation law in the South Mountain region and the nation. 

Sen. Richard Alloway (R-Adams) will be providing brief welcoming remarks. He is the majority chairman of the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee, which oversees the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.  

After the lecture, Eyler will be joined for a panel discussion on contemporary conservation law issues by Rich Mislitsky, chairman of the Governor's Advisory Council for Hunting, Fishing and Conservation, and Dr. Nathan Thomas, Shippensburg University assistant professor of biology. 

This is the final lecture in the 2013 Season of the South Mountain Speakers Series. The series will return in 2014.The Series is envisioned as a revival of the talks given by Rothrock in the late 19th century as part of his work to preserve and restore Pennsylvania’s forests and natural landscape. 

The Speakers Series is a public engagement effort of the South Mountain Partnership. Sparked by DCNR’s Conservation Landscape Initiative, the Partnership is a group of citizens, businesses, non-profit organizations, academic institutions and government representatives in Adams, Cumberland, Franklin and York counties, working together to protect and enhance the South Mountain landscape. This landscape, a region of some 400,000 acres, lies at the northern end of the Blue Ridge Mountains. 

October's lecture is sponsored by Shippensburg University, Pennsylvania Game Commission, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the South Mountain Partnership. 

Earlier lectures in the Speakers Series can be found on YouTube at 
http://www.youtube.com/user/SouthMtnSpeakers. 

South Mountain Speakers Series continues Thursday, September 12, 2013

Wilson College at 7 pm

Bees, wasps and other pollinators will be the topic of the next lecture in the South Mountain Speakers Series on Thursday, September 12, at Wilson College in Franklin County.

This is the fourth year for the South Mountain Speakers Series, envisioned as a revival of the talks given by Joseph Rothrock in the late 19th century as part of his work to preserve and restore Pennsylvania’s forests and natural landscape. 

Thursday’s discussion, entitled "Bee Well: Native Pollinators and the Working Landscapes of South Mountain,” begins at 7 p.m. in the Brooks Science Center Auditorium, at Wilson College, 1015 Philadelphia Ave., Chambersburg.  It is free and open to the public.

“Bees, wasps and other native pollinators provide critical services to the South Mountain ecosystems,” Allen Dieterich-Ward, associate professor of history at Shippensburg University and the chair of the committee on the speaker series, said. “We invite citizens to learn more about the pollinators of our region and what we can do to help maintain and increase populations of these essential insects.”

Much of the food that we eat is pollinated by these fascinating though often overlooked insects. Yet, pollinator populations across the country are plummeting, and scientists and apiarists (or beekeepers) are at a loss to explain why. Indeed, the phenomenon has been called Colony Collapse Disorder.

The lecture will be given by Alex Surciča, horticultural consultant with the Cumberland Valley Cooperative Association.  Following his talk, he’ll be joined on a panel by Connie Schmotzer, Penn State Cooperative Extension educator in York County, and Margaret Eppig, director of Middle School Programs for the Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation.

The lecture is sponsored by Wilson College, Cumberland Valley Cooperative Association, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the South Mountain Partnership. 

Following Thursday's talk, one lecture remains in the 2013 season of the Speakers Series. On October 24, Shippensburg University will host a talk to focus on “Crimes Against Nature: Conservation Law and the History of Wildlife Protection in the South Mountain Region.” 

Pennsylvania's South Mountain landscape is a 400,000-acre region that lies at the northern end of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Comprising Adams, Cumberland, Franklin and portions of York county, the landscape is defined by the South Mountain and Michaux State Forest, as well as the working lands and communities that surround and depend upon the mountain. 

The South Mountain Partnership is a group of citizens, businesses, non-profit organizations, academic institutions and government representatives in Adams, Cumberland, Franklin and York counties, working together to protect and enhance the landscape.

The partnership was sparked by DCNR’s Conservation Landscape Initiative, an effort to engage communities, local partners and state agencies and identify funding opportunities to conserve high-quality natural and cultural resources while enhancing the region’s economic viability.

Announcing the Fourth Season of the South Mountain Speaker Series

Stay Tuned for more details as the dates approach!