After more than 30 years of conservation projects, the bald eagle has officially been removed from Pennsylvania's threatened species list. This action took place last month when the Pennsylvania Game Commission board of game commissioners voted unanimously to reclassify the bald eagle as a Pennsylvania "protected" species.

This vote followed the close of a 60-day period to accept public comments on the proposal, and PGC endangered birds biologist Patti Barber told the commissioners 65 comments were submitted in the process; 52 of them were supportive of delisting, and of the 13 comments opposing delisting, 10 of them cited concern that delisting would somehow leave eagles more vulnerable and less protected."That simply isn't the case," Barber told the commissioners. "In being removed from the state's threatened species list, the bald eagle will be upgraded to "protected" status."As the name implies, the eagle will continue to enjoy protections provided by the federal Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Lacey Act. Regulations will continue to restrict activity near eagle nests."Removing the bald eagle from the state's threatened species list was triggered by the PGC's bald-eagle management plan, which calls for delisting when all of four criteria are met for a five-year span. That happened in 2013, when 271 bald-eagle nests were documented in 57 Pennsylvania counties, and there were an average of 1.2 fledglings per successful nest.Removal of the bald eagle from the state's threatened species list caps a remarkable recovery for bald eagles in Pennsylvania. In 1983, when the PGC launched what would become a seven-year restoration program, only three known nests remained in Pennsylvania, all of them in Crawford County in the northwestern corner of Pennsylvania, along the Ohio border.*******Seedling orders are available online from the Pennsylvania Game Commission's Howard Nursery. Most seedlings are sold in units of 25, but 100-seedling bundles also are available in mixes to benefit deer, game birds and songbirds, as well as to improve riparian and winter-thermal habitats.A wide selection of evergreens, shrubs and fruit- and nut-bearing trees are available, and most species are native to Pennsylvania and with the exception of black locust, all of the available hardwoods are grown from seed collected from Pennsylvania sources and processed by PGC personnel. Also available is a mixed-oak collection, which may contain some or all of northern red oak, white oak, chestnut oak, pin oak and black oak seedlings.Order forms and information about the seedlings for sale are available at the PGC website at www.pgc.

state.pa.us. Orders can also be placed by calling the Howard Nursery at (814) 355-4434, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.*******Sunday's edition of "Experience The Outdoors," hosted by award-winning Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association member Doyle Dietz, at 7 a.m. on 1410-AM WLSH, at 9:30 a.m. on Magic 105.5-FM and on the Web at

www.wmgh.com by clicking the link to the program, features Pennsylvania Game Commission board of game commissioners member Ralph Martone.*******"Lehigh Valley and New England Rail Trail and Stonehedge Gardens Walk," is Sunday, from 1:30-3:30 p.m., meeting at Stonehedge Gardens, Dairy Road, South Tamaqua.*******Western Pocono Trout Unlimited Chapter meets, Tuesday, Feb. 18, beginning at 7 p.m. at the Carbon County Environmental Education Center. Paul Healey of the Jim Thorpe Flyfishing Company, a guide on the Lehigh River and its tributaries such as the Pohopoco, Aquashicola, Hayes Creek, Hickory Run and Mud Run, is the speaker.*******Here is the schedule for upcoming outdoors sports shows:Greater Philadelphia Outdoor Sportshow: Today and Sunday, Feb. 13-16, Greater Philadelphia Expo Center at Oaks, Oak; for information and tickets, access the website at www.sportshows. com. Hours: Today, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.Lehigh Valley Sportsman Show: Friday, Feb. 28-Sunday, March 2, Agri-Plex, Allentown Fairgrounds, Allentown; for information, call (610) 395-5280 or access the website at

www.lehighvalleysportsmanshow.com. Hours: Friday, 1-8 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.