Chips' Chainsaw Powercarvings: 02/01/2005

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Carving through the competitionCHAINSAW CARVING NEWS****

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:: Pulitzer Central Coast Newspapers ::

:: Pulitzer Central Coast Newspapers ::CHAINSAW CARVING NEWS*****

MuscatineJournal.com

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The Ridgway Record

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The Ridgway Record

The Ridgway RecordCHAINSAW CARVING NEWS****

The Daily News Online

The Daily News OnlineCHAINSAW CARVING NEWS****

Chips' Chainsaw Powercarving

Raleigh, NC http://www.logart.tk email this print this Posted on Sun, Feb. 13, 2005 _krdDartInc++; document.write(''); Winter is the best time to view majestic elkTOP DRAW IN PENNSYLVANIA'S SCENIC WILDERNESSBy Cindy LooseWashington Post ELK COUNTY, Pa. - A massive bull elk with antlers the size of an SUV sits placidly among the petunias in a yard in downtown Benezette, Pa. Perhaps he's tuckered out from the rigors of the rutting season. Then again, maybe he's come to town in a funk, depressed that he's alone while stronger bulls have gathered harems of up to 40 females. All I know for sure is that he's one of about 800 elk that roam sections of various counties in north-central Pennsylvania, and that Benezette, in Elk County, is the heart of their territory. In winter, when food is scarce, elk walk the streets of town looking for a handout. In fall, the bugle calls of male elk echo through the hills and mountains. Tourists in the know gather, hoping to see a fight as bulls lock horns in their quest to win mates. Last fall, the state opened 23 elk-viewing stands in the area and outlined a 127-mile scenic drive for elk watching. They gave a 12-county region that includes Elk County a name, the ``Pennsylvania Wilds,'' and began touting it as the wildest, best-preserved natural area between New York and Illinois. The region's 36 state and national parks and forests cover about 2 million acres of land, including 86,467 acres of wilderness. More than 16,000 miles of flowing water traverse the mountainous, heavily treed and widely overlooked region. There are 2,067 wild trout streams. Many of the small towns that dot the landscape have a single stoplight, if they have one at all. A few upscale lodgings grace the region. One town, Ridgway, once the home of lumber and mining barons, is in the midst of a revival after a long economic depression. Woodworking economy gone Ridgway residents boast of once having had more millionaires than any other town its size in the world, and the town still has enough mansions to suggest that they could be right. In the 1900s the town was the home of the Hyde-Murphy Co., whose workers carved the elaborate woodwork for the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Congress and other noteworthy buildings. When the timber and mining industries declined, so did the mansions, in some cases turning into rooming houses. In recent years residents have renovated about 40 of them, turning three of them into bed-and-breakfasts. The tradition of woodworking lives on in an odd way -- Ridgway is home to one of the world's largest chainsaw-carving conclaves each winter. Sculptors come from around the world to demonstrate their skills, and each must donate a carving for an auction that raises money for charity. But you'd be making a mistake to come here seeking charming villages à la New England. The area's draw is nature, beautiful vistas and outdoor recreation. The region is crisscrossed with more than 1,100 miles of trails designated for hikers, 100 miles for horseback riding, 219 miles for cross-country skiing, 1,500 miles for snowmobiling. Bald eagles with wingspans of up to eight feet soar above the Allegheny and Susquehanna rivers in the Pennsylvania Wilds. Great blue heron and osprey breed at Parker Dam State Park. Birders in the old-growth sections of Cook Forest State Park report sightings of parula warblers, dark-eyed junco, red-breasted nuthatch and blue-headed vireo, to name a few. I've come for the elk. Jim Hoffman, one of the guides available for hire through the tourism department, gives me the lowdown as we tour along old logging trails and dirt roads with names like Elk Terrace Drive and Porcupine Road. For the first hour, beginning at about 4 o'clock on an October afternoon, we see a flock of wild turkey, deer and numerous other birds, but no elk. Our best bet is closer to dusk, Hoffman says. Elk, he tells me, were once common throughout Pennsylvania. Unregulated hunting by settlers wiped out the elk by 1867. In 1913, the Pennsylvania Game Commission brought in 177 elk from Yellowstone National Park and attempted to reintroduce the animal to the state. The reintroduction was successful only in north-central Pennsylvania. We decide to leave the backcountry and take a two-lane highway to one of the elk-viewing stands. Along the way, we spot a bull surrounded by four mates in a fenced field. ``That's his harem, at least for now, until a stronger bull comes along,'' Hoffman says. No one, he adds, has built a fence that can contain the elk. They can jump 10 feet high and walk through barbed wire, he says. They can run long distances at 29 miles an hour and short bursts at up to 45 mph. Even at 200 yards, you can sense their power. Cows commonly weigh 600 pounds, bulls 1,000. During the breeding season, August through October, bulls lose up to 100 pounds. ``They're always on the go,'' Hoffman explains. ``Each cow is in heat for only 18 hours, and never the same 18 hours, so he's busy getting as many of them as he can.'' Elk in wintertime Almost all the tourists in search of elk come during the rutting season. They like to hear the bugle calls, see the mating, and maybe a good fight. If visitors plan it right, they'll also see the mountains aglow with fall leaves. But the best time to see the elk, Hoffman thinks, is winter: The tourists disappear, the bulls still have their antlers (they lose them each year, usually by April), and when the leaves are gone and the ground is white with snow, the animals stand out against the vistas in all their grandeur. By the time the sun begins to set, we're at the top of Winston Hill, an official viewing station. In the broad open field below, where the game commission has planted alfalfa and grasses that appeal to elk, two bulls and seven cows graze at opposite ends of the field. The farthest mountain range takes on a bluish haze, while the mountains in front of it glow orange and red, in sharp contrast to the bright green field. I'm sharing the view with a couple dozen other visitors. But only in these rural areas could it be considered a crowd. Everyone is quiet, caught in the private moment of a grand and beautiful sight. tgmiii_@msn.com