A missing piece of wilderness

Marcus Schneck | By Marcus Schneck | The Patriot-News
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on June 11, 2007 at 8:48 AM, updated June 11, 2007 at 9:07 AM


Noting that many people kill timber rattlesnakes on-sight because of an irrational and unfounded fear of the critters, Hubley urged against that hasty action and commented that the Pennsylvania wilds - not the made-up tourist district in the northcentral part of the state, but all places wild in the state - are that much less wild each time a timber rattler disappears from the scene.

Like wolves and mountain lions, which we humans killed off in Pennsylvania a long time ago, the rattler represents something untamed and slightly threatening to us.

The wilds should not be a completely safe place. We call those parks and playgrounds. Wilds are more, much more. They should be a place where we need to stay on our toes. They must be a place where we are not in complete control. They must challenge us and our abilities. There must be some threat there. There must be something we can't tame.

As unthreatening as timber rattlesnakes really are, when you take the time to understand their nature and habits, their presence in the wilds add those components.

I've always agreed with Hubley's position, but a walk around Hopewell Lake in the state park later in the day helped me to realize I apply that same feeling of the wild to beavers. There's an active beaver lodge at one spot on the lake and an old, abandoned lodge in the another.

I know beavers are widespread and almost common in many parts of Pennsylvania, but for me they still embody something wild, that wild component that makes the outdoors worthwhile.

Maybe it's their historical connection to the mountain men. Maybe it's the extra effort it takes to trap them.

Whatever it is, for me beavers are a cherished symbol of wild Pennsylvania and for that I thank them.