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President:
Kirby Neubert
Vice-President:
Peg Sims
Secretary:
Jean Snyder
Treasurer:
Joe Smith
Board:
Arthur Cubbon
Keith Cubbon
John Kolojejchick
Carl Meinstereifel
Michelle Melhburger
Libby Culbertson
Bob McCall
Jeff AlbrightLinks - Use Browser Back Button to Return to our Site
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OCSP AT DCNR |
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LOCAL WEATHER |
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PA PARKS AND FOREST FOUNDATION |
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DRAKE WELL MUSEUM |
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OTHER STATE PARKS |
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ORPHAN WELLS PROJECT |
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OCSP AT WIKIPEDIA |
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OIL REGION GREENWAYS |
Events
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Free Night Cross Country Skiing
January 7 and 21 and February 4 and 18
Come out and enjoy Night Skiing in Oil Creek State Park
The Friends of Oil Creek State Park are sponsoring four night time cross country skiing events at the park this winter.
Participants must supply their own skis and are encouraged to bring a headlamp or flashlight.
The Friends will supply special food for a social time after the ski and participants are encouraged to bring drinks and snacks to share.
All night skis are scheduled for Saturday at 7:00PM and participants should meet at the ski hut at the cross country ski area along Plumer-Petrolium Centre Road.
We will break up into groups based on ability or desired distance.
For more information or ski conditions, contact the park office at 814-676-5915.
Oil Creek 100 - Pre-Race pasta dinner
October 7 - Dinner - 3 PM
Dinner PhotosOil Creek 100
October 7-9, 2011; Trail Run 50 mile, 50 K, 100 mile, 100K Race web page
Oil Creek 100 Race Photos 1
Oil Creek 100 Race Photos 2
Oil Creek 100 Race Photos 3
Photo albums by Lee Ann Reiners
Cross Counrty Trail Workdays
October 16, November 13 and December 4 at 1PM
Volunteers are needed for the clean up and preparation of the Cross Country trails for the winter season. Work projects include tree and brush removal, sign placement and drainage construction. Workgroups will meet at the ski hut off Plumer-Petrolium Centre road. Bring gloves, pruning tools and work clothing.
Special Events
Summer Biathlon
August 13, 2011, The.6K running race is divided up between shooting & running. Registration is required for participants. Be part of the cheering croud for free.See the Biathlon page for additional information and photos
2010 events
Bird and Butterfly Garden: 2010
In cooperation with the Audubon Society park volunteers planted native plants around 3 sides of the park office. The garden will provide habitat for birds and butterflies and through signage will inform park visitors about native plants that are good for attracting birds and butterflies to the area around their own homes. The garden was partially paid for by a grant from the Audubon Society. Kathy Goodblood, a volunteer with the Bartranium Audubon Society, provided leadership and planning of the garden. Friends and Audubon Society volunteers provided the labor for the garden.Bird and Butterfly Garden Photo Album
National Trail Day – Workday 2010
Volunteers gathered behind the park office June 5th to do trail repair work. The hiking trail leading from the park office up hill to the Gerard Hiking Trail main loop has been a wet area for years. The volunteers dug in water bars to divert a spring across the trail to allow the trail to dry. Results look good so far.Bat Counts: 2010
At the end of both June and July volunteers gathered just before sunset to count the little brown bats leaving their roosting areas in the 6 bat houses, garage and spring house next to the Egbert House. More than two-dozen volunteers participated by using mechanical counters to count bats as they left their roosting areas just after sunset on June 25 and July 30. Because this area is a breeding and pup raising area, the overall health of the colony is very important. Counts of the little brown bats indicated approximately the same number of bats as last year. The count was almost 600 at the end of June and over 700 at the end of July when this years pups were flying. The population counts are a way to determine if the white nose fungus that is killing bats in some areas is affecting the population in our area.August 14, 2010 - Summer Biathlon
A Summer Biathlon is a combination a running and shooting competition. In this event, runners alternate running and shooting. The event requires both speed on the trail and accuracy on the range. Friends of Oil Creek State Park sponsored the race, which is the largest fundraiser for the Friends group. Approximate 70 runners participated. This event is unique since it is the only biathlon held in a state park and it is the largest summer biathlon in the state of Pennsylvania. Volunteers from Friends of Oil Creek State Park and PA Biathlon Club provided the manpower for registration, race checkpoints, shooting range and event timing. Range Resources and other local merchants provided sponsorship for the event.The event starts with waves of two runners leaving every minute and running an approximately 1.2 mile loop. As they approach the shooting range at the end of the first running loop, they walk the last 50 meters, catch their breath lie down in the prone position and pick up an easy to use .22 caliber target rifle to shoot 5 shots at a 3.5-inch metal knock down target 25 meters away. For each missed target the runner is required to run a 70-meter penalty loop after the shooting stop. Then they walk rapidly out of the range and run the same 1.2-mile loop again. The second time at the range they will shoot 5 shots at the same target from the standing position and run the 70-meter penalty loop for each missed target. Once they completed the standing position, they walk out of the range and run the 1.2-mile loop a final time ending at the finish line.
Each year volunteers are needed for a variety of jobs. Details can be found on the Biathlon page.
For more infromation click Biathlon on the left margin or click Here
2010 Photo Album
Photos by Ron Stevenson
2008 Photo Album
Photos by Kirby Neubert
Oil Creek 100 Trail Runs October 16, 2010
Runners will be using part of the Gerard Hiking trail for 50K, 100K & 100 mile runs. Details are available at www.oilcreek100.org100 miles - 17,785' elevation gain - 32 hour time limit - 5 AM Saturday to 1 PM Sunday = 19:12 / mile
100K - 31 hour time limit - 6 AM Saturday to 1 PM Sunday = 30:00 / mile
50K - 5,459' elevation gain - 17 hour time limit - 7 AM to midnight Saturday = 32:55 / mile
See a short YouTube video of the event Oil Creek 100 video
Oil Creek 100 Trail Run - Pasta Dinner
Members of Friends of Oil Creek State Park prepared and served the pre-race pasta dinner for the Oil Creek 100 Trail Run. Over 300 meals were served to runners and guests. This is the second year that Friends volunteers have manned the kitchen at the Titusville Middle School to prepare, serve and cleanup at the pre-race dinner.Pasta Dinner Photo Album
Cross Country Ski Trail CleanUp
November 7 and November 21 at 1PM
Meet at the Ski Hut off SR 1004 about 1 mile from Plumer. Now is the time to get the Cross Country ski trails ready for the up comming ski season. Volunteers will be working on a variety of projects including cleaning up downed trees, clearing shrubs away from trail edges, painting blaze marks to make the trail more visable and placing signage.Bring tools such as pruners, saws, gloves and axes. Paint and brushes will be provided.
. Trail Clean Up Photo Album
Making Christmas Bird Feeders Sunday, December 12,2010 at 1 PM
Where: Cross Country Ski Hut on SR 1004 (Petrolium Centre Road about 1 mile from Plumer)
We will be making several differnt kinds of birdfeeders from natural materials like pine cones and corncobs. We will also make several different kinds of suit feeders and seed feeders from recycled plastic bottles and onion bags. The program is designed so that each participant will make several different kinds of feeders and place them in the woods and fields around the Ski Hut. Participants can also take home at least one birdfeeder. The cost of the program is $6.00/ family which covers all materials needed.We will also have a program about winter birds and bird feeding by the Audubon Society.
Please dress warmly. The ski Hut will be heated but the outside may be cold. To make a reservation call the park office at 814-676-5915
Over the Hill Gang
The Over the Hill Gang (OHG) continues to be active in keeping the Gerard hiking trail in tip-top condition. This group of mostly retired volunteers meet every Wednesday to work on trail up keep in the form of removing fallen trees, repairing bridges, removing brush and correcting safety hazards along the 37 miles of trail.With that many miles to cover, OHG volunteers have a full time job keeping the Gerard Trail in good condition. As fall approached the OHG will be working with volunteers from the Oil Creek 100 race committee to mark the portion of the trail being used for the Oil Creek 100 Race. The race for this year is sold out but you can still come out on October 16 for the race activities and cheer on the racers. It will be a tough race for runners in the 100 mile, 100K or 50 K races.Over the Hill Gang Photo Album
Bicycle Sheds Project
The Friends of Oil Creek State Park purchased two shed kits to be used for storage and repair of the parks bicycles. Friends and Over the Hill Gang members constructed the shed during the summer as an ongoing project. After several weeks of work the sheds are now complete and ready to house the parks rental bicycles. With the bicycles behind the park office they will be closer to park personnel and make the rental process easier and faster. Moving the bicycles to the sheds will result in clearing out the Egbert House so that interior repair and renovation can occur in the future. It is hoped that the Egbert House can be referbished and rented to earn additional revenue for the park.Shed building photo album
Orphan Wells Project
Members of Venango Pa Senior Environmental Corp (VPaSEC) are continuing to locate abandoned oil and gas wells in the park. This project begun in 2004 has resulted in finding over 600 wells in the Park so far.Wells located by VPaSEC are documented (GPS location and photographed) and marked with flagging tape. The well location information is then given to DEP so that they can inspect the well and place it on the list of wells to be plugged. Hundreds of wells have been abandoned within the boundaries of the park. The Park does not own the mineral rights to any of the Park property and therefore does not benefit from the royalties from gas or oil wells in the park. The location and plugging of abandoned wells is important because the wells can cause many environmental problems. The abandoned well bore is a conduit that allows oil, gas and acidic water to come to the surface and pollute the soil and water in streams in the Park; it also allows surface water to enter the well and bring oil, gas and acid from deeper layers into the aquifer which can pollute nearby water wells. The wells can cave in and cause holes, which are surface hazards to hikers and hunters in the Park. Over the years many wells have erupted spilling oil and acid into Oil Creek and the smaller runs that feed it. Hundreds of wells have been plugged in the park as a result of this program.Abandoned Wells Photo Album
Well Hunters and Well Plugging Photo Album
