Woolrich Outfits World Renowned Raptor Sanctuary Hawk Mountain
OutdoorHub 03.06.12
Woolrich, the Original Outdoor Clothing Company, announced that it will be the official apparel outfitter of Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association. Based in Kempton, PA, Hawk Mountain is the world’s oldest and largest, member-supported raptor conservation organization.
“We are proud to support Hawk Mountain and its mission in protecting and studying raptors worldwide,” said Brent Hollowell, Woolrich VP of Marketing. “Not only are they the foremost experts in raptor education, research and conservation, but they provide a facility where visitors can enjoy the outdoors in one of the largest, protected tracts of contiguous forest in our state.”
Founded in 1934 and incorporated as a non-profit in 1938, Hawk Mountain is comprised of 2,500 acres with 8-miles of hiking trails and is one of the most recognized hawk migration watchsites in the United States, with an average 20,000 raptors migrating through the area each autumn. Hawk Mountain also maintains the Acopian Center for Conservation Learning, a biological field station and training facility where scientists and conservationists from around world come to work in collaboration with Hawk Mountain Sanctuary personnel.
“We’re excited to be teaming up with Woolrich,” said Jerry Regan, President of Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association. “Our organizations have run similar paths as pioneers in the Pennsylvania outdoors, and together we’ll be able to protect and study raptors for generations to come.”
Woolrich will outfit Hawk Mountain’s staff of counters and researches with a selection of Woolrich’s technical sportswear and outwear. Additionally, Hawk Mountain and Woolrich plan to collaborate on a series of limited edition items to raise funds for the association.
Hawk Mountain originally received its name from the hunters who visited the area to shoot migrating hawks for sport. In the early 1930’s, New York conservation activist Rosalie Edge learned about the massive killings and in 1934 leased 1,400 acres around the mountain and stopped the shooting. In 1938 she purchased the land and deeded it to the non-profit, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association.
Scientists use the Sanctuary’s long-term migration database to monitor changes in raptor populations. Monitoring raptor populations is important because raptors are sensitive bioindicators at the tops of food chains, and changes in their numbers reflect changes in the health of the environment. For example, the famed Pennsylvania biologist Rachel Carson used declining counts of immature bald eagles at Hawk Mountain in her landmark book Silent Spring as evidence of DDT’s harmful effects on the environment.
