The annual open house at the Linesville State Fish Hatchery is scheduled for April 6 from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at 13300 Hartstown Road, Linesville, Crawford County.

Visitors will be able, among other things, to watch the walleye spawning process including fish sorting, and removing and fertilizing eggs; see native fish species in the 10,000-gallon viewing tank; learn how to tell the age of fish; tie knots, flies and cast, rig a rod, and fillet and cook fish; buy a $3 t-shirt and put a fish print on it; buy a Pennsylvania fishing license, posters, patches, and books; practice casting skills in the Kids Casting Area; visit the boating safety tent; and talk to staff from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and other partner agencies.

Shuttle service from the parking areas to the Visitor Center will be provided.

To get to the hatchery, turn off of Route 6 at the only light in downtown Linesville and go half a mile to the entrance.

Presentations on diving in Lake Erie, its shipwrecks and the War of 1812 are the highlights of the Great Lakes Seaway Trail Blue Byway Seminar April 13 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Clarion Conference Center and Marina in Dunkirk, N.Y.

The $50 admission includes lunch. Walk-ins, as space allows, are $65 each. Register online or call (315) 646-1000 Ext. 203. Preregistration is requested by April 10.

Freediver Sam Genco will talk about the variety of diving, snorkeling and freediving adventures available on Lake Erie, a central part of the Great Lakes Seaway Trail region along 518 miles of freshwater shoreline in New York and Pennsylvania. He is a U.S. Coast Guard-licensed captain and a former captain with Osprey Charters of Barcelona, N.Y.

Other presenters:

Erie Maritime Museum eucation pograms cordinator Linda Bolla will speak on “The Fabric of Time: Two Iconic Flags from the War of 1812,” and living history programming coordinator and U.S. Brig Niagara volunteer Ed Bolla will talk about the Battle of Lake Erie and the building of Perry’s Fleet at Erie;

Underwater explorer Jim Kennard on his discovery of the HMS Ontario, a 22-gun sloop that sank in Lake Ontario in 1780, and National Weather Service forecaster Robert Hamilton on historic weather conditions that influenced the wreck of the Ontario;

Historical archaeologist Dr. Douglas J. Pippin of the State University of New York at Oswego, with details on ship building at the British-held Fort Haldimand on Carleton Island in upstate New York;

New York Sea Grant Coastal Recreation and Tourism specialist Dave White on tools and apps for boaters, canoeists and kayakers based on the Great Lakes Observing System;

St. Lawrence River charter captain Jeff Garnsey on his grandfather, a rumrunner during Prohibition.

All trails for motorized vehicles in the Allegheny National Forest have been closed as of April 1.

ATV and motorbike trails are scheduled to reopen May 24 and remain open through Sept. 29. Snowmobile trails will remain closed until December.

Allegheny National Forest ATV trail system riders must purchase either a daily pass at a cost of $10 per day, or an annual pass at a cost of $35. Passes are available at the supervisor’s office in North Warren;the  Marienville Ranger District office; the Bradford Ranger District office in Marshburg; the Tionesta Visitor Center; Forest Lodge and Campground in Marienville; the Russell City Store; Brookville Motor Sports, and Leisure Time in Corry

For information, call the supervisor’s office in Warren at (814) 723-5150,  the Marienville Ranger District at (814) 927-6628, or the Bradford Ranger Station at (814) 362-4613.

Volunteer to help the Audubon Center & Sanctuary in Jamestown, N.Y., clean up its grounds April 20 for another season of activities.

Volunteers can choose their work crew activity: to pull non-native plants, plant native seeds and shrubs, spruce up the gardens, pick up trash as part and possibly more.

Work will go on rain or shine, so dress for the weather and pack work gloves if you have them. Lunch will be provided to all volunteers.

Reservations are required by April 17 (call 716-569-2345 after that date).

Registration April 20 runs from 8:30-9 a.m., when work crews will be selected. Work goes from 9:30 a.m. to noon, followed by lunch and prizes.

More than 80 people turned out for the first Volunteer Day in 2012.

Anglers can win prizes in the BoatUS Angler Catch of the Month photo contest that started April 1 and runs through Oct. 31.

Monthly winners, one freshwater and one saltwater, will receive a one-year BoatUS Angler membership with basic on-water towing and Trailer Assist, a $50 Visa gift card and a prize pack filled with fishing and BoatUS Angler gear. Winning photos also will appear in BoatUS Angler Magazine and Tacklebox monthly fishing e-newsletter.

Monthly winners will be automatically entered to win the grand prize in November: an upgrade of their BoatUS Angler membership to include unlimited on-water towing and on-road towing assistance from Trailer Assist, a replica of their winning catch from FishReplicas.com and a $50 gift certificate from Boat Name Gear.

Check out all of the photos submitted to the contest here.

Learn about the state of Lake Erie during a free public meeting April 11 at 7 p.m. at the Southtowns Walleye Association club house, 5895 Southwestern Blvd., Hamburg, NY., about 90 minutes from Erie on Interstate 90.

The meeting is put on by New York Sea Grant, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New York state Assemblyman Sean Ryan and the Southtowns Walleye Association.

Presentations will address the status of the warmwater fish community, with NYSDEC Lake Erie Unit leader Don Einhouse; status of the coldwater fish Ccmmunity, with NYSDEC Senior Fishery Biologist Jim Markham; the New Western New York Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management, with Dr. Christopher Pennuto of Buffalo State College; and a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service program update from fishery biologist Denise L. Clay.

For information, call New York Sea Grant Coastal Education Specialist Helen Domske at (716) 645-3610.

Join the staff at Asbury Woods in a search for salamanders April 12 from 7-9 p.m. at Brown’s Farm barn, 5774 Sterrettania Road.

Bring your flashlight, wear waterproof boots and be prepared for a 1-mile night hike.

Cost is $3 for members, $5 for nonmembers (adults and children 6 and older).

The allowable catch for walleye and yellow perch in Lake Erie has been set at lower totals than in 2012.

The Lake Erie Committee announced the total allowable catch after its meeting Thursday in Niagara Falls, N.Y. The committee includes fishery managers from Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Michigan and Ontario.

The recommended total allowable catch is 3.356 million walleye and 12.237 million pounds of yellow perch. Fishery managers said they decreased the TAC to “reflect fish hatches in recent years that have been weak.”

Total allowable catch represents the number or weight of fish recommended to be caught by sport and commercial fishers without putting the fisheries at risk.

The 2012 total allowable catch for walley was 3.487 million.

Ohio will be entitled to 1.715 million fish, Ontario to 1.445 million fish and Michigan 0.196 million fish. Limits in Pennsylvania, New York and Ontario are set separately by those jurisdictions because the majority of the walleye harvest occurs in western Lake Erie.

“Due to a series of poor year classes, the population in 2014 is expected to decliine, potentially leading to lower TACs in future years as the fish from the strong year classes age and the total size of the walleye stock decreases,” the Lake Erie Committee said in a news release. “The decreased TAC recommendation for 2013 reflects the committee’s goal to manage the lakewide fish stocks sustainably, recognizing stakeholder input.”

The yellow perch TAC is a 10 percent decrease from the 13.637 allocated in 2012. The committee said it believes “harvestable stocks are lower than last year; the TAC for 2013 reflects the committee’s consideration of the importance of relative stability of harvest.”

Pennsylvania will receive .949 million pounds of the allocation. Ontario will receive 5.969 million pounds, Ohio 4.896 million pounds, Michigan 0.164 million pounds and New York 0.259 million pounds.

The Lake Erie Committee works with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, a Canadian and U.S. agency.

Spring migration brings countless birds to Presque Isle State Park, an Audubon Important Bird Area and a great site for birdwatching. Spring also is when Audubon staff and volunteers perform bird banding at the park as part of population, migration and health research.

The banding program for this spring remains only partially funded. Audubon PA and the Presque Isle Audubon Society are working together to raise necessary funds, including through donations and ”Adopt-a-Bird” certificates.

To contribute, you can send a check to Audubon PA Banding, 301 Chestnut St, Meadville, PA 16335, or to PIAS Banding, 301 Peninsula Drive, Tom Ridge Environmental Center, Erie, PA, 16504.

Lake Erie Ultimate Angler will offer a Trout 201 class May 4 focusing on streamside technique.

The class typically takes place on Oil Creek, in Venango County, and includes casting, presentation, using indicators and more. It’s largely intended for those who have taken a Trout 101 class or have some fly-fishing experience.

Lunch, a fly assortment, and a tackle assortment are provided with class. Cost is $100, which must be paid by April 27.

Class size is limited; early registration is recommended.

For information, call (814) 833-4040.