Pennsylvania
‘Yeah, it’s rough’: 5 bird flu takeaways from Pennsylvania Game Commission update
Pennsylvania’s Respiratory Virus Dashboard shows seasonal flu activity is high and rising, with rates of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) also high but decreasing. COVID-19 emergency department visits have dropped even as residents continue to test positive nearly five years into the coronavirus era.
The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners at its first quarterly meeting of 2025 last Friday and Saturday got an update on a different kind of virus that’s impacting the state: bird flu, or Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza.
Game Commission Wildlife Veterinarian Andrew DiSalvo in the update touched on the challenges of confronting an infectious disease circulating in nature.
“But at the end of the day, there’s only so much that we can control, and I use that word control pretty loosely,” DiSalvo told the board. “This is something … that we’re going to have to live with, deal with, try to be as proactive as we can with — but it’s just really inherently challenging.”
“Sorry,” he offered. “Yeah, it’s rough.”
Here are five takeaways or highlights from DiSalvo’s report, which you can watch at this YouTube link.
1. Bird flu persists in the environment
The Type A H5N1 bird flu that’s circulating worldwide has been around since 2022. There was some hope, particularly among wildlife officials, that “the outbreak would resolve as it has in past emergences with decreasing bird density and warming environmental conditions in the summer,” according to DiSalvo.
“But I’m here with you in 2025 because that did not work out as we hoped,” he said. “Things smoldered throughout the entire year in 2022, carried through 2023 and into 2024.”
Among the concerns is that bird flu is shed in saliva and feces. The virus appears to spread through water, such as by animals sharing a drinking source.
That means the public may not see birds on the landscape around them “and they might get the false sense of security that things are safe,” DiSalvo said. “Well, if there were birds there previously and they defecated on the landscape, that landscape is contaminated.”
Avian influenza continues to crop up in commercial settings, as well. State agriculture officials on Monday listed a 50,000-chicken facility in Lehigh County as Pennsylvania’s first outbreak of 2025 in domestic poultry. However, dealing with the bird flu in natural settings presents entirely different challenges for trying to contain it.
“We can’t go in, foam a building, euthanize a bunch of animals, disinfect it, get money to the farmer and then have them repopulate that over the years,” DiSalvo said.
2. Lehigh Valley as epicenter
DiSalvo detailed a weeklong effort two weeks ago to depopulate snow geese at two Lehigh Valley quarries where testing showed the presence of bird flu around the start of the year. At one location in Upper Macungie Township, about 200 migratory fowl were removed during the effort that included shooting them. In Lower Nazareth Township, the toll was closer to 5,000, including 450 shot by game wardens and about 10 times that many found dead already. The vast majority were snow geese.
“The situation at the quarry in Northampton County was significantly worse due to upwards of 30,000 snow geese visiting in the days following our initial HPAI detection,” DiSalvo said, describing the weeklong response as a partnership between the Game Commission, state and federal agriculture officials, and an environmental consulting firm.
The Game Commission so far in 2025 has received and cleared over 400 bird flu incidents in just its Southeast Region. That includes the Lehigh Valley, which sits along the migratory pathway for hundreds of thousands of snow geese that are proving to be a natural reservoir for the virus.
Rising concerns of avian influenza in Pennsylvania led the Game Commission to issue warnings for anyone visiting a popular wildlife destination for viewing snow geese — Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area on the Lancaster-Lebanon County line.
“For any of you that have visited Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in late February or early March, it comes as no shock that peak abundance for snow geese is during that time approaching about 400,000 birds statewide,” DiSalvo told the Board of Game Commissioners. He noted Middle Creek can host a snow geese population “that exceeds about 100,000 birds at any given time.”
The Middle Creek website includes a warning that bird flu may be present there, and DiSalvo said steps may be required to reduce human interaction with the flock and landscape.
“I don’t want to get into speculation,” he said. “We’ve talked about this. As to what would our response be at a place like Middle Creek, would it be as something as simple as maybe cutting off access to places like Willow Point to try to reduce the chances that people are getting exposed to bird feces or going so far as saying like, we’re not going to allow visitation here? I don’t know what the right answer is.”
Wildlife officials’ experience at the limestone quarry outside Nazareth has established a “game plan and the script to follow” for a cleanup effort should Middle Creek see a similar die-off, DiSalvo allowed.
3. ‘Catastrophic economic impacts’ possible
Bird flu impacts are already registering at the supermarket. It’s forcing farmers to slaughter millions of chickens a month, pushing U.S. egg prices to more than double their cost in the summer of 2023. And it appears there may be no relief in sight, given the surge in demand as Easter approaches, a time when many people traditionally eat egg-based dishes.
Long Island ducks used as breeding stock at Crescent Duck Farm, move around a barn, in Aquebogue, New York, Oct. 29, 2014.AP File Photo/Julie Jacobson
It could get worse economically, without even considering the potential impact on human health. The virus has been causing sporadic, mostly mild illness in people in the U.S., and nearly all of those infected worked on dairy or poultry farms. At least one person has died in the United States, a senior citizen in Louisiana who had underlying health issues and had contact with backyard sick and dead birds. As of December, there were no reports of person-to-person transmission and no signs that the virus has changed to spread more easily among humans.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a Jan. 24 update staff are monitoring “multiple surveillance systems that are used year-round” and have seen “no indicators of unusual flu activity in people, including avian influenza A(H5N1) viruses.”
“Everyone’s kind of got a seat at the table. It’s that big of an issue,” DiSalvo said of the various state and federal departments involved in the bird flu response. “And this is a Foreign Animal Disease and it has that designation from USDA, and those are diseases that could have catastrophic economic impacts on the United States.
“So we do a lot of interstate trade of poultry products as well as international trade of poultry products,” he continued. “That industry is going to get significantly damaged if we lose our status as an avian influenza-free country because suddenly foreign countries aren’t going to want our poultry products. So there’s all these things — it’s not just the welfare of the animal species, our welfare as humans and our health; it’s economic considerations that we have to keep in mind.”
4. The flu and backyard birds
This bird flu circulating has hit migratory fowl like snow geese, scavengers and raptors like vultures and hawks, and mammals like red-tailed foxes but hasn’t appeared to have a widespread impact on passerines or other backyard birds, according to DiSalvo.
“They’re an avian species, so they’re susceptible,” he said. “But if you think about the areas of our landscape that they (inhabit), it’s not really overlapping with waterfowl that are shedding the virus. So for the most part we’re not really concerned about this emerging in songbirds.”
People who feed birds are encouraged to regularly clean feeders when refilling them — “just to promote good hygiene for any birds visiting, and that’s regardless of High Path AI, but for other diseases that could pop up,” DiSalvo said.
One emerging theory of the bird flu’s spread on commercial farms, however, is that songbirds carry the virus on their feet, he noted.
“And where do they fly to? They fly to their nest that they’ve established at air intake spots at commercial poultry operators,” he said. “Then potentially that virus gets pulled into the HVAC system of that facility.”
5. ‘We actually are doing something’
Despite the overwhelming challenges posed by this avian influenza, agencies like the Game Commission aren’t simply throwing up their hands.
“That’s something that I want to get across,” DiSalvo told the board, “that we actually are doing something.”
Touching on the complexities of the fight, DiSalvo spoke of precautions like protective gear as paramount to prevent human infections among those dealing with bird infections like those in the Lehigh Valley. There are also practical concerns to consider, like limiting requests for testing of tissue in carcasses suspected of bird flu links; the hope there is to avoid overburdening diagnostic labs working with the poultry industry and testing bulk milk, as cattle also are susceptible to the bird flu. So are canines and felines, DiSalvo pointed out.
“So I’m hopefully giving you a glimpse into how freaking complicated this is,” DiSalvo told the Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners. “It gets really complicated really quickly.”
PennLive.com and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.
Some Pennsylvania towns make it easy to feel included within a day of arriving. In Lititz, summer concerts at Lititz Springs Park turn into informal reunions, with families setting up lawn chairs side by side and local shop owners joining once they lock their doors for the evening. In Boiling Springs, the path around Children’s Lake doubles as a daily check-in point where walkers greet each other by name before drifting into the cafés along Front Street. And in Ligonier, the Diamond and its bandstand pull residents downtown for markets and community events that rely on volunteers rather than outside organizers. The same pattern carries through the rest of the towns on our list.
Lititz
Lititz is in Lancaster County, about 6 miles north of the city of Lancaster. Founded in 1756, the town was named after a castle in Bohemia and initially served as a Moravian congregation settlement. Lititz is home to the Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery, established in 1861 as the first commercial pretzel bakery in the United States.
Lititz Springs Park, a historic community hub since 1756, hosts various yearly events, notably the well-known Lititz Fourth of July Celebration. For dining, the Appalachian Brewing Company provides locally brewed beers and a distinctive menu showcasing regional dishes. The Wilbur Chocolate Factory, a landmark since the late 1800s, includes a museum and shop where visitors can explore chocolate-making processes and buy unique confections.
Boiling Springs
Boiling Springs, in Cumberland County, owes its name to the natural artesian springs that maintain a constant temperature and were crucial to early ironworks in the area. Established in the 18th century, it is also part of the Appalachian Trail community, underscoring its long-standing connection to nature and history. The town’s historic district includes the Iron Furnace, dating to 1760 and a testament to Boiling Springs’ early industrial role.
The town features a variety of attractions for visitors and residents. Allenberry Resort and Playhouse, a historic venue since the mid-20th century, provides entertainment, dining, and lodging options. The Boiling Springs Tavern, founded in 1832, offers classic American cuisine in a historic environment. For outdoor enjoyment, Children’s Lake is perfect for fishing and relaxing walks, and the Appalachian Trail runs through the center of the community, offering great hiking opportunities.
Jim Thorpe
Jim Thorpe sits in the Lehigh Gorge in eastern Pennsylvania, and was originally known as Mauch Chunk and played a pivotal role in the coal and railroad industries. Renamed in 1954 to honor the legendary athlete Jim Thorpe, the town retains a Victorian era charm, with much of its architecture preserved and celebrated. This heritage is evident in attractions such as the Asa Packer Mansion, built in 1861 by a philanthropist and railroad magnate, which now serves as a museum.
Visitors to Jim Thorpe can choose from various recreation and dining options. The Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway provides a scenic ride through the mountains, perfect for enjoying the area’s natural beauty. Dining choices include Moya, famous for its upscale American dishes, and Stone Row Pub & Eatery, offering a relaxed atmosphere with local ingredients. Outdoor lovers can enjoy boating and hiking at Mauch Chunk Lake Park, making the town an attractive destination.
Ligonier
Ligonier was established in the 1760s and features a rich colonial history highlighted by Fort Ligonier, a British fortification from the French and Indian War. The town square, known as the Diamond, is circled by original structures and a bandstand from the 19th century, reinforcing its historical ambiance.
Fort Ligonier functions as both a museum showcasing 18th-century artifacts and a venue for reenactments and educational activities. The Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art enriches visitors with American art exhibitions. Dining options in Ligonier include the historic Ligonier Tavern, known for its local cuisine, and The Wicked Googly, famous for its vibrant atmosphere and live music. For outdoor leisure, Ligonier Beach offers a distinctive swimming experience with a historic pool from 1925.
Wellsboro
Wellsboro, located in Tioga County, was established in 1806 and acts as the gateway to the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, also known as Pine Creek Gorge. The town exudes nostalgic charm with its gas-lit streets and historic Victorian buildings, offering a window into its storied history. A prime example of this history is the Penn Wells Hotel, which has been serving visitors since the early 1900s.
For those wanting to explore Wellsboro, the restored 1920s movie theater, The Arcadia Theatre, regularly features films and performances, serving as a cultural center for locals and visitors. The Native Bagel offers a relaxed dining atmosphere with dishes made from locally sourced ingredients. Outdoor lovers can enjoy Leonard Harrison State Park, which offers stunning views of the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, along with trails and picnic spots. Furthermore, the annual Pennsylvania State Laurel Festival attracts crowds with its parade, arts and crafts, and local food stalls, honoring the area’s cultural traditions.
Foxburg
Foxburg, situated along the Allegheny River in Clarion County, was founded in 1870. It is famous for being home to the oldest golf course still in operation in the United States, the Foxburg Country Club, established in 1887. This historical feature adds to its charming and distinctive character, blending small-town American charm with a deep golf tradition.
The Foxburg Wine Cellars offers tastings of locally produced wines, complemented by a scenic setting. For dining, the Allegheny Grille provides riverfront views alongside a menu featuring regional cuisine, emphasizing the town’s picturesque location. Culture enthusiasts can explore the American Golf Hall of Fame, located within the Foxburg Country Club, which houses a collection of golf memorabilia and artifacts. For outdoor activities, the nearby Allegheny River Trail offers miles of biking and walking paths, making Foxburg a destination with diverse appeal.
Honesdale
Honesdale serves as the county seat for Wayne County and was founded in 1826. It has historical significance as the terminus of the Delaware and Hudson Canal, pivotal in the transport of coal to major markets in the northeast. Notably, Honesdale is credited with being the site of the first commercial steam locomotive run on rails in the United States, the Stourbridge Lion, adding a rich layer to its industrial heritage.
The Wayne County Historical Society presents exhibits on canal and railroad history, shedding light on the town’s growth. For dining, visitors can choose the upscale Hotel Wayne, known for its fine dining and bistro bar, or the more relaxed Trackside Grill, offering views of the historic railroad. Outdoor lovers can visit Honesdale Park, which has walking paths and recreational facilities, serving as a popular venue for community events and gatherings.
Milford
Milford is situated at the crossroads of the Delaware River and the Pocono Mountains’ foothills. Established in 1796, it rapidly gained popularity as a resort in the 19th century, thanks to its scenic landscape and fresh mountain air. The town is also renowned for the Milford Historic District, which features a range of well-preserved buildings that reflect its prosperous history.
The Columns Museum houses the famous Lincoln Flag, believed to be stained with Abraham Lincoln’s blood from the night of his assassination, providing a profound historical experience. For dining, Bar Louis at the Hotel Fauchère offers a contemporary menu in a stylish setting, while the Waterwheel Café provides a rustic atmosphere with live music and local cuisine. Additionally, Grey Towers National Historic Site, the former home of Gifford Pinchot, founder of the U.S. Forest Service, offers guided tours and scenic grounds.
Mount Joy
Mount Joy was founded in 1759 and has a name derived from an old Irish ship, the “Mountjoy,” which played a pivotal role in breaking a siege during the Irish Confederate Wars. This town, nestled among the rich, rolling farmlands of the county, has historically been a hub for agriculture and today melds historic charm with modern vibrancy, evident in its revitalized downtown area.
Bube’s Brewery, an intact historic 19th-century brewery and museum, offers unique dining experiences in its catacombs and regularly hosts murder mystery dinners. The Country Table Restaurant is known for its comfort food and welcoming atmosphere, reflecting the town’s friendly spirit. For outdoor activities, Little Chiques Park provides scenic walking paths and picnic areas, perfect for family outings. Additionally, the annual “Mount Joy Winterfest” brings the community together with craft vendors, food, and entertainment, showcasing the town’s lively community spirit.
Lewisburg
Lewisburg is a vibrant town established in 1785. It is home to Bucknell University, established in 1846, which adds a youthful energy and cultural richness to the town. Lewisburg’s downtown is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, featuring well-preserved 19th-century architecture and a tree-lined main street that enhances its historic charm.
In terms of activities and dining, Lewisburg offers a variety of choices that cater to both residents and visitors. The Campus Theatre, one of the few remaining single-screen art deco movie theaters in the country, offers a unique cinematic experience. For dining, Elizabeth’s American Bistro provides a fine dining experience using local ingredients, while the Bull Run Tap House offers a more casual atmosphere with a comprehensive selection of craft beers. For outdoor enthusiasts, Hufnagle Park offers a green retreat in the heart of the town, complete with walking paths and garden areas, making it a popular gathering place for community events and casual recreation.
As we journey through Pennsylvania’s coziest corners, we discover that these small towns do more than just charm visitors with their picturesque settings and historical backdrops. They invite us into a world where community spirit thrives and every street and alley tells a story. These towns, from Lititz’s pretzel-perfumed air to Lewisburg’s university vibes, showcase the true heart of Pennsylvania through their unyielding warmth and hospitality. Whether you’re seeking a serene retreat or a peek into America’s storied past, these towns offer a refuge where friendliness is the native language.
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