SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2020

Official Emblem of the Big Woods Hare Hunters of the Allegheny

“It is only with terrible trepidation that I ever invite anyone to go snowshoe hare hunting as a successful hare hunt is simply the hardest gift to give.

Whenever I take someone along for the first time the weather goes bad, the beagles go dumb, the hare go on strike or something else goes wrong.”—plagiarized

ON SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2020 NOTHING WENT WRONG, EVERYTHING WENT RIGHT, THE WEATHER HELD, THE BEAGLES WERE AT THEIR SMARTEST and THE SNOWSHOE HARE DID NOT GO ON STRIKE.

High HareMan Announces Inductees

The High HareMan is honored to announce the installation of two veteran sportsmen and snowshoe hare hunters into the Loyal Order of the Big Woods Hare Hunters of the Allegheny. The High HareMan is proud to announce the names of Mark Baker and Roy Towner as our newest members.

The High HareMan welcomes Mr. Roy Towner (c) and Mr. Mark Baker into the Loyal Order.

Mr. Towner, of Lucinda, (Huefner, Clarion County, PA) and Mr. Baker (Cranberry) were inducted into the Loyal Order of the Big Woods Hare Hunters of the Allegheny after a day of action-packed snowshoe hare chasing on the Allegheny High Plateau.

The epic day started out with a delicious hare hunter’s breakfast held at the Kelly Hotel in Marienville, Pennsylvania attended by 8 fellow sportsmen and women. The breakfast was held under the sponsorship of Hounds & Hunting Magazine.  A great meal filled with conversation and fellowship was enjoyed by all.

Attending the hare hunter breakfast going counter clockwise are; the High HareMan, LT Corso, Matt Baker, Andy Hoover, Roy Towner, Mark Baker, Jim, Kaz, Kazmarek and Barbara Kazmarek.

The action packed outing started with and ended with an epic snowshoe hare chase by six experienced and worthy beagles. The veteran and teenage beagles jumped the illusive snowshoe hare virtually right off the tailgate and the action never ceased until Sidney was cutoff and curtained in order to call it, "a day." The list of beagles in the epic chase are: Matt's Poco and Mo, Kaz's Maggie and Nickie and the High HareMan's Sidney and Sammie.

Roy is retired from Owens-Brockway Glass Company and is a veteran hare hunter having hunted the Allegheny Plateau, Allegheny National Forest and the Adirondack Mountains of New York for the elusive snowshoe hare.

Mr. Baker of Cranberry, Pennsylvania, a retired Physical Education Instructor, is a sportsman and long-time hare hunter having hunted hares also on the Allegheny, the ANF and the Adirondack Mountains of New York. Mark has been featured on the cover of The Rabbit Hunter Magazine for his hare hunting exploits in the Adirondack Mountains.


Mark and Roy are now authorized to enjoy all the rights and privileges of a member in good standing in the Loyal Order. They are now granted access to all lands open to the Big Woods Hare Hunters of the Allegheny. 

We are the proud members of the Big Woods Hare Hunters of the Allegheny. We search the mountains, high swamps, clear-cuts and evergreen plantations of the Allegheny High Plateau with beagles for the elusive snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus). Headquartered in western Pennsylvania, high on the Allegheny Plateau, we are a band of outdoor men and women dedicated to the preservation of one of God’s greatest creations and one of Pennsylvania’s most elusive game animals, the majestic and magnificent varying hare.

Founded in 2002, we are a small, loosely organized, ever-expanding group of devoted beaglers, veteran snowshoe hare hunters, outdoor enthusiasts, conservationists and preservationists. We like to call ourselves “elite” mainly because we are the select few. Few are the beaglers who dare venture onto the Allegheny High Plateau in the bitter cold days of winter in search of the snowshoe hare making the Big Woods Hare Hunters of the Allegheny a very exclusive group to be sure. There is no weather too severe or snow too deep to curtail our passion for the great outdoors. We love to get out into the elements, searching the Allegheny High Plateau for the elusive snowshoe hare, enjoying the thrill of the chase, while taking great pleasure in the beautiful beagle music as it rings across the scenic Allegheny.

The Big Woods Hare Hunters of the Allegheny are dedicated to conserving and preserving the magnificent and omnipotent snowshoe hare on the Allegheny Plateau. Our objective is to save this magnificent animal for future generations of Pennsylvanians to enjoy. We take great pride in our mission of conservation of the varying hare. The Big Woods Hare Hunters of the Allegheny are determined to preserve the thrill of the chase for future generations of beaglers.

The Big Woods Hare Hunters of the Allegheny do not harvest snowshoe hare on the Allegheny High Plateau. We search for the elusive hare with beagles and when we find their lair the beagles test the hares’ escape and evasion capabilities to the maximum and in return the hares test the beagles. Chasing hare with beagles and allowing the hare to run free is as close to catch and release as the Big Woods Hare Hunters can ever achieve. It’s all about the beagles and it’s all about the hare.

Many of our members have been searching for the evasive snowshoe hare with beagles on the Allegheny Plateau for more than half a century. In addition to many locations on the Allegheny Plateau, our members have hunted the Pocono Mountains of eastern Pennsylvania (a province of the Allegheny plateau), the western mountains and lowlands of Maine, the Adirondack Mountains, the Tug Hill Plateau of eastern New York State and many other locations for hare with beagles. Our members have been featured in many national publications, the ultimate of which is FIELD & STREAM magazine. https://www.fieldandstream.com/…/march-snowshoes-rabbit-h…/…

The Big Woods Hare Hunters of the Allegheny have numerous members who are not beaglers; however, we are committed men and women who love the out-of-doors and the Allegheny. The beautiful sights, sounds, panoramic views, fauna and flora of the High Plateau are beloved by all. The Allegheny National Forest is the crown jewel of Pennsylvania for outdoor people of all stripes.

The Big Woods Hare Hunters of the Allegheny is not a club, league, group or secret society, although, we do have secrets. We are often called the “Loyal Order” because we are faithful to each other and we are devoted to the beagle breed. We are a fellowship, taking great pleasure in the communion with nature, companionship of friends and camaraderie with special people.

The loyal order has no constitution, no by-laws and no articles. The Big Woods Hare Hunters of the Allegheny collect no dues, initiation or irritation fees of any kind. We have a Board of Directors, a Chaplin, a Captain, Chief of Staff, Chief Adviser, Biologist and  Chief Executive Officer (CEO/COO). The CEO, originally called the Chairman, is now officially titled the Chief Executive High HareMan.

We take great pleasure in listening to the beautiful beagle music as the melodious tones reverberate off the mountains, echo up the valleys, bringing back special memories of the days of our youth. When we mention we are beaglers to people we meet, they immediately relate hunting stories of days gone by, which is often. We see smiles emerge on their faces and we see warmth emerge from their hearts for the beagle breed as they relate the days of hunting with the family beagle. Sadly, those days are gone. Disappointingly, future generations may never know the great enjoyment or bask in the memories of hunting with beagles which our generation and past generations of beaglers have known.

We pray our youth and our grandchildren will be the guardians of our hunting heritage.