Federal program needed to maintain outdoor areas
In the coming summer months, millions of Pennsylvanians will head out to “Penn’s Woods” to hike, camp, and play with family and friends.
Here in Fayette County, adventurers will visit Ohiopyle for rock climbing, mountain biking, and some of the best whitewater boating on the east coast. But what few people know is that Ohiopyle, along with many of our most beautiful outdoor areas, has been protected by a federal program known as the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
Unless Congress acts this summer, this program will end, making it nearly impossible to protect and preserve our most precious places already threatened by development and pollution.
Pennsylvania’s parks and forests are our common natural heritage. We have a right to enjoy the services, the tangible economic and environmental value as well as the personal and sentimental connections that they provide us.
It’s imperative that senators Bob Casey and Pat Toomey speak out to ensure that the program responsible for our beloved parks is ensured full funding, not just for this year or for next year, but decades to come.
Isabella Levy is an intern with PennEnvironment, a statewide environmental advocacy organization with over 100,000 members and activists throughout the Commonwealth, including many in Fayette County.