Survey asks input on state parks
The last day of September merits more recognition than it gets in our area. Sept. 30 is National Public Lands Day, sponsored by the National Environmental Education Foundation to call attention to the value of national parks and forests, national wildlife refuges, and state park, forest and wildlife lands in American life.
This national event is significant here because our region enjoys an abundance of public lands that contribute hugely to its appeal to visitors.
To briefly summarize this area’s public land resource, Fayette, Westmoreland and Somerset counties embrace nearly 60,000 acres of the Forbes State Forest. Fayette County alone holds roughly 35,000 acres of state game lands, and the Laurel Highlands region claims the densest cluster of state parks in Pennsylvania, including Ohiopyle State Park, largest, most ecologically diverse and among the most highly visited parks in the statewide system of 122 units. We have parks of national significance in Fort Necessity National Battlefield and Friendship Hill National Historic Site.
These lands welcome everyone, visitor and resident alike, to hike, bike, paddle, fish, hunt (hunting not permitted on National Park Service sites) and more, without trespass restrictions and with no fees for access. Imagine our region’s diminished draw if Ohiopyle State Park, the state forest around Wharton Furnace or the state game lands on Dunbar Mountain were not open to the public for appropriate outdoor activities. According to the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association, public lands encourage outdoor recreation, increase the value of nearby residential property, support improved health and fitness, and protect vital natural resources.
The Pennsylvania Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources determined that for every state dollar invested in state parks, twelve dollars get returned to local host communities and the state’s economy.
Many supporters of public lands volunteer on National Public Lands Day for work projects on their favorite park or forest. These projects are featured on the National Environmental Education Foundation’s website (www.neefusa.org), including many in Pennsylvania. At Ohiopyle, volunteers will be helping with trail maintenance and treating hemlock trees as protection against the invasive pest hemlock woolly adelgid along Meadow Run.
It’s getting late now to organize a group project for National Public Lands Day but there is still something anyone can do to show support for public lands. It’s as simple as taking an on-line survey.
Pennsylvania’s Bureau of State Parks invites all Pennsylvanians to participate in the Penn’s Parks for All strategic planning process. This is the first long-range planning initiative embarked upon by state parks in 20 years. Public input gathered in the last effort, two decades ago, resulted in significant shifts in state park acquisition and development. Most notably, restroom facilities were modernized, environmental education programs were expanded, and new land acquisitions were directed toward inholdings and bordering tracts, rather than establishing new parks.
You can participate in the new planning effort by visiting the State Parks bureau’s website at www.dcnr.pa.gov/stateparks. The link to the survey is at the center of the main page, under the heading: “Take Our Survey.”
The questions seek public input on the following: Should we change the current outdoor recreation opportunities or experiences? Should we enhance overnight accommodations in our state parks? How should we pay for our state parks? How can we protect our state parks? Should we provide more modern conveniences within state parks? And, how appropriate are certain facilities and activities in our state parks?
As a bit of background, Pennsylvania has approached state park management differently from many other states. Some states–West Virginia is a notable example–provide a smaller number of parks, but with each one more intensely developed with amenities. West Virginia state parks typically feature a golf course, resort lodge, restaurants, meeting facilities, tennis courts and other facilities, plus trails and lakes for boating.
Historically, Pennsylvania opted for more parks, widely dispersed for access to maximum residents, but each less intensely developed with facilities. Pennsylvania state parks have never charged a fee for access, and they emphasize low-impact outdoor recreation and the protection of significant natural features rather than developed amenities. Pennsylvanians may have fewer “high-end” options at state parks, but it’s easier for us to reach a park, and there remains a lot to do once there, all grounded directly in nature and the outdoors.
Pennsylvania is also one of a minority of states that permit hunting in state parks. Except for areas immediately around campgrounds, picnic areas, parking lots and other high-use zones, most of our state park system’s 250,000 acres are open to public hunting. Here, hunting is not seen as something apart from mainstream outdoor recreation. It’s viewed as one more component of a diverse menu of appropriate outdoor experiences, available in state parks. Conflicts arising from this stance appear to be minimal to nonexistent.
Public lands stand at a critical time in their history. There is rising interest at the state and federal level to sell public lands to private owners, or to allow their natural character to be supplanted by commercial development. If you enjoy visiting state parks such as Ohiopyle, Laurel Hill, Kooser, Keystone, Ryerson Station or others in the region, this is your chance to contribute your views toward state park management in the future.
Ben Moyer is a member of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association and the Outdoor Writers Association of America.