This editorial first appeared in the Scranton Times-Tribune September 10, 2022--

Pennsylvania’s spectacular forests and other outdoor spaces have been among its greatest assets for its entire history. They are fundamental not only to the state’s quality of life, but to its environmental quality and broader economy.

So conservation and recreation are appropriate areas of state government investment and protection.

The Legislature and Gov. Tom Wolf have stepped up the government’s game.

Pennsylvanians long have expressed their affinity for the great outdoors, but never more so than during the COVID-19 pandemic.

State residents flocked in record numbers to state parks.

To their credit, lawmakers and the governor recognized the crucial role of state parks and committed $695 million in federal pandemic recovery funds to helping the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources catch up to deferred maintenance and expand access.

And recently, the DCNR awarded about $90 million worth of grants for an array of local park and recreation projects statewide.

An especially important grant of $300,000 will help pay for reconstruction of a pedestrian bridge across the Lackawanna River, between South Seventh Avenue and Cliff Street, to connect the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail with downtown Scranton.

That will make the trail readily accessible to the city’s growing downtown residential neighborhood.

And to further the state’s ongoing commitment to Penn’s Woods, the DCNR awarded $800,000 for the Conservation Fund to buy 423 acres in Scranton and Moosic to add to the Pinchot State Forest, which preserves about 50,000 wooded acres in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties.

Another $375,000 will go to the Nature Conservancy to preserve another 240 acres in Bear Creek and Thornhurst townships as part of existing state game lands.

Such investments help to preserve Pennsylvania’s character and are even more important to ensure environmental quality. They benefit just about every Pennsylvanian.

[Find trails near you by visiting Explore PA Trails and Get Outdoors PA websites.

[ For more information on state parks and forests and recreation in Pennsylvania, visit DCNR’s website, Visit the Good Natured DCNR Blog,  Click Here for upcoming events, Click Here to hook up with DCNR on other social media-- Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.]

(Photo: Rhododendrons form a tunnel over Pinchot Trail in Pinchot State Forest.)

Related Articles:

-- PA Parks & Forests Foundation Invites You To Volunteer At Your Local State Park And State Forest Sept. 13 In Honor Of Maurice Goddard's 110th Birthday  [PaEN]

-- Gov. Wolf Announces $90 Million Investment In More Than 330 Projects To Improve Recreation, Conserve Natural Resources; Special Fall DCNR Grant Round Now Open  [PaEN]

-- Exceptional Value Water Quality Designation, State Forest Land, River Honors Were Not Enough To Protect Loyalsock Creek From Natural Gas Drilling & Pipelines In Lycoming County - By Friends Of The 'Sock   [PaEN]

-- DCNR: Statewide ‘Walk With A Doc’ Campaign Promotes Health And Nature

-- DCNR Blog: Ending At The Beginning - Loop Trails

-- Sept. 9 Take Five Fridays With Pam From PA Parks & Forests Foundation  [PaEN]

-- DCNR Hosts Nov. 3 Statewide Grant Workshop For Recreation & Conservation Projects; Special Fall Grant Round  [PaEN]

-- WeConservePA Hosts 2-Part Grant Writing Workshop Nov. 9 & 16  [PaEN]

[Posted: September 10, 2022]

9/12/2022