Unparalleled parks

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MILROY - Last year the Pennsylvania state park system, operated by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, competed for and won a very prestigious prize: The National Gold Medal Award for Excellence and Recreation Management.

On Wednesday, Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation President Marci Mowery said it was easy to see why the commonwealth won the award as she stood in the shadow of a newly-constructed beach house at Poe Valley State Park in Centre County and pointed to the large wooden rafters above her.

"It's no small feat to win this medal," she said.

Mowery was among several advocates, park employees and politicians who came to Poe Valley to celebrate the completion of a $7 million restoration project that was funded over a four-year period through the state's "Growing Greener" program .

In addition to the new beach house, there are also new campsites, a playground, boat launch, boat docks and - perhaps most importantly - the aging earthen dam built by the Civilian Conservation Corps more than 50 years ago has been reinforced.

Centre County Commissioner Jon Eich called Poe Valley a "beautiful oasis" and he is glad to see the improvements were done at the park.

"It's an important part of Centre County's history," Eich added

Sen. Jake Corman, R-Bellefonte, who used to come to Poe Valley as a child with his father, said when negotiations begin in the fall on the Marcellus Shale Severance Tax, he will be advocating that some of the money be used for another round of "Growing Greener" funding for state parks to do renovations.

In the past two years, funding for state parks has been cut from $62 million to $46 Million and Corman hopes brighter days lie ahead for Pennsylvania's parks.

Pennsylvania State Parks Director John Norbeck said the park system is a vital part of the Commonwealth's economy.

"For every dollar spent on state parks, $7 came back to the state in 2008. In 2009, $1 brought back $9.63," Mowery said.

Norbeck said the state parks helped generate $816 million for Pennsylvania's economy.

Norbeck also said the state parks are part of Pennsylvania's identity and have been ever since William Penn's Charter, which established that for every five acres of developed land, one acre would be set aside.

"It's clear that Pennsylvania sees the value of the state parks," Norbeck said, adding that he appreciates the support from legislators - Democrats and Republicans.

"Thirty-five million people visited our state parks in 2008 and last year 38 million visited - Pennsylvanians work hard and like to play hard," Norbeck said.

"The future of Pennsylvania's state parks is pretty bright."