Guest Opinion: PA budget should prioritize parks

June is always a busy time for the PA General Assembly facing a June 30 deadline to balance the state’s budget for the next year and it’s a way of setting the commonwealth’s priorities and funding for those things which are important to Pennsylvanians at this time. In this time of partisan bickering and name calling, there is one thing that nearly all Pennsylvanians agree on — taking care of our state parks and forests.

A recent poll showed that more than two-thirds (67%) of Pennsylvania likely voters support using as much as $125 million of the state’s share of federal American Rescue Plan’s funding for maintenance and repairs of state parks and forests. What is amazing about this poll, which was commissioned by the Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation, is that this support is bipartisan, and regardless of age, gender, geography, or ethnicity.

Of course, investing in state parks and forests makes good economic sense. Visitors purchase hotel rooms, dinners, souvenirs and equipment. This tourism spending creates businesses and jobs, which lead to more investment and tax revenues. Out of the 50 states, Pennsylvania ranks fifth in the nation in terms of consumer spending on outdoor recreation. We love our outdoors.

This generates $29.1 billion in consumer spending annually, supporting 251,000 jobs and creating $1.9 billion in state and local tax revenue.

And, as everyone knows (or should), our open spaces, like those in our state parks and forests, provide environmental benefits such as water filtration, air quality improvement, and flood control. In fact, when they were told that state forests serve as a natural filter to remove harmful pollutants from Pennsylvania streams, rivers and lakes, support among those asked in the poll rose to an astonishing 79% among likely voters for funding to protect clean water and reduce flooding. Which politician running for anything this year wouldn’t want popularity numbers like that? Did I mention that the entire PA House and half of the Senate is up for election?

Ironically, the COVID pandemic introduced our state parks and forests to a whole new group seeking safe outdoor recreation spaces for themselves and their families. In the past two years, record numbers of people sought fresh air, recreation, and mental health at Pennsylvania’s 121 state parks. In 2020, more than 45 million people visited a state park. In 2021, as the pandemic waned, the number dropped somewhat but remained well above the pre-pandemic levels. Once people experience our state parks and forests, they keep coming back.

However, the influx of new visitors really showed the need for repair, maintenance and improvement of our parks’ infrastructure. Maintaining and repairing that infrastructure requires resources — staff, funding, and materials.

Unfortunately, Pennsylvania’s state parks and forests face a $1.4 billion backlog of infrastructure renovations and deferred maintenance, including much-needed repairs to visitor centers, restrooms, cabins, water and sewer system, roads, and bridges. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has been underfunded for years and could really put the American Rescue Plan funding to good use — one that benefits all Pennsylvanians, whether they enjoy camping or hiking, just being in our state parks or forests or simply appreciate the cleaner air and water the open lands provide.

The money is available now and needed now for our parks. This year, when there are so many issues these days that divide us as Pennsylvanians and Americans, it is refreshing to find an issue — supporting our parks and forests — that brings us together.

So get on the phone, stop in at their local office or email your state legislator (or visit the paparksandforest.org website for help in how to do this), and let them know you care about our parks and forests and you want them to make sure infrastructure funding is included in this year’s budget.

Republican Kate Harper served the 61st District as a state representative from 2001 to 2019. The Montgomery County district includes Upper Gwynedd, Towamencin, North Wales and parts of Lower Gwynedd and Whitpain. She is a member of the PA Parks and Forests Foundation Board.