DCNR Highlights Need To Allocate Federal American Rescue Fund Monies To Pay For Repairs At Facilities Like Memorial Lake State Park, Lebanon County

On May 24, DCNR Deputy Secretary for Parks and Forestry John Norbeck visited Memorial Lake State Park in Lebanon County to call attention to the park’s infrastructure needs, also highlighting how federal American Rescue Fund monies could be used to address outdated facilities and public safety preparedness across the state.

“Memorial Lake is one of our beautiful state parks that is in need of investment in critical infrastructure upgrades,” Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Deputy Secretary John Norbeck said. “We have a great opportunity to invest in infrastructure on public lands as more and more people turn to the outdoors for their health and wellness. State parks and forests are economic drivers in many communities across the commonwealth and we must support them in every way possible.”

Memorial Lake has more than $10 million in infrastructure needs at the park including upgrades to the park’s dam to increase spillway capacity, comfort station improvements, new pavilions, parking lot expansion and other critical needs. 

The Memorial Lake State Park Complex recently expanded and acquired Boyd Big Tree Preserve Conservation Area and Joseph E. Ibberson Conservation Area, necessitating a new main park office to account for the increase in visitors, staff and responsibilities at the complex.

DCNR has a documented need of more than $1.4 billion for infrastructure repairs and improvements. 

Much of the aging infrastructure was built in the 1970s and includes issues such as addressing wear and tear, extreme weather and climate change impacts, and a high demand for outdoor recreation require investments, which also allow incorporation of sustainable design and energy efficiency.

Pennsylvania made its last major injection of funding for conservation and outdoor recreation in 2005 with the Growing Greener II initiative, which funded hundreds of trail projects, conserved thousands of acres of threatened and open space and helped with hundreds of water projects to reduce pollution and flooding.

Statewide, outdoor recreation is a multibillion-dollar industry that directly supports 150,000 jobs. For every dollar invested in state parks, $12.41 returns to the Commonwealth.

  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.

[Act NOW! People Need Clean Water, Parks, Protection From Flooding

[The time is NOW to start contacting your state House and Senate members to tell them to set aside at least $500 million from federal American Rescue Fund monies the state already has to support watershed restoration, farm conservation, mine reclamation, protection from flooding, recreation, State Park and Forest safety and maintenance projects.

[Click Here to learn more, take action.]

Related Article:

-- Tell Your Legislator NOW To Set Aside $500 Million From Federal American Rescue Funds To Support Local Environmental, State Park & Forest Projects 

[Posted: May 24, 2022]  PA Environment Digest