From the Moshannon Group Chair
The debate over the future of Spring Creek Canyon and its surrounding uplands is at a crucial point.
Please read the message below from Ed Perry of the Spring Creek Canyon Alliance and attend this upcoming meeting on Tuesday, March 31st.
The open house / public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 6:30 pm at the Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology, 540 North Harrison Road, Pleasant Gap, PA 16823. This meeting will be covered by C-NET. Please visit the C-NET website following the meeting for a broadcast schedule.
This land belongs to all Pennsylvanians and should be a part of our public lands, added to the over 2 million acres managed by DCNR or the over 1 million managed by the PA Game Commission.
Your silence allows a political decision made behind closed doors as to ownership of this land to go forward. Ownership of the land has never been open to public input — this is the time to make clear that we do not accept that.
Contact me if you have any questions.
Thank you,
Gary Thornbloom, Chair
Sierra Club Moshannon Group
814-353-3466
From the Spring Creek Canyon Alliance
At the March 31 Open House, we will have an opportunity to express our views on plans for the Rockview Penitentiary lands.
As you know, we have advocated that the [Spring Creek Canyon] land be transferred to an entity that has the mandate, expertise, and funds to hold and manage this land in its natural state in perpetuity and can never sell it. The Pennsylvania Game Commission, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources or a conservancy are entities that can meet those criteria. Unfortunately, the DCNR has not only stated they don't want the land, they testified at a public hearing that they supported transferring the land to Penn State. Moreover, since they work for Gov. Rendell who instigated transferring the land to Penn State, they must follow the governor's directive.
When the Master Planning process was initiated, we thought it would be a process that would decide how to best manage the land for the public and natural resources, and then decide who would be the best landowner. Instead, the consultants have assumed that Penn State and Benner Township were the owners, then crafted the Master Plan around that ownership. They did this despite repeated protests from participants in the Master Plan process. It is now clear this process was designed primarily to determine how Penn State and Benner Township should use the land.
Please voice your disapproval of this process and objections to this land being transferred to Penn State and Benner Township. Let Senator Jake Corman know how disappointed you are that this process has been a sham.
Recently, we have learned that Rep. Kerry Benninghoff has circulated draft legislation asking for cosponsors of a bill that would transfer the land to the Pennsylvania Game Commission. The Game Commission has repeatedly said they want the land if Penn State does not get it — and they have offered to pay double what Penn State has offered.
During these hard economic times, you would think the our legislators would be eager to support that.
We intend to hold a public meeting in the near future to organize opposition to transferring the land to Penn State and generate support for transferring the land to the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
Please let me know if you are interested in participating in this meeting. We will have our work cut out for us as ClearWater supports the transfer of this land to Penn State.
At the March 31 hearing, your silence will leave the impression that you support the Master Plan and the transfer to Penn State.
MAKE YOUR VIEWS KNOWN!
Ed Perry
Spring Creek Canyon Alliance
Phone: 814-880-9593
paglobalwarmingoutreach@gmail.com