Put parks ahead of profits
I am a person who loves the outdoors. When I was young, my dad took me fishing, hiking, and bird watching. Most of our family trips were to state parks in Southwestern Pennsylvania, places where our natural resources have been set aside for the public to learn about and enjoy.
Over the past 10 years, the residents of Greene County have seen the only state park in their county, Ryerson Station State Park, slowly destroyed by longwall mining. First the dam was cracked and the lake had to be drained. Now the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has approved the further destruction of the park by allowing mining under the park’s streams.
In addition to streams providing recreation for the residents, they provide a unique microclimate for plants and animals that require a water-rich environment. When you destroy a stream, you destroy all of the plants and animals that depended on that microclimate, and you can’t just bring that back. Losing the stream removes the plants and animals that should be part of the parkgoer’s experience.
I am not an environmental extremist. I don’t even believe in global warming. I’m a person who wants to be able to go out and enjoy nature in the state parks that have been set aside to allow that. I don’t understand why the profits of a corporation are put before the rights of residents to enjoy state parks that are paid for with their taxes.
Mary Ann Pike
Venetia