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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2017 - 2018
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | April 18, 2018 12:29 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Kate Harper and Rep. Mark Longietti |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | 125th Anniversary of Pennsylvania State Parks |
| In the near future, we plan to introduce a resolution to recognize and celebrate the 125th anniversary of the establishment of the State Forest system and of the first State Park in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This resolution will commemorate the internationally recognized conservation efforts initiated in the Commonwealth by the General Assembly and Governor Robert Pattison in 1893, and the contributions of Gifford Pinchot, Rachel Carson and many other individuals to promote and preserve the Commonwealth’s resources in the 125 years since. The first State Forest Reserve was established with the purchase by the Commonwealth of 7,000 acres in Clinton County at the end of the 19th century. Today, 2.2 million acres of forestland, in 49 of our 67 counties, are sustainably managed by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Also in 1893, the Commonwealth set aside the hallowed land of Valley Forge, the site of the third winter encampment of the General George Washington’s Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, thereby creating the first State Park in Pennsylvania. The Commonwealth presented that Park to the Federal government as a gift for the nation’s bicentennial in 1976, but 121 other State Parks have been created on nearly 300,000 acres of land in the intervening 125 years since its creation. These lands are treasures for our Commonwealth and its people. We hope you will join us in commemorating the historic anniversaries of the establishment of the programs that have allowed us to preserve these crucial, beautiful resources. |
Introduced as HR901