Solving Beltzville State Park problems

Every year on Memorial Day, July 4, and Labor Day, Beltzville State Park, just about three miles off the Pennsylvania Turnpike, suffers from overcrowding, parking problems, litter problems, and even toilet problems.

I understand there is an on-line petition to charge people to use the park.  Locals sometimes talk about “our park” being overrun by people who litter, ignore rules, and generally leave the park in an unholy mess.  

In fact, one “local” showed up on my front porch on July 5 to castigate me for writing a letter last year opposing charging park visitors a fee.  He yelled at me, and when I mentioned I should have been down at the beach helping to clean up, he went ballistic.  “Why should locals help to clean up after these PIGS?”  Whenever I hear people described as “pigs,” I bristle, but I said nothing.

OK, so let me explain my position on Beltzville State Park.  First of all, as a member of a family who had the largest single parcel of farmland and woodland taken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (they took 431 out of 460 acres of the Christman farm), I obviously have an interest in how the park is used.

Secondly, I am fully aware that when that land was taken under eminent domain proceedings, it was paid for by U.S. taxpayers’ dollars.  Taxpayers from Danville, California; Rawlins, Wyoming; and Tuscaloosa, Alabama, helped to pay for that federal project.  “Locals” need to remember that.

Thirdly, I am very much aware that Beltzville does have problems.  In part this is a result of the Pennsylvania legislature starving DCNR, the agency that runs Pennsylvania State Parks.  It is my understanding that Beltzville has two (TWO!) full time rangers.  Beltzville is a huge park.

I have some ideas on how some of the issues could be handled, including more enforcement during non-holiday weekends, closing the park when it nears capacity, public service announcements signage on the Turnpike, and handouts to park visitors.

What I will oppose is any effort that targets Latinos and African Americans and tries to prevent them from using “our” park.  Beltzville was paid for by the U.S. government, and some of the comments I’ve been hearing are racist.  If a fee is imposed to help to pay for park improvements, it better be charged on every park visitor throughout the entire year.