Letter to the Editor:

My name is Jason Blom, and I am a Boy Scout from Troop 62 living in Franklin Township. I am emailing you to share my opinion on some issues in my community centered around a new State Park.

I live right in the center of the Big Elk Creek State Park, which was only farmland and wooded areas just a couple of years ago. As the DCNR is transforming this land into a State Park, they are proposing many plans and possible changes that I believe are not suitable for a park that has so much natural value. There are plans for an RV campsite and other new developments which could threaten the area’s wildlife and plants, increase pollution, and have a bad impact on the park.

One of the main issues with the plans is where they are going to be located, in a protected corridor that houses a lot of the area’s wildlife. Together with the White Clay Creek Preserve and Fair Hill State Park, Big Elk Creek is one of the largest areas of protected land in this region. What comes with the large, protected area are the many diverse species living here, some of which are rare or endangered. The new development could threaten the wildlife’s need for a protected and undisputed space.

Another issue with this proposal is the possibility of losing the area’s agriculture. The land that makes up the Big Elk Creek State Park is home to many farms and farmland, which are some of the best naturally productive pieces of land on the East Coast. These fields also help the ecosystem thrive by providing natural habitats and minimizing soil erosion. The DCNR’s plan involves getting rid of most of the farmland, which will have a big impact on the agricultural side of the area, and the ecosystem. Additionally, a lot of effort will be required to transform these fields into woodlands.

The recently passed Great American Outdoors Act made it so that State Parks receive secondhand funding from the federal level through the Land and Water Conservation Fund. This means that the issue regarding the new State Park classifies as a national issue because federal dollars are going toward it. In my opinion, the funding going toward Big Elk Creek State Park is an example of irresponsible and wasteful spending going toward a plan that will do more harm than good. A lot of people in my community agree with this, and there is a website on this topic that has additional information. The website is https://www.savebigelkcreek.org.