Dear Editor,
Pennsylvania has a natural heritage of rolling green hills and
beautiful streams and rivers which not only make Pennsylvania special,
but also add a huge boost to our economy via recreational hunting,
fishing and boating. Unfortunately, many waterways remain contaminated
from generations of acidic mining pollution, and we are losing open
spaces to the development of new subdivisions and strip-malls at a rate
of about 350 acres every day. And our parks and other wild places need
an injection of funding to maintain the highest quality possible.
Our state legislators have pledged to protect our open spaces and
waterways by increasing state conservation funding with a proposal
called Growing Greener II. But now this proposal is stalled in
Harrisburg, and may not be put on the spring 2005 ballot to be approved
by the state's residents, who overwhelmingly support more funding for
Pennsylvania's conservation programs. While legislators in the state
House have been very supportive of this environmental funding, the
state Senate appears to be stalling on this issue. Concerned citizens
should call their state senators and urge them to support conservation
funding, as our state representatives should urge their correlating
senators to step up and get this done.
Ariel Hegedus,
clean water associate,
PennEnvironment
