Take action for Pennsylvania’s parks, today!
This week in Harrisburg, the Pennsylvania legislature will be working on the state budget for the next fiscal year – and this week, we have to stand up for parks and open spaces across our Commonwealth. While more than 70% of Pennsylvanians across the state want their elected officials to do more to protect the environment, this year lawmakers have again suggested catastrophic budget cuts to the Keystone and Environmental Stewardship (“Growing Greener”) Funds.
These funds support unique parks, trails, and green spaces across the state that are crucial resources for our communities, both now and for generations to come. They’ve supported FOW and Wissahickon Valley Park in the past, and continue to invest in necessary work in parks and public lands all across our Commonwealth. Pennsylvania faces financial challenges, but diverting revenues from these Funds will threaten projects that provide flood control and prevention; water treatment; access to parks, trails, and open spaces; and the jobs of those who do this work.
Cutting these funds is even more counterproductive when COVID-19 has led to an unprecedented increase in people using their parks and green spaces, putting them in need of increased investment in conservation. That’s not to mention our nearly $29 billion recreational economy, which supports hundreds of thousands of jobs across the state and generates vital revenues for communities. We need the Keystone Fund and Growing Greener Fund to keep making a difference for all Pennsylvanians – and we need your voice to help support them.
The best way to make your voice heard is to make two simple phone calls—one to your state senator and one to your state representative—to express your support of the Keystone Fund and Environmental Stewardship Fund and to ask them to oppose any budget proposal that seeks to undermine these critical programs.
Please contact your State Senator and State Representative representatives to ask them to protect the Keystone and Growing Greener funds in this year’s budget, before November 30. You can find their information here.
Together, our voices can make a difference. Let’s protect parks for generations to come!