Letter to the Editor: 

The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) has caused an uproar in Chester County with their plans for what is currently called Big Elk Creek State Park.  Before it became a state park, it was acquired as an extension of the White Clay Creek Preserve. With the re-designation to a state park came plans for development outside the scope of DCNR’s continuous claims that this truly unique piece of land would be for low-impact, daytime use only.  

While DCNR, through their work with a “secret” task force, has backed down on these plans, it’s only “for now.”  

As a member of this task force, I can tell you that we were told camping was not part of the master plan and therefore not within the scope of the task force. During the October meeting, the task force was informed by DCNR that, in spite of our participating in good faith in a process to develop low impact plans for Big Elk Creek, they would continue to assess the need for camping.  DCNR has more than a billion-dollar backlog of work needed across the state, why are they intent on building more infrastructure when they cannot afford to take care of what they already have?  

DCNR’s actions have caused a lot of mistrust and deep concern for this beautiful, critical wildlife corridor we share with a wide variety of flora and fauna.  Not only has DCNR betrayed the trust of the people by re-designating the land as a state park, but that betrayal now extends to a task force that spent months of their lives just helping DCNR “check a box.”  DCNR has repeatedly claimed they are in the “forever business” and that they want to regain the trust of the local communities yet they continually refuse to take camping off the table permanently, claiming they do not want to tie the hands of their successors. 

Actions speak louder than words and when you have an entire county asking you to return land to its original, and intended, preserve status, perhaps you should listen. Our community will not go away quietly or give up this fight.  We will go into battle like David versus Goliath to protect a unique and rare gem. Or DCNR could simply return it to Big Elk Creek Preserve, and maybe then they can regain some of the lost trust, start healing and move forward to preserve the critical natural resource that is Big Elk Creek.

Anteia Consorto (Task Force member No. 15)
www.SaveBigElkCreek.org