Can Pa. make its public lands more accessible?

Real quick: Pennsylvania agencies overseeing outdoor recreation have made headway in expanding access to public lands, but not everyone feels safe or welcome at parks and forests, Spotlight PA’s Marley Parish reports.

A little more: Anthony David Jr. wasn’t comfortable exploring state parks and forests while attending college in Harrisburg.

As a Black man, David worried about accidentally walking onto private property while on a hike, an activity he grew up in Washington, D.C., thinking was a “white person thing,” he told Spotlight PA.

“We never got that opportunity to pass hiking down through generations because we’ve been living in so many centuries of terror and lynchings,” he said.

But after serving on the state’s Environmental Justice Advisory Board, which helped update a statewide policy to guide environmental decisions, David learned more about conservation, environmental improvements, and the value of spending time outdoors. He graduated in 2023 and moved back to the nation’s capital, where he now feels comfortable outdoors and advocates for environmental issues, including recreation. If he were to return to Pennsylvania, he said, he would explore state trails and bring more people with him to share the experience.

His story demonstrates why the commonwealth is investing millions in projects and advisory boards to ensure all Pennsylvanians enjoy the state’s more than 3 million acres of public lands and numerous outdoor recreation opportunities.

Commonwealth agencies that handle outdoor recreation and their local partners have taken steps to expand the use of these spaces by connecting kids with the outdoors, improving accessibility, and challenging assumptions that certain activities are exclusive to white people.

Still, more work is needed to ensure everyone who wants to can visit and feel safe using public lands.

The full story: Read more here.