April 16, 2008
Friends of White’s Woods contends that White’s Woods is a park not a commercial forest and the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ legal department and Bureau of Recreation and Conservation now agree. The White Township Supervisors acknowledge that any management plan must accord with Project 70 law (used to purchase White’s Woods for “recreation and conservation”) but insist that a plan developed to generate “continuing township revenue by the sale of forest products” can somehow serve the recreation and conservation purposes of a park. But how can a plan optimal for one purpose be optimal for another, very different purpose? A valid plan follows from clearly stated and agreed upon goals. The Supervisors seem to be attempting the opposite, to use an existing plan developed for one set of goals to meet another set of, as yet undefined, goals. This is a recipe for disaster. Better to have no plan than one purported to be for the health of the park but developed for the health of a commercial forest.
The Supervisors are ignoring community concerns and refuse to establish communication that could lead to the park stewardship plan we all desire. We all agree that a desirable plan would allow the community to enjoy this unique resource for generations to come. Why won’t the Supervisors help develop such a plan?
March 31, 2008
FWW contends that WW is a park not a forest and DCNR’s legal department agrees. The Supervisors now acknowledge that any management plan must accord with Project 70 law but insist on trying to make a logging plan fit a park. They insist that a plan developed to generate “continuing township revenue by the sale of forest products” can somehow serve the recreation and conservation purposes of a park. But how can a plan optimal for one purpose be optimal for another, very different purpose? A valid plan follows from clearly stated and agreed upon goals. The Supervisors seem to be attempting the opposite, to use an existing plan developed for one set of goals to meet another set of, as yet undefined, goals. This is a recipe for disaster. It would be better to have no plan than one purported to be for the health of the park but developed for the health of a commercial forest.
The Supervisors continue to ignore the concerns of the community and refuse to establish communication that could lead to the park stewardship plan we all desire. We all agree that a desirable plan would maintain the health of White’s Woods thereby allowing the community to enjoy this unique community resource for generations to come. Why won’t the Supervisors help develop such a plan?
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