Wildlife corridors are step toward creating a better normal - Observer-Reporter

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As a teenager growing up in the 1960s, I remember going hunting with my father and some of the best hunters and people in Masontown. During hunting season, you would find us walking up or alongside a hill in Greene County (if you ever hunted in Greene County, you know it seems like you never walk downhill) looking for ruffed grouse. I was never a great shot, but the opportunity of watching these birds doing their acrobatics weaving their way between the trees I will always remember. Unfortunately, it is only a memory because the grouse population left Greene County as progress in the form of Interstate 79 came.

The interstate created a wall that the birds would not cross. This reduced the size of their habitat, the area to find food and cover and the population within which to find a mate and maintain the size of the flock. It’s a shame that we lost this beautiful bird – our state bird – in the county. You might still find the occasional grouse but it is like snipe hunting. There are other factors affecting the return of this majestic bird but the highway barrier was the beginning.

The other day, a friend told me there is legislation in the Pennsylvania House that has bi-partisan sponsor support. I was surprised. Then, I was amazed to find that the resolution (HR 670) is about the environment. In these days of throwing out all regulation and cutting funding to anything that relates to the environment, this is odd, but hopeful, to find a bi-partisan group promoting environmental legislation. OK, it is about requesting funding to look into establishing wildlife corridors. We all know how good our representatives are at looking into issues, whether it be in Washington or Harrisburg. It is the first step but it is a win-win step on so many levels.

It is a win for the animals and for us. The corridors will re-establish connections through the forests, fields and streams to allow our mammals, birds, insects, fish and amphibians and reptiles to find food, to mate and provide safety to live. For humans: We need to accept the fact that we are part of a biodiverse ecology and as such we have an obligation to help maintain that diversity. We have seen that when you have an encroaching human footprint through urbanization, road networks, deforestation, extractive industries like logging, mining and fracking, then you have all of the ingredients for a virus spillover recipe.

A theory known as the “ecology of disease” holds that increasing encroachment into biodiverse ecosystems creates situations where species interact with humans in novel, intimate and ultimately dangerous ways. Hopefully, one of the things we have learned through this pandemic is that an infectious agent, such as a bacteria or virus, can and will jump from an animal to a human. This happened with SARS, Swine Flu, EBOLA and now COVID-19. These epidemics are often triggered by human destruction and exploitation of wildlife habitats. With wildlife corridors, nature wins because she has access to the land, air and water she needs. We win because we create a safer environment for us to live.

I know many are thinking about today and not the future as we start to open our businesses, hope to get our jobs back and think about how we can take care of our families while waiting in a line at a food bank because there is no money in the bank.

Wildlife corridors have the potential to add jobs, increase revenue for businesses and increase revenue for the state. We often draw a line between the environment and business. For the environment, we have the “tree huggers” or at best the hunters and fishermen. For business, we have the blue-collar working class trying to take care of their families. But the reality, according to the “Outdoor Recreation Economic Report,” is outdoor recreation generated $29.1 billion in Pennsylvania in 2017. And 56% of Pennsylvanians say they enjoy the outdoors. When asked why, the reasons include; for health, the outdoors is a factor in determining the quality of life and it attracts and sustains businesses and jobs. Again in 2017, the Outdoor Recreation Economic Report credited the outdoors for providing 251,000 direct jobs. That is three times more than the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania. Those jobs translated into $8.6 billion in annual wages with $1.9 billion going to the state. That same year the PA Budget and Policy Center estimated the state’s impact fees from natural gas generated $173-227 million.

House Bill 670, with its bi-partisan sponsor support, might be the start of a new era not only of cooperation but of recognition that the environment has value for individuals to the world community. Too often we see Bills like HB 2004, which would take away dedicated and permanent funding sources for making investments in recreation, parks, conservation, libraries, historical preservation, and education. Or House Bill 1822, which includes a provision freezing any further project funding from the Conservation Districts Fund and other funds. These bills, and others, in an effort to streamline state government, appear to demonstrate the disregard that many have of our outdoors and the dollars that are generated by people working with and enjoying Pennsylvania’s nature.

Approval of the ideas for wildlife corridors is a step in recognizing and creating a new and better normal. It is a demonstration that we understand our role as stewards in a diverse world. Our approach will bring us to a win-win decision where both the environment and our economy wins. We need to let our representatives know that when considering the environment it is not either or. We need to plan for the future – that is not the two-year term of our representatives – but the time when our children and grandchildren will be leading and making decisions.

Please, not just during this election year but at all times, exercise your right and obligation to stand up for the future. We can start, but tell your representative to support, and fund the wildlife corridors. It will be a step for our health and our economy – a step for a new and better normal.



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