Project 70 Land Acquisition and Borrowing Act

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Project 70 Land Acquisition and Borrowing Act is a public lands acquisition law enacted in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on 22 June 1964. It permits the state to issue bonds for the purchase of lands for public parks, reservoirs, and other conservation, recreation, and historical preservation purposes, and to coordinate those purchases with local governments. The act also permits acquisition of lands by eminent domain. Once the lands are acquired under Project 70, the General Assembly must approve any disposition of these lands. [1]

The park in northeastern Pennsylvania, ten miles north of Scranton, was known as Project 70 during its construction prior to opening under the name Lackawanna State Park.

List of state parks[]

Below is a list of Pennsylvania state parks whose establishment or expansion was funded in part by Project 70 monies. The table includes the park name, if it was a new park or addition, the acres (hectares) acquired, the county or counties it is in, and the dates of the public hearing and approval by the governor.[2]

Park   Type   Acres
(Hectares)   		County   Public Hearing
Date   		Governor Approval
Date   		Comments  
Ohiopyle State Park New park 18,328.343 acres (7,417.217 ha) Fayette County 07-31-1964 08-08-1964 First and largest state park acquired under Project 70; the park opened in 1965 on a limited basis and was formally dedicated in 1971
Tyler State Park New park 1,680.16 acres (679.94 ha) Bucks County 09-25-1964 11-17-1964 The park was formally dedicated on May 25, 1974.[3]
Codorus State Park New Park 3,235.80 acres (1,309.48 ha) York County 10-30-1964 12-10-1964 The park, which was originally named "Codorus Creek State Park", officially opened in 1970.
Nockamixon State Park Addition 659.392 acres (266.846 ha) Bucks County 04-23-1965 07-12-1965
Valley Forge State Park Addition 217.137 acres (87.872 ha) Chester County 04-30-1965 07-12-1965 Given to the National Park Service for the United States Bicentennial in 1976;
now Valley Forge National Historical Park
Ridley Creek State Park New park 2,489.50 acres (1,007.46 ha) Delaware County 05-14-1965 12-06-1965
Locust Lake State Park New park 1,143.51 acres (462.76 ha) Schuylkill County 06-04-1965 09-01-1965
Yellow Creek State Park Addition 376.8 acres (152.5 ha) Indiana County 08-13-1965 10-06-1965
Moraine State Park New park 1,091.60 acres (441.75 ha) Butler County 12-02-1965 03-23-1966
Moraine State Park Addition 71.47 acres (28.92 ha) Butler County 12-02-1965 03-23-1966 Old Stone House was added to the new park
Maurice K. Goddard State Park New park 4,867.5 acres (1,969.8 ha) Mercer County 12-03-1965 03-23-1966 Originally known as "Sandy Creek State Park", name was changed to honor Maurice K. Goddard
Pymatuning State Park Addition 259.30 acres (104.93 ha) Crawford County 12-04-1965 07-25-1966
Little Buffalo State Park New park 829.95 acres (335.87 ha) Perry County 01-20-1966 03-23-1966
Lackawanna State Park New park 1,288.48 acres (521.43 ha) Lackawanna County 01-28-1966 03-23-1966
Scranton Iron Furnaces New park 3.84 acres (1.55 ha) Lackawanna County 01-28-1966 03-23-1966 Transferred in 1971 to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
Marsh Creek State Park New park 1,705.35 acres (690.13 ha) Chester County 03-11-1966 06-07-1966
Nolde Forest State Park New park 665.82 acres (269.45 ha) Berks County 07-15-1966 10-21-1966 Now Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center
Shikellamy State Park Addition 46.52 acres (18.83 ha) Northumberland County 08-26-1966 11-18-1966 This is the marina portion of the park
Canoe Creek State Park New park 905.06 acres (366.26 ha) Blair County 08-07-1966 01-16-1967
Laurel Ridge State Park New park 15,037.70 acres (6,085.54 ha) Cambria, Fayette, Indiana, Somerset, and Westmoreland counties 05-18-1967 07-10-1967 A second hearing was held 05-19-1967
Evansburg State Park New park 3,359.05 acres (1,359.36 ha) Montgomery County 06-15-1967 04-18-1968
Oil Creek State Park New park 7,197.00 acres (2,912.52 ha) Crawford and Venango counties 08-10-1967 11-14-1967
Ohiopyle State Park Addition 155.00 acres (62.73 ha) Fayette County 06-17-1968 07-18-1968
Mt. Pisgah State Park New park 1,024.30 acres (414.52 ha) Bradford County 06-23-1968 07-18-1968
Jacobsburg State Park New park 646.81 acres (261.75 ha) Northampton County 01-30-1969 03-28-1969
Blue Marsh State Park New park 500.00 acres (202.34 ha) Berks County 03-27-1969 06-30-1969 Now Blue Marsh Lake and Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 280. Park was completed, but without funds to operate it, so was given to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, now also partly a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers site
Allegheny River State Park New park 3,207.40 acres (1,297.99 ha) Venango County 05-02-1969 07-29-1969 Now part of Clear Creek State Forest

List of county parks[]

Park   Type   Acres
(Hectares)   		County   Public Hearing
Date   		Governor Approval
Date   		Comments  
Moon Lake Park[4] New park 650 acres (260 ha) Luzerne County
Two Mile Run County Park[5] New park Venango County


References[]

  1. ^ Pennsylvania Dept of Conversation and Natural Resources website [1] Project 70 Land Acquisition and Borrowing Act, act of June 22, 1964 (Sp.Ses., P.L. 131, No. 8), 72 P.S. §§ 3946.1-3946.22. This law implements Article VIII, Section 15 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, which provides that . . . the Commonwealth may be authorized by law to create debt and to issue bonds to the amount of $70,000,000 for the acquisition of land for State parks, reservoirs and other conservation and recreation and historical preservation purposes, and for participation by the Commonwealth with political subdivisions in the acquisition of land for parks, reservoirs and other conservation and recreation and historical preservation purposes, subject to such conditions and limitations as the General Assembly may prescribe. The act authorizes the Commonwealth and political subdivisions to acquire suitable lands by eminent domain. Under the act, no lands acquired pursuant to the act may be disposed of or used for purposes other than for recreation, conservation and historical purposes without the express approval of the General Assembly.
  2. ^ Forrey, William C. (1984). History of Pennsylvania's State Parks. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Bureau of State Parks, Office of Resources Management, Department of Environmental Resources, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. pp. 43–44. OCLC 17824084.
  3. ^ "Tyler State Park". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
  4. ^ Learn-Andes, Jennifer (3 August 2014). "Nuts and bolts of Moon Lake Park takeover examined". My Dallas Post. Civitas Media. Archived from the original on 14 December 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  5. ^ "Two Mile Run County Park". Retrieved 14 December 2014.

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