skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, May 9, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump signals he is open to cutting China tariffs to 80% ahead of trade negotiations; Pope Leo XIV calls Church 'a beacon to illuminate dark nights' in first mass; Medicaid cuts risk health care access for VA military families; Does climate change 'perception gap' silence action in Mississippi? 'Forever families' needed for PA children in foster care.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A judge orders certification of the 2024 North Carolina Supreme Court race, Wisconsin Democrats want congressional maps redrawn, and the interim U.S. Attorney for District of Columbia loses the job over his support for January 6th rioters.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Volunteers with AmeriCorps are devastated by cuts to the 30-year-old program, Head Start has dodged elimination but cuts are likely, moms are the most vulnerable when extreme weather hits, and bullfrogs await their 15-minutes of fame in rural California.

Analysis: Public Lands Bring Big Benefits to PA

play audio
Play

Monday, July 17, 2017   

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Public lands, national parks and monuments add billions of dollars to the economy and create thousands of jobs in Pennsylvania, according to a recent analysis.

Saying their size and number interfere with development, the Trump administration ordered a review of 27 national monuments to either shrink or eliminate protected areas.

In response, congressional Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee released a state-by-state fact sheet on the economic impact of public lands.

It shows that in Pennsylvania, 19 national parks attract 11 million visitors a year, increasing the state's economic output by almost $750 million.

Joe Demalderis, owner of Cross Current Guide Service, says that's a lifeline in some rural parts of the state.

"The land is valuable for the local economies because of the tourism it develops, and it's in areas where there really isn't much else for the local people, for their economy," he points out.

Overall, outdoor recreation generated more than $21 billion in consumer spending in Pennsylvania in 2012.

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, the ranking Democrat on the Joint Economic Committee, notes that, in his home state of New Mexico, two areas designated as national monuments may be threatened by reduction or elimination.

"We have seen tourism go up, we've seen visitation go up, we've seen local gross receipts and lodgers' taxes and business development because of these monuments,” he points out. “So to turn that back would be an enormous mistake."

According to the fact sheet, every tax dollar invested in the National Park Service yields $10 in returns.

Demalderis says protecting areas such as the 35 miles of river in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area means more than figures on a ledger sheet.

"People who live in metropolitan areas have places they can go and decompress, and go back to their everyday life and be more productive at what they do,” he states.

The Department of the Interior is expected to issue a decision on the 27 national monuments currently under review by late August.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
The California Parent and Youth Helpline has helped almost 113,000 people since its inception in 2020. (kieferpix/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

The California Parent and Youth Helpline turns five years old today - just in time for a brand new study that confirms its effectiveness. The study…


Environment

play sound

A Michigan group is speaking out after a top congressional leader's comment that lawmakers will most likely scrap the $7,500 federal tax credit for bu…

Environment

play sound

A new mapping tool shows South Dakota is a big player on the farm conservation scene. The online feature coincides with a new poll, revealing most …


Environment

play sound

Nevada clean-energy proponents have launched a new website to help connect Nevadans to energy and cost-saving programs. One of the nonprofits behind …

P.J. Brock, a 5th grader at Middlesboro Middle School, with his family and teacher, Sandy Evans, alongside Kentucky Retired Teachers Association and AARP Kentucky representatives. (AARP Kentucky)

Social Issues

play sound

Ahead of Mother's Day, one Kentucky middle-school student has received recognition for honoring his grandmother in a "Grandparent of the Year" essay …

Environment

play sound

Nonprofits, businesses, organizers and leaders have signed a letter calling for more climate solutions in Arizona and around the country. They claim …

play sound

Indiana residents now have a new way to track pollution from coal plants across the state. The Sierra Club's new online national dashboard shows how …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021