Robert Sweeney started the new year as park manager for Tuscarora and Locust Lake state parks in Barnesville.

“I’m excited to learn more about the parks and meeting the users who have been enjoying the parks for a long time,” he said.

He also said he is looking forward to making any positive improvements he can.

Sweeney grew up in the Harrisburg area, and graduated from the State University of New York’s (SUNY) College of Environmental Science and Forestry with a bachelor’s degree in natural resource management.

Soon after, he began his career with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, which oversees the commonwealth’s 124 state parks.

His first position was a manager trainee at Moraine State Park in Butler County. He then worked as an assistant manager for Nockamixon State Park in Bucks County. Sweeney’s last post was park manager for Chapman State Park in Warren County.

Through meetings and trainings, Sweeney had made stops at Tuscarora and Locust Lake.

“But honesty I wasn’t too familiar with the parks until I got the job,” Sweeney said.

He’s found that both can be considered “hidden gems.”

Tuscarora has a 96-acre lake, picnic areas, trails, camping cottages and yurts. Locust Lake has a 52-acre lake and a campground with almost 300 sites.

“Even though they are also very close they are pretty different as far as features and facilities and just kind of the styles of the parks,” Sweeney said. “Both parks are very important to the local community and also people beyond that who come to visit.”

Sweeney said he plans to continue working with the Friends of Tuscarora and Locust Lake State Parks. The nonprofit volunteer group, a chapter of the Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundations, raises funds, organizes events and frequently helps with maintenance projects.

“From afar and from what I’ve seen, I think it’s very impressive what they have accomplished as far as volunteer efforts and also fundraising,” he said.

Sweeney will take over where former park manager Nicholas Sulzer left off. Sulzer, a Lehighton native, now manages Pennsylvania’s newest state park, Vossburg Neck, near Tunkhannock.

“It’s an exciting time for all the state parks and also this one. There are some larger projects that should happen within the next couple of years at many state parks and there are a few that will happen here,” Sweeney said.