Article I, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution — the Environmental Rights Amendment — provides:

“The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and … Pennsylvania’s public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.”

The key word is “shall.” In constitutional law, shall is mandatory. “No funds” is not a valid excuse for ignoring a constitutional duty. That obligation belongs to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), led by Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn, and to our elected officials — State Senator David G. Argall and State Representative Doyle Heffley.

Out-of-state visitors are not constitutional beneficiaries. Their access to our public lands is a privilege, not a right. Privileges may be conditioned on a reasonable fee. A small nonresident charge — just a few dollars — is fully within DCNR’s legal authority and could offset costs without burdening Pennsylvania taxpayers.

Yet under Secretary Dunn’s leadership, residents are being turned away while nonresidents enter for free. Times News reporting documents, litter, illegal parking, alcohol violations, and dangerous overcrowding — often from vehicles with out-of-state plates — impacting not only Beltzville (in Towamensing and Franklin Townships) but also Glen Onoko Falls in Jim Thorpe, Hickory Run State Park, and Riverview Park in East Penn Township. DCNR has issued overcrowding alerts and closed gates rather than manage access.

If 75% of Beltzville’s 650,000 annual visitors are from out of state, a $3 per-car fee could generate roughly $585,000 yearly — funds for staffing, maintenance, and enforcement. Instead, we hear the tired refrain: “No money.”

It’s time for local governments in Towamensing, Franklin, Jim Thorpe, and East Penn Township — and the Carbon County Commissioners — to consider a constitutional challenge and seek a writ of mandamus compelling DCNR to charge nonresidents a nominal fee.

Senator Argall and Representative Heffley must act now to enforce our constitutional rights. Don’t be angry with me; I didn’t write this guarantee. William Penn did. I’m simply insisting it be honored.

Ryan Bowman

Lehighton