Between March 1 through May 20, the Pennsylvania Game Commission issued 248 citations to people illegally driving all-terrain vehicles on state game lands, almost three times as many as the same period a year ago.Īccording to the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, use of 67 trails, parks and natural areas around the state spiked as much as 200% during March and April over the same period a year ago. The rise in outdoor activity has not been entirely good for Pennsylvania’s natural resources, either. “Every day is like a weekend day now,” said John Wengert of the Lebanon Valley Rail-Trail. Required permits to launch kayaks, canoes and paddleboards at Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission ramps were up nearly 55%. In Pennsylvania, fishing licenses were up 20% this spring. The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries said increased hunters from stay-at-home restrictions played a role. Spring turkey hunters killed 20,525 gobblers, the second-highest total on record. “It’s not just more people, it’s different people that are not familiar with ‘leave no trace,’ ” Bulluck said. Like other states, Virginia’s parks and natural area preserves saw increases in environmental damage and problematic behavior. ![]() Others worked to ensure proper social distancing and group size on trails. Virginia state parks got such heavy use that maintenance projects were dropped and staff assigned to manage overflowing parking lots. Maryland hunters took a record number of turkey gobblers this spring, at least partly attributable to hunters having more time to take to the woods. State parks with the most frequent closures include Patapsco Valley, North Point, Sandy Point, Calvert Cliffs, Greenbrier, Cunningham Falls and Assateague. Parks, or parts of parks, were closed because of overcrowding 65 times through June 12. May attendance, alone, was up by nearly 1 million people over the previous May, an increase of 56%.
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