Proposed Swim Rule Disputed

By P.J. Reilly

New park regs up for vote soon; local equestrians brace for fight as well

On a typical hot day in August, it’s common for kids to head to Lancaster County Central Park and take a swim in the Conestoga River.

Lore Verne, chief ranger for the county’s Department of Parks and Recreation, said his rangers often see those kids and encourage them to get out of the water.

“It’s just not safe,” he told a crowd at the weekly meeting of the county commissioners Wednesday.

Among a list of proposed new rules for all county parks, which Verne and parks department director James Hackett proposed this week, is a ban on swimming and wading in creeks, rivers, ponds or lakes found in any county park.

Verne cited as the basis for this rule a state law that he said requires public parks to restrict swimming to those areas where lifeguards are on duty.

A spokesman for the largest parks department in the state – Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources – on Thursday said he was unaware of any such law.

He noted DCNR recently announced an “open-swim” policy at all but one of its parks that have lakes with swimming beaches.

That policy allows park visitors to swim whether a lifeguard is on duty or not.

“It gives people the flexibility to swim at our parks when they want to swim,” DCNR spokesman Terry Brady said.

Hackett on Thursday said he was not aware of DCNR’s open-swim policy, but promised to study it before the county commissioners vote next week on the full slate of proposed rules for the county’s six parks and two rail-trails.

The commissioners are scheduled to vote on the rules at their weekly meeting Wednesday.

“Remember, these rules are just proposals right now,” Hackett said. “We’re still taking public comment on them, and nothing is finalized.”

According to Brady, DCNR has been gradually enacting open-swim policies at various state parks over the past few years, allowing people to swim in lakes beyond the hours and season that lifeguards are on duty.

Beaches are posted to inform swimmers that they enter the water at their own risk, and adults are encouraged to watch children closely.

Prior to this year, 23 state parks had open-swim policies.

On Jan. 10, DCNR announced that the policy is now being extended to 38 of Pennsylvania’s 39 state parks.

The only park where people may swim only when lifeguards are on duty is Presque Isle State Park in Erie County.

As for creeks and rivers that flow through state parks, Brady said DCNR has no prohibition on swimming in those waters.

Several people who attended the commissioners meeting Wednesday said they objected to the proposed ban because they often take their children wading in creeks in county parks to study aquatic life.

Verne and Hackett said that if the ban is approved as proposed, park rangers would have the discretion to not cite people engaging in stream studies.

“We don’t want to discourage that,” Hackett said.

Another proposed rule, which would require pet owners – including horse riders – to clean up feces left by their animals on all county park property, has drawn the ire of local equestrians.

Carrie Hall of New Providence started an online petition Thursday opposing the rule.

“We, the undersigned, call on the Lancaster County Commissioners to re-evaluate the rule regarding removing of horse manure by equestrians utilizing the County Park system, and to work with the equestrian community to come up with a plan that would be agreeable to both parties,” the petition reads.

As of Thursday evening, Hall said she had about 60 signatures.

Hall, 40, regularly rides her horse in Lancaster County Central Park. Because she mounts from a platform, she said there’s no way she can ride and clean up after her horse at the same time.

“I have a big horse, and I can’t get on and off when I’m on the trail,” she said. “The logistics of what they’re requiring are impossible.”

Rather than require each rider to clean up after his or her own horse while they’re riding, Hall said she would like to work with the parks and recreation department to coordinate teams of volunteers who would regularly go out and clean up equestrian trails.

Hall’s petition can be found at www.gopetition.com/online/ 16794.html.

Originally published by Intelligencer Journal Staff.

(c) 2008 Intelligencer Journal. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.