Events Slated at Bald Eagle, Gifford Pinchot, Nockamixon, and Moraine State Parks

HARRISBURG, Pa., June 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Four state parks across Pennsylvania will host a day-long series of special events on Saturday, June 5, as part of a nationwide Get Outdoors Day celebration, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary John Quigley announced today.

"For the third consecutive year, Get Outdoors Day events give our Bureau of State Parks a chance to showcase the natural bounties found at our 117 state parks across the state," Quigley said. "This special day is geared to first-time visitors to our parks and DCNR has pitched in by issuing a standing invitation to state residents, urging them to visit their area state parks and state forestlands and see what they have been missing. We are hoping this annual invitation will spur newcomers to visit our state parks and forests, and keep coming back."

The secretary noted that Governor Edward G. Rendell, other state governors, a consortium of federal agencies and nonprofit organizations, and the recreation industry joined together to proclaim June as Great Outdoors Month.

Special day-long Get Outdoors activities such as kayaking, bird-of-prey exhibits, hiking, biking and special tips for first-time campers are planned at the following state parks: Bald Eagle, Centre County; Gifford Pinchot, York County; Nockamixon, Bucks County; and Moraine, Butler County. Details, including key contacts and registration information, are available at www.dcnr.state.pa.us/Calendar/list.asp.

All four state parks will showcase what Pennsylvania's outdoors has to offer, while embracing the philosophy of the American Recreation Coalition--an extensive network of outdoors-oriented governmental agencies, conservation groups, and related businesses that encourage children to play more often outside.

Governor Rendell noted in his proclamation that children spend half as much time outside as they did 20 years ago and spend six and a half hours each day "plugged into" electronic media. The commonwealth is engaged in ongoing, high-level state planning and strategy sessions to reverse what has become a national trend.

Complete details on nationwide observances of Great Outdoors Month and Get Outdoors Day can be found at www.nationalgetoutdoorsday.org.

Media contact: Terry Brady, 717-772-9101

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources