What happens with a state park near the border of Pennsylvania and Maryland created in 2022 doesn’t much concern us here in Warren County.

Most of us, after all, will never set foot in the Big Elk Creek State Park.

But the controversy over improvements to the park does have an impact here in a couple of ways.

First is the seemingly insatiable need for state agencies to expand the amount of land the state owns. We have seen that in Warren County with the 2,195 acre acquisition of land in Spring Creek by the state Game Commission. Such expansion preserves open space, but does so at the cost of the tax base – meaning our taxes are being spread across a smaller group of property owners. Essentially, it helps increase your tax bill each year.

State lawmakers have to set a limit to how much land state agencies can acquire. Not only does it affect local taxpayers, but the constant acquisitions mean the commonwealth is responsible for more and more money to maintain the land it is buying. In essence the state is increasing your local taxes by taking property off the tax rolls and then asking for more of your state tax dollars to maintain the land it has just purchased.

That’s a problem, but it’s not the biggest issue raised by the Big Elk Creek State Park.

When that park land was purchased, state officials said it was going to be a low-impact recreational area that would stay undeveloped. When plans surfaced that the Division of Conservation and Natural Resources was planning to build campsites, RV facilities, a visitor’s center and a park office, local residents were upset. The region’s state lawmakers weren’t happy either since they had never approved such construction.

That prompted former state senator Andrew Dinniman to ask what we feel is the most important question to come out of the controversy – “Who runs this commonwealth? Is it the bureaucracy or is it the legislature?” Dinniman said. “The bureaucracy has replaced our elected officials.”

We should be wary of agencies that overstep their boundaries. We elect state lawmakers. We elect a governor. But we don’t elect the thousands of people who work in state agencies. Without proper oversight and without a legislature willing to set limits on administrative action, it’s easy to end up with a state government that makes decisions that affect you with your elected representatives never having a say in important issues.

Pennsylvania has always fought not to be like California and New York, where administrative agencies set far-reaching agendas. We should continue that fight.