Pennsylvania's community parks, state parks, state forests, hiking trails and other recreational assets on public lands benefit from countless thousands of hours of labor contributed by volunteers and volunteer organizations such as friends' groups and trail organizations. These volunteers give freely of their time to help keep trails open, assist with park maintenance, and enhance the quality of these public recreational assets.
In recent years, however, volunteers and volunteer organizations in Pennsylvania have been the subject of baseless lawsuits that have nothing to do with their work but merely with their association with a park or trail. As a result, volunteer organizations such as park and forest friends' groups are now faced with rapidly rising expenses for liability insurance, which divert much needed funds away from projects. One friends group was even forced to go out of business due to two baseless lawsuits.
Last session, House Bill 1694 was approved by the House Representatives and the Senate Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee, but did not receive a vote in the full Senate. We are now launching our efforts this session on behalf of bills in both the House and the Senate.
Please consider contacting your legislators in both the House and the Senate to request that they co-sponsor this important legislation. We have provided a sample letter, which we encourage you to personalize if you know of parks and trails in your area that benefit from volunteers.
Thank you for your help!
Tim Herd, CEO
PA Recreation & Park Society