Published in the Bradford Era, by Colin Deppen

October 11, 2013

A continued push for Pennsylvania tourism brought Gov. Tom Corbett to Elk County on Thursday, where he toured the Elk Country Visitors Center in Benezette and advocated the fusion of public and private dollars in growing the state — and region’s — tourism and travel industry.

Built using a combination of public and private funds, the Elk Country Visitors Center is a privately owned, multi-million dollar building situated atop 245 acres owned by the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DCNR).

The center’s grounds are home to the largest elk herd in the northeastern U.S. with some 900 members. It draws 200,000 visitors to the area annually and has led to emergence of an entire supporting cast of lodges, hotels, restaurants, and shops.

With millions in cuts to state tourism budgets, Corbett called partnerships between private an public interests the “wave of the future, not just in Pennsylvania but the country.”

“With tight economic times and the economy growing back slowly I think you’re going to see that more and it’s not necessarily a bad thing,” Corbett said. “Private owners partnering with state agencies including the DCED, Pennsylvania Game Commission, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, I think it’s the wave of the future where in growing these partnerships you get a better product than in just relying upon state tax dollars.”

Corbett said he includes the natural gas industry in that equation, advocating responsible development of the resource on state and federally run parks and forests. He lauds his Act 13 Impact Fee law and industry activities for infusing funds in communities and their economies statewide.

Chris Novak, press secretary for the DCNR, said private-public partnerships make investment in tourism more attractive and more effective.

“It allows the state to make some investment, but have it matched with investment from the private sector, that’s something that can help leverage our funds,” Novak said.

First Lady Susan Corbett is herself a member of the Gettysburg Foundation, a public-private partnership involving the National Parks Service that succeeded in creating a $120 million state-of-the-art visitors center and museum at Gettysburg.

She said the private stake in the Gettysburg visitors center has allowed it to remain open in the midst of an ongoing federal government shutdown that has shuttered monuments, national parks and museums nationwide.

In arriving at the Elk Country Visitors Center on Thursday, the governor and first lady were greeted by supporters, small business owners, Game Commission officers and of course, tourists. Corbett and his wife viewed large herds of the animals from the center’s walkways and designated viewing areas as well as a wagon ride led by Rawley Cogan, chief executive officer at the Visitors Center.

As the sun set over the Pennsylvania Wilds and rolling mountains in the distance, Corbett and his wife watched as dozens of elk gathered in the foreground just feet away, grazing silently and entirely unfazed by hundreds of onlookers.

“It’s beautiful,” Corbett said in turning to his wife standing beside him.

Novak said she hopes Corbett’s visit will help draw attention to the region’s recreation offerings and solidify the PA Wilds as a premier tourist destination.

“We want people to come and not go to one place but see the many things that are tied together, like Cherry Springs State Park, Kinzua Bridge the Wildlife Center in Sinnemahoning so when they come here to see the elk they don’t just come and go they come into the region and spend several days really experiencing everything it has to offer,” Novak said.

The governor’s visit comes amid a renewed commitment to tourism that has seen him promoting the concept on his statewide travels and the state House of Representatives recently approving the creation of a new state tourism agency and $15 million in tax credits and incentives.

(Colin Deppen, "Corbett Visits Elk County, Touts Local Tourism Industry," Bradford Era, 10/11/13)