By Wayne Laepple
MIFFLINBURG -- Despite dire predictions last spring, no Pennsylvania state parks have been closed due to cuts in the 2010 state budget.
R.B. Winter State Park in western Union County was one of the nearly three dozen parks threatened with closure.
Christina Novak, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said $9 million was cut from the parks' budget, but some of that loss was offset by fees for oil and gas leases on state land.
"We've been able to keep all the parks open," she said, "but we've had to reduce services."
Nine DCNR employees statewide were furloughed, and seasonal staff will be cut back, she said.
"There will be a shorter season for our part-time people, and these are the ones who do the programs and work in the campgrounds," she said.
Novak on Tuesday did not know how many R.B. Winter employees may have been affected.
R.B. Winter State Park, located at 17215 Buffalo Road, contains 58 campsites, three camping cottages and one cabin.
The number of campers at the park increased in May 2009 compared with May 2008, park manager Bob Deffner said in June.
According to DCNR, last year's revenue at R.B. Winter was $135,000. Its budget is almost $600,000.
