Moraine State Park.

Western Pennsylvania “Hidden Gem” welcomes more than two million visitors annually to the 16,725-acre park.

They come from close by. They travel from afar. They bring boats, bikes and backpacks. They stay in local hotels and campgrounds, explore local shops, attend events and better Butler County’s economic forecast.

Tourists represent an integral piece of our economic pie. Surrounding Lake Arthur’s scenic 3,225 acres, there’s an amazing system of hiking and biking trails, a disc golf course, and plenty of places for people to gather for picnics.

We wholeheartedly agree with Jack Cohen’s assertion that Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposal to slash 30 percent of the state park’s budget for 2019-20 is a bad move. In his Letter to the Editor, the president of the Butler County Tourism & Convention Bureau raised the flag that under the proposed budget, the park would receive less than $40,000 for the upcoming year.

And yet, sadly, these amazing state resources nationwide represent less than 1 percent of the average share of state budgets according to the National Association of State Park Directors.

To be exact, across the U.s the average share of state budgets for state parks represented a mere 0.156 percent in 2018. And yet, like Moraine State Park, the nation’s 8,565 state parks welcome millions of visitors every year (807,264,826 in 2018 alone) and help boost local businesses to boot. We join Cohen in imploring Pennsylvania’s powers that be to reconsider this amount and at least continue at the present $56.185 funding level, if not increase it to ensure continued improvement efforts for the park.

Returning home to the area after living in Maine for the past 12 years, I was both amazed and saddened by Pennsylvania’s state park system. Amazed by the growth around Moraine State Park and neighboring McConnells Mill State Park, complete with enhanced trail systems and better resources. Saddened to learn that many of the state’s parks — Moraine among them — cut out lifeguards. With the exception of just two state parks, all park beaches operate under the “open swim” policy, meaning you swim at your own risk.

Maybe I’m spoiled after living so long in the Northeast’s Vacationland, but state parks without lifeguards was the exception and not the rule, especially with millions of visitors making their way to Maine’s forests and lakes annually. Lake Arthur and Moraine State Park is just one of more than 120 parks across Pennsylvania attracting millions of tourists into the Keystone State annually.

Instead of slashing funding, maybe we should boost budgets for the bigger benefit of boosting regional tourism.