Moon Lake

The Luzerne County Commissioners facing an enormous deficit eliminated funding for Moon Lake Park this year that I thought was a bad move but they had to find every savings possible. On the plus side it got rid of some dead weight on the payroll but many people enjoy the place. The Park has been reopened for limited use such as fishing but not camping and the facilities are still closed.

Another Monkey has fond memories of the park and frets what may become of it.

Our cash strapped county is looking at every possible revenue source and is looking at leasing the land for gas drilling. Sounds like a good idea, what could possibly go wrong?

The Sierra Club doesn't think it is legal for the Commissioners to lease the park for that purpose because there is a law in Pennsylvania that once land is given to a municipality or county or school district, the land is held in trust under the "Donated or Dedicated Property Act" and it becomes public use... County officials would have to go to court and prove that Moon Lake Park's original use is no longer practicable or possible, and no longer serves the public interest.


The Keep Moon Lake Park open! Facebook Page has over 4000 members and I doubt if many of them want to risk polluting the lake or the groundwater for a few bucks in the short term.


My friends Kayak Dude and Frack Mountain have documented many incidents of pollution, carelessness and regulatory failure.

As far as I can tell the PA Dept of Environmental Protection is way behind the curve and the EPA has been handcuffed regulating this activity.


My fear is that people will look at the short term dollars to be had but if our water is poisoned it will cost hundreds of billions to clean it up.