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Maurice
K. Goddard
Early in 1954, Dr. Maurice K. Goddard wrote a letter to the new
administration of Governor George Leader, suggesting things that
needed to be done for forestry, from his perspective as president
of the Pennsylvania Forestry Association. Leader was impressed enough
to appoint Goddard as his secretary of Forests and Waters. Goddard
took office January 17, 1955.
Goddard earned a forestry degree from the University of Maine in
1935, taught at Penn State's Mont Alto forestry school from 1935
to 1937, left to obtain a master's degree in forestry at the University
of California-Berkeley in 1938, and returned to Penn State teaching
positions at Mont Alto and State College. He then became director
of Penn State's School of Forest Resources at State College in 1952.
Goddard brought vision, conviction and action to his new job. He
identified the lack of public land near Pennsylvania cities as a
problem that needed to be addressed. Most state forests had been
acquired in remote areas and the state parks and recreation facilities
were there. In 1955, industries were switching from a six-day to
a five-day, 40-hour week, giving people more leisure time to use
public recreation areas. Goddard calculated that a trip of 25 miles
for a day's visit to parks and recreation areas was practical for
most people. He set a goal of a park or forest recreation facility
within 25 miles of most Pennsylvanians.
Goddard was reappointed by the new Governor David L. Lawrence in
1959. He promptly secured the governor's support for Project 70,
a bond issue proposal to raise $70 million for public lands and
facilities. The proposal earmarked $40 million for the Department
of Forests and Waters to acquire property in 43 urban counties where
90 percent of the state's people lived. The rest of the funds went
to the Fish and Game Commissions for critical habitat acquisition.
This was a time of rapidly increasing demand for public outdoor
recreation. According to department figures, the number of visitors
to Pennsylvania state parks had risen to 24 million in 1961 —
up from eight
million in 1955. A Bureau of Parks had been established in 1936,
but the park superintendents were Bureau of Forestry staff members.
In 1962, Goddard separated state park operations from forestry,
setting up a Bureau of State Parks to specialize in park management.
Goddard was retained by yet another governor, Raymond P. Shafer,
in 1966. He and Shafer spearheaded a $500 million bond issue for
land acquisition, recreational facilities, and a variety of environmental
projects ranging from strip mine reclamation to sewage treatment
plants.
Toward the end of his term in the fall of 1970, Governor Shafer
established the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources
(DER), which merged the Departments of Forests and Waters with Mines
and Mineral Industries, and absorbed some duties formerly performed
by the Departments of Agriculture, Health, Labor and Industry, and
the State Planning Board. Goddard was picked to start up the new
department and eventually was appointed as its first secretary.
In 1977, more than 39 million people visited Pennsylvania's state
parks. In 1979, Dr. Goddard retired, having served 24 years under
five governors of both parties. He brought civil service stability
to the state lands and forests agency and tremendously increased
public recreation facilities in the state.
Source: The Legacy of Penn's Woods - A History of
the Pennsylvania
Bureau of Forestry by Lester A. DeCoster. Pennsylvania Historical
& Museum Commission and Pennsylvania Department of Conservation
and Natural Resources. 1995.
Pioneers
Rachel Carson
Howard Heinz
David L. Lawrence
Richard King Mellon
Gifford Pinchot
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