Pennsylvanians are getting better at keeping their distance from each other while walking, hiking, running and fishing during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn.
“The good news is, we’ve seen trends over the last three weeks of people really getting better and better at social distancing,” Dunn said.
She made the observation Thursday during a conference call with reporters from across the state. Also participating in the call were John Norbeck, DCNR’s deputy secretary for parks and forestry, and Tim Schaeffer, executive director of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.
Gov. Tom Wolf’s statewide stay-at-home order, designed to slow the spread of COVID-19 by minimizing person-to-person contact, specifies that Pennsylvanians can still leave their homes to engage in outdoor activities such as walking, hiking or running, as long as social distancing is maintained.
During Thursday’s conference call, Dunn, Norbeck and Schaeffer discussed how that stay-at-home order and the ongoing pandemic are affecting outdoor recreation in Pennsylvania.
“Obviously, the mental and physical health benefits of the outdoors are more critical now than ever,” Dunn said. “People are stressed. People are home with families, need exercise, need a little relief from being under a roof, and so how to do that safely becomes a critical question.”
Among the officials’ key points:
• You can get outdoors in your neighborhood or at local parks and trails. Look for locations within 15 minutes of your home.
• Avoid crowded trails, parks and fishing spots. If your first choice is crowded, find another local location or go during less popular hours.
• Don’t travel outside of your community to other outdoor locations across the state, such as state parks, state forests, private camps or leased campsites.
• Wear a mask to protect yourself and others, as recommended by state and national health officials.
Schaeffer said there’s an easy way to maintain the recommended six-foot distance between people when fishing.
“Picture an arm with an outstretched fishing rod,” he said.
“That’s about six feet. If you can do that and not touch anybody, you’re in good shape. … Fishing is an inherently self-policing activity. We’re asking people to use those same ethics and those same good behaviors and apply them to this situation.”
The Fish and Boat Commission abruptly opened trout season on Tuesday morning, 11 days earlier than planned.
The point of that move was to thin out the crowds that usually gather at streams, rivers and lakes on the first day of the season. Schaeffer said Thursday that that tactic appears to have been successful.
“We wanted to minimize those pinch-points,” he said, “and, with a phrase we’re all familiar with by now, wanted to flatten out that Opening Day curve. I’m delighted to say that we’ve seen that working since we announced it on Tuesday.
“We stocked hundreds, nearly thousands, of waters across Pennsylvania and heard of crowding in literally less than five places. I’m really happy with how the anglers have responded.”
In another bid to cut down on crowding, the Fish and Boat Commission will not announce when and where it stocks waters this year to prevent large groups of people from rushing to a newly stocked lake or river, Schaeffer said.
Norbeck asked people to refrain from risky outdoor activities that could lead to injuries. He noted that a rock climber broke his ankle in a fall Tuesday at Ohiopyle State Park in Fayette County and required medical attention; that took up the time and resources of local EMS personnel in the midst of the pandemic.
Mark Pesto is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter at @MarkPesto.