After months of negotiations the Spring Creek Canyon area has been parceled off and purchased, and Penn State is now the legal owner of more than 450 acres off of Benner Pike. The state Game Commission, the Fish and Boat Commission, along with Benner Township also got their own slices of the former-prison-land pie when the Pennsylvania House of Representatives voted 199-1 to approve legislation authorizing the sale.

The land will be used by the College of Agricultural Sciences as a living laboratory for testing crop systems and researching renewable energyfeedstocks and organic growing methods among many other things as evidenced by Dean Bruce McPheron’s “Vision for the Rockview Land.”

The knowledge that the Rockview land will be used for agricultural endeavors comes as a great relief to some who feared that if Penn State obtained the land with no stipulations, there was a good chance the constantly-expanding university would someday build on their acquired acreage. But the bill now states that Penn State can only use the new land for agriculture or “furthering its mission of agricultural legislation-” however, specifications are still in the works.

Ultimately, the time it took to close a deal was well worth it as the compromise made worked at extremely well for Penn State and those concerned with the well being of the Spring Creek Canyon area. In the words of Kerry Benninghoff, the rep that introduced the bill, “Ultimately, this compromise plan provides the best protection for the valuable natural resources contained on this land,” he said. “I’m also excited about the opportunity this will provide for Penn State and the other agencies involved to collaborate in offering educational programs and hands-on learning for students in the College of Agricultural Sciences and across the University.”

[Pic]