Mar 11, 2018 6 min read

WIND RIDGE – Work could begin this summer on some of the improvements scheduled to be made at Ryerson Station State Park in Greene County as part of a revisioning plan developed to address the loss of Duke Lake.

Major parts of the plan include renovation of the park campground, construction of a new swimming pool and splash ground and restoration of the stream within the former lake bed, including possible development of several ponds.

“I think you’ll see things happen in phases,” park manager Alan Johnson said last week. “The first part will be the campgrounds project and then the swimming pool will be the next phase of it.”

Work on the campground is expected to begin this summer, while design plans for the pool are now being finalized.

The reconfiguration of the stream and development of the ponds are currently being studied by a consulting engineer, although no timeline has yet been established for that phase.

“It almost may look like once work starts it will just continue for a time with one project rolling into the next one,” Johnson said before pausing. “Hopefully.”

Development of plans to remake the state park in Richhill Township have been ongoing since the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced nearly three years ago the lake could not be restored.

Though it may seem like the process is moving slowly, that is not uncommon on major state projects, DCNR spokesman Terry Brady said. Studies have to be conducted and reviewed and the process includes many checks and balances, he said.

“This is a major state undertaking and nothing like this goes quickly,” Brady said. “It’s designed to ensure we get it right.”

Work on the project has continued unabated, Johnson said.

“I feel pretty comfortable with the team of people that has been working on this,” he said. “There’s probably never been a time when the name Ryerson was on so many people’s desks and calendars.”

The park lost Duke Lake in July 2005 after cracks developed in the concrete dam. State officials maintained the damage was caused by mining near the park by Consol Energy’s Bailey Mine.

In April 2013, DCNR and Consol reached a settlement regarding the matter. The company denied wrongdoing, but agreed to pay the state $36 million to rebuild the dam.

Plans to do just that were abruptly halted in July 2015 when DCNR announced it would be unable to rebuild the dam because of continuing ground movement near the park. Steps were then begun to develop a new vision for the park.

A task force, made up of community members, helped develop ideas for possible features to become part of the park’s redesign. A survey was conducted and park officials reached out to local schools, the county and municipalities seeking input.

Through the effort, it was determined people wanted to see more fishing and hunting opportunities at the park; they wanted trails developed, campground improvements, pool renovations and more activities, including group hikes and educational and youth programs.

The first of the major projects, expected to begin this summer, is renovation of Polly Hill Campground.

The project will include constructing a shower house – the first shower facility at the campground – reconstructing the campground access road and building three new camping cottages. Two cottages are now at the site.

The project also will entail providing sewage and water to six to eight of the 22 existing campsites. Construction of restrooms at the park’s day use area and renovations at the visitor’s center also will be completed in this phase.

Construction of a new swimming pool and splash ground will be the next project on tap. Design plans, Johnson said, are about 95 percent complete.

“We’re making our final comments before we wrap up the design phase of it right now,” he said.

The new pool, bathhouse and related features will be built on the access road to the day use area, north of the existing pool. It will include a photovoltaic, or solar, system to provide electricity.

Various features of the spray ground were chosen by children using the pool last summer, Johnson said.

“It was something that was kind of neat,” he said. “We took several of the different choices for apparatus for the spray ground and put them at the pool and let the kids vote on them.”

The restoration of the stream and possible development of ponds, a major feature of the revisioning plan, is now in the information gathering stage, Johnson said.

“We’re still working to gather all the information we need to make an educated choice about what we can do,” he said.

Consultants working on the project are in the second phase of a feasibility study, looking at possible recreational features for the site and preparing a preliminary design.

The stream has cut deeply into the silt of the lake bed, Johnson said. “The banks are anywhere between eight and 10 feet high and pretty much straight up and down.”

The area will have to be graded to reduce the slopes and configure the stream within the flood plain. The study also has identified three areas where it may be possible to develop ponds.

Johnson said the park also has taken steps with its own staff to address some of the plan’s objectives.

Early last year, it partnered with the Wildlife Management Institute and Ruff Grouse Society on a young forest project that involved clearing about 10 acres of forest to allow for new growth.

“It creates a habitat that will benefit a multitude of birds and other animals,” he said.

The staff also began improving sections of the park’s 13 miles of trails, adapting methods municipalities have regularly employed to improve dirt and gravel roads, he said.

The park also hired its first environmental education specialist, who has organized group hikes and presented educational programs on topics including mushrooms, edible plants, aquatic life and animals’ preparation for winter.

DCNR officials earlier said money received from the Consol settlement would still be used on park improvements and funds have been allocated for various parts of the projects in the state capital budget. Brady said DCNR remains committed to the project, though it would be difficult to estimate the eventual costs.

“The final cost will be what is needed to get the park up to what people want the park to be,” he said.

Anyone interested in learning about scheduled activities at the park can find the information on “Friends of Ryerson Station State Park” Facebook page.