Walking into the community meeting room at the State College Municipal Building last week, I stopped to look at the usual array of publications offered at such events. Most were reprints of articles about the Allegheny National Forest or newsletters from conservation groups both local and national, but a bright red paperback caught my eye. Picking it up, I turned it over and saw the words "Holy! Holy! Holy! -- Kurt Vonnegut."Holy, holy, holy indeed. I'd come to hear a discussion about the attempt to preserve Spring Creek Canyon, on land owned by the state, from being developed or despoiled.Guest speaker Doug Scott gave a fascinating history of wilderness in the United States. His was the bright red book, "The Enduring Wilderness: Protecting Our National Heritage Through the Wilderness Act."So many wanted to talk to him when the meeting ended that there was no chance to ask him how the late writer came to offer that incredible cover blurb.Still, there were clues. In discussing Spring Creek Canyon, someone mentioned that local American Indians considered that piece of land sacred. As Scott wrote, "Wilderness ... is the essence of traditional Indian religion."Scott mentioned that he considers America's contribution to world culture to include the idea of national parks and preservation of wilderness. One recent reminder of this is that the famous naturalist John Muir will be pictured on the new California quarter.Another early advocate of wilderness preservation, Scott added, claimed that such set-apart places represent "serious human need rather than a luxury or a plaything." His comment reminded me of a statement in an Episcopal Document called "Catechism of Creation" that suggests "we can protect places of beauty that have value in themselves, feed our spirits, and support life for other species."The Centre Daily Times, in two recent editorials, makes the same point: "Ideally, the best use of the 1,800 acres of Rockview State Penitentiary land ... would be no use at all, that is preserving it in its near-pristine state" (April 4).And in describing four important issues for Centre County residents to consider, a second editorial (Wednesday) discusses "Open space and farmland preservation: If we lose what makes the region inviting and unique, what is left? Is Centre County destined to be little more than strip-malls and high-end housing developments at the exits of intersecting throughways?"That fear of loss is exactly why people gathered in the municipal building last month to discuss the future of Spring Creek Canyon.And it's why Vonnegut (of blessed memory) knew that to preserve such spaces is nothing if not holy.The Rev. Thomazine Shanahan is the Episcopal chaplain at Penn State. She can be reached at tws9@psu.edu.
