HARRISBURG — Recently, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn announced a 35-year lease for the PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship to operate gift shops at two popular state parks — Kinzua Bridge and Leonard Harrison — in northcentral Pennsylvania. This long-term agreement is part of Governor Josh Shapiro’s efforts to connect outdoor tourism with community growth and support for small businesses.

According to a release from DCNR, the new lease ensures that the PA Wilds Conservation Shops at these parks will continue to operate long-term. These shops sell products that are 90 percent sourced from small businesses in rural areas of the PA Wilds, helping them reach more customers. Learn more about the PA Wilds Conservation Shops and shop online at shop.pawilds.com.

The release stated, Shapiro’s 2025-26 budget continues a commitment to safe and accessible parks and outdoor experiences including an additional $13 million for operations at DCNR and to prepare for the addition of Pennsylvania’s 125th state park, Laurel Caverns in Fayette County, in 2026.

“We are grateful to Governor Shapiro and his administration for making this happen for our organization and mission and our growing network of rural small businesses,” said PA Wilds Center CEO Ta Enos. “Thirty-five year leases are a big deal. They give small businesses, community partners, current and future employees, and funders the confidence to invest with us because they know what we’re building is here to stay.”

The shop at Kinzua Bridge State Park first opened in 2016 under a short-term agreement. The PA Wilds Center has since opened two more shops — one in 2024 at Leonard Harrison State Park and another on the Knox-Kane Rail Trail. Together, these stores have made more than $3.4 million in sales.

The lease is a unique public-private collaboration between the center and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), which manages the parks.

“The Pennsylvania Wilds is the largest of the state’s eight Conservation Landscapes established by DCNR to link stewardship, strategic outdoor recreation investments, public-private collaboration and community revitalization at a multi-county level,” said Dunn. “This agreement and these shops extend DCNR’s ability to serve the public and local economies well and we are grateful for our impactful collaboration with the PA Wilds Center across this awe-inspiring landscape.”

About half of that money goes directly back to rural small businesses. The rest helps run the stores and support jobs.

Visitors can “take home a piece of the PA Wilds” by shopping and can donate to the Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation through a charity checkout campaign. All donations go back into maintaining and improving state parks and forests in the region.

As part of the lease, the PA Wilds Center also will invest $200,000 into park improvements. The center is looking at opening more stores in the region and possibly creating a nonprofit gift shop model that other communities could use.

The PA Wilds region includes 13 counties with 29 state parks, eight state forests and is known for its scenic trails, stargazing and the largest elk herd in the northeast.