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The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources referred to Pinchot as the “foremost American apostle of conservation,” saying that after he graduated from Yale University, he went to France and became the first American to be trained in forestry.

In 1898, President Theodore Roosevelt named Pinchot chief forester of the U.S. Division of Forestry, a title he held until 1910, DCNR said. In this position, Pinchot worked with Roosevelt to place over 200 million acres of national forests under scientific land management. His policies still guide many national forests, DCNR said.

During his time as governor, Pinchot never lost his passion for forestry, saying, “I have been governor every now and then, but I am a forester all the time,” DCNR said. He also used his terms as governor to organize work camps that built 20,000 miles of paved roads that helped farmers travel from their farms to the market, Friends of Pinchot State Park said. The first of these was created in 1931 and runs parallel to the park today as state Route 177.

After Pinchot’s death in 1946, groundbreaking for the park’s construction took place in 1959, Friends of Pinchot State Park said. In 1960, the first water spilled over the dam and the following year then-Gov. David L. Lawrence dedicated Gifford Pinchot State Park.

Today Gifford Pinchot State Park offers 2,338-acres (with 340 acres of lake) of year-round recreational opportunities.

Location: Gifford Pinchot State Park (2200 Rosstown Road in Lewisberry)

Depth: Average of 6 to 8 feet

Creeks: Beaver Creek begins in Warrington Township in York, runs through Pinchot Lake and empties into the Conewago Creek northeast of the lake

Recreation: hiking, kayaking, canoeing, paddle boarding, boating, fishing, camping, horseback riding, ice skating, ice fishing, ice boating, cross country skiing

• Boulder Woods Disc Golf Course (within Gifford Pinchot State Park)
• Quaker’s Challenge Disc Golf Course (within Gifford Pinchot State Park)
• Roundtop Mountain Resort…