Just north of Exit 130 on Interstate 79, the highway passes over what appears to be a small body of water.

Morning travelers looking to the east may witness a forested shoreline emerging from the mist, perhaps a great blue heron silhouetted against the stillness.

It’s a fleeting glimpse of Maurice K. Goddard State Park, known locally as Wilhelm, as in Lake Wilhelm, which is formed by the waters of Sandy Creek. To some just passing through on the highway, the park may not be known at all.

Yet the park is among the work of “one of America's great conservationists,” as Gov. Raymond P. Shaffer called Maurice K. Goddard in 1969 while renaming Sandy Creek State Park in honor of the state Secretary of Forests and Waters.

The renaming occurred despite the opposition of Goddard himself.

“(Goddard) is, of course, understandably opposed to naming any state park after a person now living, but I am certain that he will learn to accept and live with the honor,” Shaffer said.

Still, visitors to the park today might not be able to identify Goddard. “Was he a basketball player?” someone recently asked. I was just glad to receive the inquiry.

And yet, there may not be a more important figure in the history of Pennsylvania State Parks than Maurice K. “Doc” Goddard, who served the commonwealth from 1955 to 1979. Delve into the history of Pennsylvania State Parks, and you’ll soon find that — to speak in the language of Western Pennsylvania — discovering Doc Goddard is akin to researching Pittsburgh Steelers history and discovering the names of, say, Terry Bradshaw or Franco Harris.

He was a prominent figure nationally as well, debating water rights on the national stage, appearing before Congressional committees and serving on federal commissions for water and land utilization.

By all accounts, he had a commanding presence with a demanding, no-nonsense demeanor. John C. Oliver, former Secretary of the state Department of Conservation and National Resources and President of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, recalls that almost every conversation began the same way: “Oliver!” Goddard’s voice would boom over the phone. It was a voice that elicited full attention.

He also had a legendary work ethic and a noteworthy lack of partisanship. He explained the latter by saying, “Well, a forest fire is not a Democratic fire or a Republican fire. It’s just a fire.”

Awarded the Bronze Star and Legion of Merit for his service during World War II, his degrees in forestry led him to accept a position as an associate professor of forestry and resident director at Penn State Mont Alto soon after his discharge in 1946.

He “ran the … campus almost like an army barracks,” recalls former state Forester Jim Nelson.

On the first day of class, Goddard would say to his students, “Look at the man on your right. Now look at the man on your left. One of you won’t be here at the end of the year.”

He enforced campus rules. Students would return to the dining hall in the evening — often after Goddard had them working in the woods all day — and since they were required to wear a tie for dinner, they’d clip a bow tie on their plaid Woolrich shirts. Evidently, Goddard was practical as well.

He had a solid reputation among his peers and students. In 1952, Penn State University appointed Goddard as the head of the forestry department at Penn State Main Campus.

In 1955, Gov. George Leader selected Goddard to head the Department of Forests and Waters, the antecedent to DCNR.

At the time of his appointment, many cabinet and department appointments were political appointments. Expertise wasn’t necessarily a criterion.

Leader and Goddard sought to end patronage. Goddard later said that his most notable achievement was eliminating it, crediting Leader and Gov. William Scranton in helping to turn the state Department of Forest and Waters “from a 100 percent” patronage organization to civil service.

The switch ultimately resulted in what an emotional Goddard called in his final days in office the “finest staff of any department in this country.”

As he began his tenure in 1955, there were only 45 state parks, mostly in remote rural areas. Goddard had the foresight and wisdom to recognize that state parks, unlike national parks, could and should be accessible to their local communities.

“Parks are for people” and “Every individual is important, whether he lives in a big city or a small town,” he said, setting a goal to have a state park within 25 miles of every Pennsylvania resident.

Within Goddard’s first year, the Pennsylvania legislature authorized the Oil and Gas Lease Fund Act, allowing rents and royalties from oil and gas leases on commonwealth-owned land to be used for conservation, recreation and flood control purposes. The law paved the way for a monumental era in state park development.

This development coincided well with the postwar boom and a heightened interest in conservation and outdoor recreation. Within six years of Goddard’s appointment, visitor attendance had tripled from 8 million visitors in 1955 to 24 million visitors in 1961.

Goddard and other state officials believed that a comprehensive state park system could also be an economic driver for Pennsylvania, simultaneously preserving natural landscape and curbing urban sprawl.

In 1961, the state planning board, with Goddard as a member, approved Project 70 to acquire land for these purposes. The “70” reflected a targeted completion date of 1970, an estimated cost of $70 million and the anticipated completion of Interstate 80 in 1970.

Forty million dollars of the plan would be used to acquire parks and historic sites around population centers. Another $20 million would be utilized for communities developing parks, open space and conservation programs. The balance of $10 million would be divided between the Game Commission and the Fish and Boat Commission.

Water figured prominently in nearly all acquisitions of the Goddard era.

“A state park without a (water feature) is like an apple pie without cheese,” Goddard said.

Yet he knew the power of water had to be harnessed. Floods plagued Pennsylvania. Goddard had witnessed firsthand the destruction wrought by Hurricane Diane in the summer of 1955, where places such as Stroudsburg lost 37 people, mostly women and children, to flooding.

He looked to dams to solve flooding while also providing opportunities for recreation.

Consequently, in the 1960s alone, Sinnemahoning, Prince Gallitzin, Prompton, Susquehanna, Elk, Memorial Lake, Frances Slocum and Sandy Creek all had a state park developed around or alongside a reservoir. Most development involved partners, including the Army Corps of Engineers, the State Department of Military Affairs, and townships and municipalities.

Not all of the Project 70 parks originated in flood control. In 1964, the department scheduled a public hearing for Ohiopyle, a recreational site along the Youghiogheny River, which would encompass over 18,000 acres.

The Department of Forests and Waters also acquired land from organizations like the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, which provided the land to establish McConnells Mill State Park, the first of many cooperative transactions between the conservancy and the department.

Goddard’s work was not without its opponents. The Tocks Island Dam, a federal project championed by Goddard, never came to fruition. The proposal would have resulted in a massive reservoir along the Delaware River. Environmental groups and property owners questioned the efficacy and environmental impacts of dams, and many opposed eminent domain. These issues still linger at many state parks sites today, particularly among the displaced and their descendants.

In 1968, the final piece of significant financing for the Goddard era occurred. Shafer signed Act 443 to launch Project 500, which allocated an additional $125 million for the development of public outdoor recreation areas; $200 million for abandoned mine reclamation, and stream and air pollution mitigation; $100 million for upgrades to municipal sewage treatment plants; and $75 million for county and municipal parks.

Goddard may not have realized it at the time, but he would soon be responsible for the regulatory aspects of the environmental initiatives emerging from Project 500. In 1970, Shafer created the Department of Environmental Resources, combining the Department of Forests and Waters with the Department of Mines and Mineral Industries, as well as portions of the departments of Health, Labor and Industry, and the State Planning Board’s Bureau of Topographic and Geologic Study.

Goddard did not support the merger, but in 1971, incoming Gov. Milton Shapp, recognizing Goddard’s skill and experience, appointed him to lead it.

By this time, after 16 years of Goddard’s leadership, 71 state parks were now open to the public. Twenty more were in development and 12 were in the final stages of development. More than 31 million people visited state parks annually.

Ultimately, under his administration, the state developed 45 new parks, added 130,000 acres of new park land, professionalized forestry and land management, cleaned up miles of streams and restored acres of forests, all while promoting the belief that state parks should be free to their trustees, the people.

In 1976, the state park system was awarded the National Gold Medal for excellence in park and recreation administration.

Doc Goddard had become the patriarch of Pennsylvania’s State Parks.

The next time you’re traveling north on I-79, consider turning off the highway at the Sandy Lake exit, just before you cross over Lake Wilhelm. Maurice K. Goddard State Park isn’t far, about a five-minute drive.

Maybe you’ll hike the Falling Run trail. Maybe you’ll stand atop the dam and look out over Sandy Creek. Maybe you’ll take a morning bike ride on the John C. Oliver loop.

For thousands of years, people have come to this place for the same reasons — clean water and abundant natural resources.

Take a moment and recognize that the park is your state park. Even if you’re still young, know that someday your grandchildren may wander through this landscape. Know that it’ll be theirs as well.

Mark Scarpitti is the park manager at Maurice K. Goddard State Park.