Members of Eco-Action met Tuesday night for a presentation by Ed Perry, a member of the Spring Creek Canyon Alliance, on his side of the Rockview property controversy.
The alliance opposes Penn State's purchase of the land. Perry said the issue is not with the university itself but that the land is public and should remain as such.
"It sounds like we're opposed to the university, but it's totally not like that," he said. "If Mother Theresa wanted that land for an orphanage, we would be objecting to that, too."
Perry is an aquatic biologist who worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for 30 years.
He currently works with the National Wildlife Federation as a part of its global warming campaign.
He is one of 21 members of the Spring Creek Canyon Alliance. The alliance wants the public to have some say in the matter instead of allowing the land to be transferred to Penn State without its input, Perry said.
The group backs a bill drafted by Rep. Kerry Benninghoff, which would sell the land to the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
"All of the management they do on their land benefits other species," Perry said.
Perry added the university already has land for agricultural research and that his group is unsure of Penn State's motives in buying the land.
"We're suspicious, really, why they want this land," he said.
Eco-Action also brought in Bruce McPheron, dean of the College of Agriculture, to speak at a previous meeting to present Penn State's side of the issue. Penn State wants to use the land for agricultural research.
While Perry's presentation was the focus of the meeting, Eco-Action also discussed some ongoing projects, including its efforts to encourage composting in Redifer Commons.
Eco-Action member Andrew Metcalf said the effort aims to improve knowledge of what students can actually compost in the dining halls.
The group proposed putting see-through boxes above the recepticles to show students what to compost and what to throw in the trash.
"People can actually see what you should compost," Metcalf (junior-computer science) said of the proposal.
The group also began preliminary planning for Earth Day and discussed a "wild food feast" event.
