BENEZETTE, Pa. -- It wasn't so much a groundbreaking as a dust-stirring Sept. 25 atop the drought-parched Allegheny Plateau outside Benezette in Elk County.

Enthusiasm, though, flowed freely as state and local officials and representatives from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) kicked off construction of the Elk Country Visitor Center, designed as a $12 million public-private partnership that supporters hope will boost awareness of Northcentral Pennsylvania's natural assets and fuel a regional economy based on nature tourism and outdoor recreation.

Under an agreement with the RMEF, The commonwealth provided $5 million for construction of the center, RMEF has committed $5.6 million for operation over 30 years, and the Richard King Mellon Foundation granted $1.4 million for purchase of the 245-acre site adjacent to Elk State Forest. Other supporters include Dominion, the Thoreson Foundation, Safari Club International and individual donors.

"This center is intended to help people appreciate these surroundings," said Mike Watson of the Richard King Mellon Foundation. "Imagine how our country will change in the future if our new leaders do not know about, and do not value, what we've inherited as a natural heritage."

Opening is planned for fall of 2009.

"A big venture like this is not something that one organization or person could get done. Lots of people have worked hard to make this center a reality," said Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Michael DiBerardinis.

"It's incredibly exciting to see this vision for a key destination and world class facility in the Pennsylvania Wilds about to become a reality. When we provide the opportunity at the center for people to have this tremendous outdoor experience, we are also instilling in them a sense of wonder and love of nature that will inspire them to become caretakers of our natural resources."

Elk are the ultimate attraction. Already, 75,000 visitors journey into the area every year, just to see some of the 750 wild elk (the largest herd in the northeast) that inhabit an 800-square mile swath of Elk, Cameron, Clearfield, Centre and Potter counties. Fermata, a Houston, Tex., based nature tourism consulting firm that developed a plan to accommodate tourist traffic, estimates annual visitation at the center alone will reach 160,000 by 2016.

The center is one part of the RMEF's Pennsylvania Conservation Initiative. Since 1991 the Missoula, Mont., based organization has invested more than $4 million protecting land, improving wildlife habitat, maintaining public access and educating the public about natural resources in Pennsylvania.

"This is a humbling day," said RMEF national board member Terry Bryant of Wellsboro, Pa. "We designed this center around the critter, but it's ultimately about this landscape and the future. We didn't jump into this blind. The RMEF is a very conservative organization, yet knew this place deserved a special effort."

When completed, the 8,400 square-foot center will be eligible for earth-friendly certification by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Green components include the collection and reuse of rainwater, night sky-friendly lights, use of locally available materials and certified wood from sustainably harvested timber and low-emitting paints and carpets.

Educational features will include a multimedia story theater, fiber optic star ceiling, a "campfire" experience and special effects, state of the art interpretive exhibits and classrooms.

"This will appeal to people who have not necessarily experienced the outdoors before," said Fred Lachner of Imperial Multimedia, which designed the exhibits. "We've considered their entire experience, from the time they leave the interstate until they drive into the specially-configured parking areas. We want to help them gradually 'decompress' from their drive as they walk a path through the woods and enter the building."

Local officials expect the center to spawn 250 new jobs in the area, and trigger an annual economic impact of $18 million.

The Elk Country Visitor Center site is located about two miles north of Rt. 555 in Benezette, Elk County, near the popular Dents Run elk-viewing area.

"We're within a six-hour drive of 50 million people," RMEF's Northeast Lands Program manager Rawley Cogan said. "When they come and stand in that center, with elk grazing in the meadow below them, it will be a powerful experience. It will make a difference."