June 26th, 2008
On Tuesday, Sherry Acevedo, Resource Conservation Specialist for the D&L, announced that the Lehigh Valley Greenways Initiative (LVGI) would award approximately one dozen state conservation mini-grants to local municipalities and organizations. The money comes from a $300,000 Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Community Conservation Partnerships Program grant, intended to promote recreation and conservation activities.
[Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham]
Acevedo chose the Slate Heritage Trail, which links to the D&L Trail in Slatington, as the site to make the announcement, in part because Washington Township will receive the largest grant: $40,000 to complete surfacing and other improvements to the 3.3-mile rail-trail. Also high on the list were the City of Easton, which will receive $35,000 for work in the Sullivan Park wetlands, and the City of Bethlehem, which will apply its $33,000 grant towards an urban forestry program.
[Northampton County Executive John Stoffa]
LVGI is also promoting smaller projects with a grant of $2,500 to Tatamy for improvements to the borough’s rail-trail and $7,500 to the Northampton County Conservation District to develop a Cooperative Weed Management Area Plan for the Martins Jacoby Watershed.
The D&L Trail Tenders received a $5,000 grant for their native plant restoration project on Sand Island, and the D&L received $32,000 to continue its conservation and preservation assistance programs.
Other grant recipients included:
-City of Bethlehem Wastewater Treatment Plant ($20,000) for work on the Saucon Creek
-City of Easton ($33,000) to support an urban forestry program
-Pennsylvania Environmental Council ($13,850) for training Environmental Advisory Councils in GIS and natural resource conservation
-South Whitehall Township ($9,750) to conduct a feasibility study for a linkage to the Jordan Greenway
This grant announcement, which included both the Lehigh and Northmapton County Executives and representatives from DCNR, was a large event that earned quite a bit of press coverage. WFMZ 69 News, PennLive, and a number of local newspapers reported on LVGI’s work to foster greenway conservation and recreation activities in the Lehigh Valley.
Posted in Events, In the News, LVGI
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June 25th, 2008
The installation of the “recycled” bridge was a great success. Aside from some minor grinding, workmen installed the 71-foot, 32-ton section of bridge with little difficulty. The event was documented by local newspapers, TV stations, and even a helicopter flying overhead. The bridge will allow access to the 16-mile Black Diamond Trail between White Haven and Mountain Top and connect one of the final missing links in the 165-mile D&L Trail.
Check out the pictures below:
Posted in Construction Updates, In the News, Trail Improvements
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June 24th, 2008
In 1904, Mansfield Merriman, a civil engineering professor at Lehigh University and respected expert on hydraulics, delivered a report to Jay S. Moyer of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. In December 1903, Moyer had commissioned Merriman to conduct a detailed survey of the Lehigh Canal system and determine the feasibility of generating power from the channeled water. This was not a novel idea. The Lehigh Canal was primarily built for the transportation of coal, but other large canal systems, such as the Augusta Canal, were constructed solely for their hydraulic power, with transportation a convenient and lucrative secondary benefit.
Working in an office full of documents relating to river flow, flood stages, lock heights, land ownership issues, and turbine schematics, Merriman pieced together an estimate of the latent power of the river and its canals, as well as a tally of the power generated from existing plants. In his Report on the Water Power Obtainable from the Lehigh Canal, Merriman offered several specific conclusions:
1) The amount of power generated by the plants existing in 1904 was approximately 2300 horse power.
2) Twenty-nine additional locations could provide sites for power plants. These new plants could generate 10200 horse power, 80 percent of the time (when the river was high enough.)
3) The amount of power “wasted” by the Lehigh’s nine dams was approximately 8000 horse power.
He also noted, possibly with an eye towards the railroad-dominated future, “that the accounts of power above stated as obtainable from the canal may be very materially increased if boat navigation should ever become discontinued, since higher velocities [of water]…may be permitted,” therefore providing more “fuel” for the hydraulic turbines.
[One of the D&L’s interpretive signs describes the nineteenth-century hydroelectric power industry in Slatington.]
Forgotten during the years of coal and oil abundance and energy security, the idea of harnessing the water power of canals is experiencing a renaissance. Innovated hydraulic technologies, such as the Gorlov Helical Turbine, make small-scale, aesthetically-pleasing power generation a real possibility. Constructed to power a specific building or tied into the grid, these projects could help ease our reliance on fossil fuels and even contribute funds to trail and preservation projects.
[Mansfield’s 1904 report to Moyer is available from the Special Collections of Lehigh University Library, Bethlehem, PA.]
Posted in History
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June 24th, 2008
A major trail construction project is reaching a milestone this morning in Luzerne County. The D&L is bridging a gap in the trail caused by an active rail line, located in a deep cut with sheer, rock sides. Instead of fabricating a new bridge, the D&L has recycled an old, iron bridge that will be installed on freshly poured platforms. Old paint and rust were sandblasted from the bridge, prior to recoating. This was a tedious process but one that will save materials and maintain the historic character of the area.
Trail Manager Scott Everett reported Monday that “the move of the bridge from Hunlock Creek to the bridge site went extremely well today.” The bridge traveled by flat-bed tractor trailer from the work site to the installation point off of Middleburg Road, Luzerne County. Members of the press will be on hand, as the bridge is installed.
This is an important step in the construction project, but more work is necessary before pedestrians can use the bridge. Check back for pictures of the installation and updates on when the bridge will open!
Posted in Construction Updates, Trail Improvements
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June 19th, 2008
The famous Appalachian Trail intersects the D&L Trail at the Lehigh Gap Nature Center, in northern Lehigh County. AT thru-hikers can use the D&L Trail to access stores and accommodations in Slatington and Walnutport to the south or Lehighton, Jim Thorpe, and other towns to the north. Day hikers can use the D&L to access the AT and the ridge of the mountains, for a different perspective on the Gap.
This is a historically important section of the Appalachian Trail. The 102-mile section between the Lehigh River and the Susquehanna River was completed by the Blue Mountain Eagle Climbing Club of Reading in 1931. During the late-1920s, the 35-mile section of trail between the Lehigh River and the Delaware River was completed by the Blue Mountain Club of Easton, under the direction of early-AT proponent and Lafayette College chemistry professor, Eugene Bingham. This section was called the Skyline Trail until its incorporation into the AT. Currently, the Philadelphia Trail Club maintains the Trail between Smith Gap and Lehigh Furnace Gap. More recently, the historically beloved section earned the scorn of comedic travel writer Bill Bryson, who lamented the defoliation caused by Palmerton’s zinc plant and described his run-in with one of the plant’s guards.
The connection between the D&L and the Appalachian Trails creates truly impressive hiking opportunities reaching across a third of the state. The work of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, and various hiking clubs (under the direction of the Keystone Trails Association) to preserve open spaces and historical sites along their respective trails has also ensured that the scenic and cultural beauty of this region will be preserved.
Posted in Appalachian Trail, On the Trail
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June 11th, 2008
The D&L has launched two dynamic online tools to make it easier for you to plan your trip to the Delaware, Lehigh and Wyoming Valleys.
Our new Navigation Tool is specifically designed to enable users to zoom in on trails and plan a hike through the region. You can select and view trail lengths on an interactive map and view specific details about the trail such as, trail status and access points. You can also use the navigation tool to discover other things to do along the trail.
If you’d like to map out your entire adventure from start to finish with a few stops along the way, you’ll want to check out the Your Trip feature. This online tool will help you plan your trip based on a desired path, according to region, specific town or a recreational area of interest. Your Trip helps you plan your itinerary with driving directions from a starting point, to each destination, and back again.
Now you can navigate and discover the D&L before you hit the trail.
Posted in On the Trail
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June 10th, 2008
On Saturday, hundreds of trail users, including members of the press, braved the 95 degree conditions to attend the unveiling of our directional blades, listen to project updates, and help install mile markers, all as a part of our various National Trails Day celebrations.
[Allen Sachse addresses crowd in Slatington]
This was a great opportunity to celebrate the D&L Trail and increase its visibility in our region. We were also able to highlight the connections that the D&L makes between towns, cities, and rural areas. As we installed the blades and mile markers over the last week, we had an enthusiastic response from trail users who have always wondered about the length of their daily walks and rides.
[Trail Tenders show off new milemarker]
National Trails Day was the perfect time to kick off our signage program, but the work will continue throughout the summer-so look for updates!
Posted in Construction Updates, Events, In the News, Mile Markers, National Trails Day, Trail Improvements, Trail Tenders
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June 5th, 2008
Many residents of Slatington and Walnutport already know how lucky they are to have the Walnutport Canal and the D&L Trail run through their communities. The Walnutport Canal Association maintains the towpath from the dilapidated aqueduct on Bertsch Creek to the termination of the canal some four miles north, in the shadow of the Lehigh Gap. The portion south of the Main Street Bridge is heavily used by joggers, fishermen and bicyclists, but is very well maintained. On the day I walked the towpath, large trout, bluegills, and turtles were everywhere, and, in the large pool north of Bertsch Creek, there was a muskrat gathering grass.
[Dilapidated Aqueduct on Bertsch Creek]
The section of towpath north of the bridge is also popular, although the last mile or so is less crowded because the path dead ends and it is necessary to backtrack. Still, the short walk to the end of the canal is worth the trip. The water level in the canal slowly lowers until it resembles a small stream, and the thick brush gives the illusion of isolation (Rt. 145 is not far off in the woods). Most interesting of all, the barren, rocky slopes of the Lehigh Gap, juxtaposed with the short trees gives the last quarter mile of the towpath a look reminiscent of western landscapes. Fortunately, this will be a fleeting illusion, as reseeding of the mountain is well underway.
[View of Lehigh Gap from D&L Trail]
On the west side of the Lehigh River, another section of the D&L Trail follows the old rail bed from Trout Run to the East Penn Boat Launch in Carbon County. This is a secluded section with amazing views of Lehigh Gap and the river. The parking lots in Slatington and East Penn would allow for a nice car-to-car hike.
[A stretch of the D&L Trail in Slatington]
Posted in On the Trail
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June 1st, 2008
The D&L is once again participating in the Alliance of National Heritage Areas‘ economic impact survey, which utilizes an economic model known as MGM2 (Money Generation Model Version Two). This process uses the data collected from visitor surveys to estimate the economic impact of heritage tourism. The results of the 2005 MGM2 survey indicated that visitors to D&L sites spent $276 million and generated 6,067 jobs!
We are now organizing the 2008 survey, which will cover visitors to 15 sites and events and aim to collect over 750 surveys. Volunteers are currently signing up to spend a few hours administering surveys at their local sites. If you are interested in volunteering for this essential project, please contact survey coordinator Silas Chamberlin by email at Silas@DelawareandLehigh.org or by phone at 610-923-3548 (ext.222).
Surveying will continue through September, and the Alliance of National Heritage Areas hopes to publish the final report in spring 2009. Keep on the lookout for updates, and don’t forget to get in touch, if you are interested in helping!
Posted in MGM2
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