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On Tuesday, Governor Rendell announced that the state would invest $44 million dollars in 316 conservation and recreation projects, including 66 miles of trails, 4,341 acres of open space, 10 swimming pools, 135 community parks and 73 planning projects for regional efforts, parks, greenways and trails.

Many of these projects are located within the five-county reach of the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor.

Two grants directly related to the D&L are:

• $160,00 to the D&L for the D&L Trail from Northampton to Catasaqua Borough for further development to include the determination of trail alignment, preparation of drawings and specifications that will facilitate the bidding and construction of approximately two and one half miles of trail.

• $300,000 to the D&L for the Lehigh Valley Greenways Implementation Block Grant to coordinate the Lehigh Valley Greenways Initiative, provide education and outreach activities to landowners and municipalities in the Lehigh Valley, and fund the 2009 Implementation Block Grant Program.

Other grant recipients include Bristol and Morrisville in Bucks County, Easton and Bethlehem in Northampton County, Allentown and Fountain Hill in Lehigh County, and Bowmanstown and Lansford in Carbon County.

A statewide listing of all grants and projects is available on the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources website.

Posted in In the News

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Over the weekend, two Landmark Towns, Morrisville and Yardley, received 65 donated trees, as part of the TreeVitalize tree planting program.

TreeVitalize is a partnership launched by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources that includes the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the Department of Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania State University, Aqua PA, and the William Penn Foundation. The partnership works to promote the value of trees in community and economic development and stresses that trees and green space increase residential and commercial property values, in addition to quality of life.

TreeVitalize’s involvement in Morrisville and Yardley began when program manager Michael Leff approached Donna Boone, Regional Main Street Coordinator for Landmark Towns, to explore the possibility of a large planting project in those towns. Working with the two town boroughs, Yardley’s Shade Tree Commission, and Morrisville’s Environmental Advisory Council, the Landmark Towns Design Committee coordinated the project. Representatives from each borough attended nine-hour Tree Tenders training courses to ensure proper planting and care of the new trees. Regarding the widespread support for the project, Boone noted, “This is a perfect example of how a regional Main Street program is supposed to work. We’ve put together a great team of volunteers in a public/private partnership that benefits the communities.”

For additional information on this TreeVitalize effort or the Landmark Towns program, please contact Donna Boone at Donna@DelawareandLehigh.org or 215-781-2605.

Posted in Events, Landmark Towns

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A note from Dennis Scholl, D&L Outreach Coordinator and head of the Trail Tenders:

Nineteen Trail Tenders gathered Saturday morning under cloudy/rainy skies to clear overgrowth from the perimeter of Lock 28 in Lehigh Gorge State Park.

Tenders from three chapters worked for more than two hours cutting down and digging out invasive glossy buckthorn that was beginning to dominate the area around the lock. The final half hour was spent cutting a short path down a slope at the north end of the lock, so visitors to the site can get a full view of the lock looking downstream. The path was bolstered on the edge with large rocks. Rocks also were used as steps.

Lock 28 is an engineering marvel that requires volunteer attention once a year. If the buckthorn were not taken out, it would quickly overtake the site and compromise some of the lock’s stonework and certainly take away the magnificent view of the lock that is available to the public now. While the Tenders were working, the lock was visited by about 12 bikers and walkers who were out despite the gloomy weather.

Saturday’s cleanup marks the end of the season’s all-chapter cleanups. They will resume again next spring. The Lehigh Valley Chapter will continue working at Lock 43 in Bethlehem throughout the winter. A cleanup is scheduled there this Saturday, Nov. 15, from 9 a.m. to noon.

Posted in Trail Tenders

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Over the last few weeks, I [D&L Intern, Silas Chamberlin] have been out and about with Scott Everett, the D&L Trail Steward, installing new signage at various sites throughout Lehigh and Northampton Counties. The value in working as an intern is seeing both sides of operating a non-profit: the tedious and seemingly endless prep work that goes into sign fabrication, land easement negotiations, and economic impact studies and the fulfilling yet painfully ephemeral moments of public recognition and appreciation for the work of the organization.

The D&L’s new directional blades are a good example. The groundwork for these signs was laid over a decade ago when the organization implemented Visually Speaking, a design package that provided uniform standards for all D&L signage projects, including the ubiquitous interpretive waysides that are found at many sites along the Corridor. Contained within this document was section “SG.5.25: Signage” that described “Directional Posts.”

The description seemed simple enough: “Directional posts are placed along the trail to indicate direction and distance to locations and sites.” Okay, makes sense. “Trail partner logos are also located on this sign.” Sure, our partners need recognition. “Drill and countersink holes for ¼-20 flat head bolts…weld ½” x ¾”…drill and tap…finish to weather…P2-Matthews LS-52894 Satin…” Eh, details that a sign manufacturer can deal with later.

At the time, the D&L Trail was still very much under construction, and it was not until late in 2007 that installing “Directional Posts,” now referred to by the more-impressive, vaguely-militaristic term “Blades,” made sense. To make a long and (to anyone outside of the sign or trail world) boring story short, deciding where to locate the blades, determining the distances, direction of arrows, and sites to include, gathering written consent from our partners, acquiring those “trail partner logos” in the proper file format, and installing those countersunk, drilled holes without messing up the LS-52894 Satin proved to be a Herculean task that was not completed until summer 2008. Through a lot of effort, we managed to install a handful of the blades in time for National Trails Day (coincidentally a 95 degree, June day that kept many would-be supporters from attending the unveilings).

Over the rest of the summer we installed a blade here or there, trying not to waste valuable time or gas driving across the 165-mile Corridor. Finally, I am happy to report, the large stack of blades that was once stockpiled in our office (and that, manual labor flowing downhill, I had helped move several times) has now dwindled to two. One is for the Forks of the Delaware, a site that is currently under construction to repair flood damage. The other is for Wy Hit Tuk Park. Someone ran over the cement base, forcing us to hold off on that one for now.

So, that is the “tedious and seemingly endless prep work.” I can’t really complain. In fact, I’d really like to brag. Working on that project and our related effort to install mile-markers along the trail has allowed me to get to know parts of the Corridor quite well, sometimes by walking long stretches of the trail armed with a GPS unit and a surveying wheel. More pragmatically, I’ve come to understand that, for better or worse, creating and improving outdoor recreation infrastructure is often an indoor activity, making moments on the trail that much more meaningful.

The fleeting yet very real sense of accomplishment that I referred to in opening comes when a trail user mentions how happy they are to have the new sign, to measure how far they are walking or riding, or to learn what the park or trail is called. They may not know what the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor is or that they are walking on the D&L Trail, but that type of recognition will come with time and with other projects. For now, enjoy those blades and, for my sake, please treat them well.

Posted in FYI

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Last week Secretary Michael DiBerardinis, head of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), visited the Lehigh Valley for a two-day tour and the presentation of several large grants. The DCNR is charged with maintaining and preserving the commonwealth’s state parks and forest land, providing information on the state’s ecological and geologic resources, and establishing community conservation partnerships to benefit rivers, trails, greenways, local parks and recreation, regional heritage parks, open space and natural areas.

On Thursday, Secretary DiBerardinis toured Northampton County sites and presented recreation and conservation grants totaling $282,600. Palmer Township received $200,000 to improve the Bushkill Creek bike and walking path, which is an integral part of the Lehigh Valley’s extensive greenway network stretching from the Delaware River to the Appalachian Trail at Lehigh Gap. In addition, the Nature Conservancy received $82,600 to protect two parcels of land in Upper Mount Bethel Township.

The next day Secretary DiBerardinis visited sections of the D&L Trail in Lehigh County and attended a grant announcement and trail dedication at the Lehigh Gap Nature Center. The Center’s Executive Director Dan Kunkle accepted a check for $200,000 to improve interpretive signage, support environmental education, and plan for a renovated visitor and education center.

After the check presentation, a ribbon cutting ceremony marked the opening of the overhauled trail section and trailhead at Lehigh Gap.  Although the section is relatively short, it completes a portion of finished D&L Trail running approximately 8 miles from Slatington and Walnutport to Bowmanstown.  The event brought out dozens of supporters, state and local officials, and members of the press.

D&L Conservation Resource Specialist Sherry Acevedo organized both days of events and served as indefatigable tour guide. We thank Sherry, Secretary DiBerardinis, and all of the supporters who attended the events for their commitment to conserving the natural resources of the Lehigh Valley.

Posted in Construction Updates, In the News, LVGI

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If you missed the local news, you might be wondering what is going on with the Weissport trail project. As noted previously, 2.7 miles of new trail surface are down and open between the trailhead and the railroad trestle and significant work is underway on the parking lot and the banks of the canal.

Unfortunately, construction work on the trailhead will not be completed prior to the onset of winter. The contractor will stabilize all excavations, building, and resurfacing projects and the site will remain dormant until the spring, when work will resume in earnest. We hope that you will bear with us during this ongoing project. The work done so far looks great, and the final product will be well worth the wait.

During this lull in the action, the trail will be open to use, but we ask that all visitors use caution and good judgment when accessing the trail and navigating through the construction site. If you have questions regarding the status of the project or access to the Weissport section of trail, please contact D&L Trail Steward Scott Everett by phone at 610-923-3548 or by email at Scott@DelawareandLehigh.org.

Posted in FYI

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