Eldred Township (Monroe Co.) enacts Appalachian Trail Overlay District

Pursuant to the PA Appalachian Trail Act of 2008, a municipality can tailor the model Appalachian Trail Overlay district based on local context and natural resources.  The overlay includes two zones, the Primary Conservation Zone and the Secondary Conservation Zone.  Each may be modified depending on surrounding landscapes and land ownership (e.g. woodlands, agricultural land, steep slopes, viewsheds, etc.).  

The Eldred Township (Monroe County) Overlay District prohibits structures within 100’ of the NPS owned corridor.  Within 1,000’ of the A.T. Corridor, all non-residential uses are considered conditional uses and require review by the Board of Supervisors with consideration for their impact on the Trail.  It is intended to establish a visual buffer by imposing vegetation removal standards.

Learn more about the PA Appalachian Trail Act and how your municipality can effectively plan for the Trail.

Bushkill Township adopts Official Map to guide Land Use Decisions

An Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) can help a community take great strides towards conserving their most treasured natural resources, quality of life, and ways of life. Nowhere has this been more evident than in Bushkill Township, Northampton County.  Established in 1979, the EAC is a viable and effective conservation advisory body active in current municipal and land use planning efforts.

Bushkill has a strong natural and cultural heritage. In the face of a growing population and disappearance of open space, farmland, and greenway connections, maintaining this beautiful landscape is a priority to the EAC and the township. The EAC, together with Bushkill Township officials and several partners, has been the driving force behind a number of efforts to increase the protection of the township’s critical natural resources and to maintain a high quality of life.

Official maps are designed to help municipalities plan for the future by identifying lands that are critical to accomplishing long range goals. Described in Pennsylvania’s Municipalities Planning Code, Official Maps are often used to delineate lands where the municipality projects new schools, roads, and other infrastructure will be located at some point in the future.  Bushkill was one of the first municipalities in the Lehigh Valley and one of very few in Pennsylvania to use the Official Map to help protect its natural resources. The Official Map allows a municipality up to one full year following the submission of a development plan to either purchase the property at fair market value, or work with developers and landowners to create a plan that minimizes impact on streamside woodlands and other important natural resources.

Bushkill’s EAC has proven to be an invaluable resource for the township’s supervisors and residents. By focusing on critical resources and utilizing partnerships, this all-volunteer advisory group has made an extraordinary impact on their community’s future. There are many more exemplary Environmental Advisory Councils and local conservation efforts along the Kittatinny Ridge. For more information about starting an EAC in your community, please visit the Pennsylvania Environmental Council at www.eacnetwork.org or call 1-800-322-9214.

Bethlehem Authority's Historic Conservation Deal

In 2011, the Bethlehem Authority, managers of the watershed that provides drinking water to Bethlehem and surrounding areas, completed an agreement with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) that protects 22,000 acres of woodlands. Although located outside of the Kittatinny corridor, the City of Bethlehem depends on forests on the Kittatinny to protect its drinking water.  This agreement – by acreage, the largest private conservation deal in Pennsylvania history – protects a significant portion of the headwaters to the City’s water source, preventing the need for costly water treatments. The agreement was the first endeavor of TNC’s Working Woodlands Program, a powerful new tool to advance land protection, especially among large landholders, including water authorities, and hunting or scout camps.  Working Woodlands provides forest landowners with an in-depth property management plan, and access to forest certification and carbon markets.  In exchange, the landowners commit to sustainable forestry practices and grant a 60-year conservation easement.

Managing their forests sustainably will allow the Authority to obtain Forest Stewardship Council forest management certification, and forest carbon payments via Blue Source, LLC. Certification means the timber from the Authority’s lands will meet the increasing market demands for certified sustainably- produced lumber and will allow the Authority to sell carbon credits on the open market. Companies around the world purchase these credits to offset greenhouse gas emissions.

“Working forests are a keystone of The Nature Conservancy's conservation efforts, here in Pennsylvania and around the world,” said Bill Kunze, state director of TNC’s Pennsylvania Chapter. “Harnessing the power of markets in service to the long-term ecological and economic health of our forests can yield great benefit for both people and nature.”

In the end, the deal was a win both for the environment and the Bethlehem Authority. “Our primary mission is to supply the highest quality drinking water to the 115,000 plus customers of the Bethlehem Water System as we possibly can. Preserving the pristine quality of our watershed properties supports that mission. And the Working Woodlands Program enhances our ability to do just that,” said Stephen Repasch, Executive Director of the Bethlehem Authority.

For more information on Working Woodlands, visit TNC online at http://

www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/

pennsylvania/workingwoodlands/index.htm.

Wildlands Conservancy preserves Hauser Estate

In March of 2011, Wildlands Conservancy successfully completed the purchase of 172 acres of upland habitat on the Kittatinny Ridge and along the Appalachian Trail, protecting a key connection in an area popular with recreationists and wildlife. With native grasses and state-listed flora and fauna, the property has been a top priority of Wildlands for nearly all of the organization’s 38 years. However, it took the efforts of four separate conservation groups to finally complete the deal.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy and Lehigh Gap Nature Center nurtured a relationship with the owners, Dan and Susan Hauser, based on a shared land ethic. When the time came to sell the property, Wildlands Conservancy and the Pennsylvania Game Commission coordinated a speedy settlement and provided the required funding to make the project work. Protection of the Kittatinny Ridge—its habitat, its views and its story—is in everyone’s best interest and it takes teamwork. The newly-protected land, which borders State Game Lands 217 and the Lehigh Gap Nature Center, and includes a portion of the Appalachian Trail, will eventually be transferred to the Game Commission, who will manage the land and provide permanent public access.