Corbett gets taste of Poconos' natural assets



McDade Trail in Delaware Water Gap NRA (gonehikin.blogspot.com)

Governor Tom Corbett recently wrapped up a two-day kayak tour of the Upper Delaware and Pocono region highlighting the area’s natural assets and their contribution to tourism and the local economy.  The Pocono Record reported that his visit to Monroe County within the Kittatinny Ridge and Corridor brought talk of a connected regional system of trails.

“And Christine Dettore, acting director of the Monroe Planning Commission, discussed a plan that would connect many of the hiking trails in the county and would connect the McDade Trail in the national recreation area to the Appalachian Trail.

Corbett, who also visited Pike and Wayne counties during his kayak tour, said all these initiatives promote economic development.”

Read the full article at Corbett getstaste of Pocono tourism.

Kittatinny Ridge/A.T. Tower Issue in the "Living Landscape Observer"

View from The Pinnacle vista along the A.T., Berks County

Editor of the Living Landscape Observer and landscape conservation advocate, Brenda Barrett, poses some important questions that arose out of the Berks County EMS Tower construction plan, a tower site with a deed restriction and a subsequent lawsuit filed by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in its mission to protect the Appalachian Trail.  

Read Landscape of Loss: Defending the Appalachian Trail

The County ultimately filed an eminent domain action to take the property from Hamburg Borough for the purpose of extinguishing the deed restriction that protects the Trail.  What are the larger long-term implications of this outcome for the protection national recreational resources such as the Appalachian Trail and significant landscapes such as the Kittatinny Ridge?

Upcoming Hikes & Birdwalks along the Kittatinny

Looking for a chance to get out and explore the Kittatinny on foot?   

Trail Clubs and Nature Centers up and down the Ridge are hosting various hikes, birdwalks and events.  To stay in the loop, keep tabs on the Upcoming Events section of the Kittatinny Ridge home page, or check out the calendars of the organizations listed below!

Saturday, Aug. 25th - Raptor ID and Field Trip with Lehigh Gap Nature Center

Sunday, Aug. 26th - Swatara Gap Hike with Blue Mountain Eagle Climbing Club

Friday, Aug. 31st - Mountain Moonwalk at Hawk Mountain 

Friday, Aug. 31st - Blue Moon Night Hike with Susquehanna Appalachian Trail Club

Sunday, Sept. 2nd - A.T. Shuttle Hike, PA-850 to Susquehanna River with BMECC

Sunday, Sept. 16th - Charcoal Trail/Appalachian Trail Loop with Susquehanna Appalachian Trail Club

Schuylkill earns reputation for hospitality among Appalachian Trail hikers

The Appalachian Trail travels through historic Port Clinton.

In honor of the Appalachian Trail’s 75^th Anniversary of completion (which is today! – August 14^th), the Republican Herald reported some important insights about Schuylkill County’s connections to the A.T. and Kittatinny Ridge/Blue Mountain from “Porcupine Pat” McKinney, Environmental Educator at Schuylkill County’s Conservation District.

"It's a wonderful asset to the county's recreational resources," McKinney said. "It's easy to get to and of course the trail is typical for Pennsylvania. The views are worth the walk. It's just amazing what you see."

"Besides the sense of community, you get to connect to the environment and the natural beauty," McKinney said. "It's ... neat to know that people for all these decades have walked the trail in its entirety or just spent the afternoon on the trail with their family. There are all these people intrigued by the trail looking for a connection with nature."

McKinney said the Appalachian Trail is one of many trails available in Schuylkill County. For more trails or other outdoor activities, visit the county visitor bureau's website at www.schuylkill.org.

Read the whole article at this link:
Schuylkill earns reputation forhospitality among Appalachian Trail hikers.

Elsewhere on the Kittatinny, the Pocono Record also marked the occasion:
Appalachian Trail still blazes through Poconos after 75 years. 

Annual Autumn Hawkwatch begins at Hawk Mountain on August 15th

Photo: Audubon PA

Starting this Wednesday, August 15^th, the famed Annual Autumn Hawkwatch begins at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary along the Kittatinny Ridge on the Schuylkill/Berks County border.  Open 9am-5pm, the Hawkwatch season will run from August 15^th to December 15^th daily.

Hike to the North Lookout and participate in this annual ritual. Bald eagles, kestrels and Ospreys are among the first migrants!

Visit the Kittatinny Coalition recreation page to learn more about birding along the Ridge and other Hawkwatch sites.

Track Bird Observations on Kittatinny Ridge eBird

eBird is a real-time, online checklist program that has revolutionized the way that the birding community reports and accesses information about birds. Launched in 2002 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, eBird provides rich data sources for basic information on bird abundance and distribution at a variety of spatial and temporal scales.

Visit the Kittatinny Ridge dataset on eBird Pennsylvania for bird observation data specific to the Kittatinny Ridge and Corridor!  Avid birders should consider registering with eBird to submit your own observations and contribute to the data collected along the Ridge.

"Atop the Kittatinny Ridge" report from the Baypoll Blog

Blogger Corey Husic is a teenage nature and birding enthusiast from eastern Pennsylvania that has more has recently become interested in insects and native plants.

Check out his recent account of field work with fellow interns at Lehigh Gap Nature Center on The Baypoll Blog.  The group took to the Kittatinny Ridge above Palmerton, PA, site of the Superfund Restoration efforts, to study burned areas along the re-vegetated grasslands and the effects of the burns on the various plant communities.

Appalachian Trail Conservancy Hosts 75th Anniversary Weekend Celebration in Boiling Springs, PA

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) and local trail clubs in the Mid-Atlantic Region will host a series of celebratory activities for the 75th anniversary of the completion of the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) from August 1 to August 4.  Events include a series of family-friendly hikes, full moon evening hikes, education-based hikes and an open house of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Office.  

For more information on the schedule of events visit the Appalachian Trail Conservancy's web site.

"This year marks a milestone for the Appalachian Trail," said Mark Wenger, Executive Director and CEO of ATC.  "Not only does this anniversary celebrate the completion of the Trail, it also celebrates the unique collaboration and determination of countless individuals, private organizations, and state and federal agencies in their efforts to complete this long-distance hiking trail from Maine to Georgia."