January 2010 GreenSpace Connect Digest
The GreenSpace Connect Digest is a publication of the GreenSpace Alliance that highlights success stories about preserving and connecting open space throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania. To contribute or suggest future stories, please contact us.
List of Stories
Preserved Farm Adds to 2000 acres of Contiguous Open Space that Connects City and Suburbs
The 450-acre Erdenheim Farm in Montgomery County's Whitemarsh and Springfield townships has been permanently protected by a deal completed in June by a partnership including the Whitemarsh Foundation and Natural Land Trust. The project is one of the largest land preservation efforts in county history.
The farm is the centerpiece of 2,000 acres of nearly contiguous open space in the Wissahickon Valley between Fairmount Park in Philadelphia and Fort Washington State Park in Whitemarsh. The conservation agreement allows the Montgomery County Green Ribbon Trail to connect from the state park to the Morris Arboretum where it continues south to Fairmount Park. Additional trails are planned that will follow the perimeter of the property and connect to Township trails.
Michael DiBerardinis, Commissioner of Parks and Recreation for the City of Philadelphia and former secretary of the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, said that the property's geographic location makes it invaluable. "Saving Erdenheim Farm is a major milestone. It is one of those places that connect us to our heritage. Losing it "“ and the link it provides between the city and the suburbs "“ would have been unthinkable."  The conservation project's success is the result of collaboration between the Dixon family and estate, Mr. and Mrs. Peter McCausland, the Whitemarsh Foundation, Natural Lands Trust, state and local government agencies, and many private citizens and organizations. Molly Morrison, president of Natural Lands Trust, praised the remarkably broad coalition. "The community, with leadership from Hugh Moulton of the Whitemarsh Foundation, Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County, and the Colonial School District, has worked for the better part of a decade to ensure that this vital local and regional asset will remain intact," she said.
The McCauslands, long-time local residents, made a key investment in the property's preservation by purchasing acreage that will remain in active agricultural use. Peter McCausland said, "Erdenheim Farm has been in continuous use as a farm since the founding of the Commonwealth, and my family is pleased to be part of the effort to keep Erdenheim Farm operating largely as it has been over the years." Find Out More
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New Section of Schuylkill River Trail in Philadelphia to be Completed by Early 2011
A new 3,500 foot segment of the Schuylkill River Trail in Philadelphia is slated to be completed by early 2011, says Schuylkill River Development Corporation (SRDC) President and CEO Joe Syrnick. This section will add to the 1.2 miles of trail already completed, moving SRDC closer to its goal of developing the entire 8.3 mile segment from the Fairmount Waterworks to the Delaware River.
The new segment will line the Dupont Crescent, between the 34th Street-University Avenue Bridge and the Gray's Ferry Avenue Bridge, behind the recently closed Dupont Marshall Laboratory and an active Waste Management trash-interchange. Though it will not connect to the trail's current southern endpoint at Locust Street, Syrnick says that the Dupont Crescent segment will serve the Gray's Ferry neighborhood and likely create an urgency to make the connection.
The Dupont Crescent segment is fully funded through federal and state sources. Funding includes a federal Transportation Enhancement grant, two Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Growing Greener grants, and a grant from the Pennsylvania Industrial Site Reuse Program specifically for the final phase of this brownfield site's remediation.
The SRDC's subsequent priority is a 2,000 foot boardwalk between Locust Street and the new South Street Bridge. The proximity of the CSX rail tracks to the River between Locust and South Streets will not accommodate the trail right-of-way and led SRDC to develop the boardwalk scheme. The boardwalk will be fifteen feet wide with periodic wider segments. Completion is likely to take longer than the Crescent stretch due to high costs and permitting requirements. Although its execution is complicated, the boardwalk concept is supported by regional agencies, says Syrnick.
 The $10 million boardwalk section is partially funded through a state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant, a federal Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act grant, a federal Transportation Enhancement grant, and the City of Philadelphia. The project could become fully funded in 2010 if SRDC's federal TIGER grant application is accepted.
On December 1, the SRDC also hosted a dedication ceremony for the North End of the trail. The ceremony followed major improvements to both the area of the trail adjacent to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and the JFK Boulevard and Market Street Bridges. Improvements to the trail include building a fishing pier, a natural river-side trail, and the Schuylkill Banks Plaza and planting 28 trees.
The North End improvements were made possible by another federal Transportation Enhancement grant, the William Penn Foundation, the Weeders Garden Club, PennDOT, the Federal Highway Administration, and SRDC.
The plan for the Philadelphia portion of the Schuylkill River Trail is constantly evolving based on the changing realities of the river banks. The current plan calls for three river crossings, one on the South Street Bridge, another on the 34th Street-University Avenue Bridge, and a third on a former railroad bridge adjacent to the Gray's Ferry Avenue Bridge. Syrnick states the river crossings are a key element of the trail. "That's part of the charm and purpose of the trail, to engage with the river," he says.
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Natural Lands Trust Publishes Stewardship Handbook Targeted at Helping Private Conservation Efforts
With an eye towards the future of land conservation, Natural Lands Trust (NLT) recently published a stewardship handbook, a compilation of knowledge gained during their four decades of experience managing a network of nature preserves in the region. The Stewardship Handbook for Natural Lands in Southeastern Pennsylvania is a project of NLT's Center for Conservation Landowners (CCL). Established in 2008, the CCL aims to expand the network of preserved land in the region by engaging landowners and educating them about do-it-yourself land stewardship.
Drew Gilchrist, director of the CCL, explained that both of these efforts "are an outgrowth of NLT's desire to share our knowledge base and help public and private landowners to steward the natural resources on their properties." He added "These efforts put property ownership into a context of larger responsibility to the region and its resources." The Stewardship Handbook was made possible by support from the Claneil Foundation, The McLean Contributionship, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, West Vincent Township, The William Penn Foundation, and a generous individual.
"There is more to conservation than protecting landscapes and habitats from development; the land must be properly cared for, as well" stated Molly Morison, president of NLT. To this end, the CCL and the Stewardship Handbook are invaluable tools for establishing best management practices (BMPs) that restore and cultivate the rich and complex habitats native to eastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey.
 Holly Harper, Natural Lands Trust's director of Stewardship Planning, who co-authored the Stewardship Handbook with David Steckel, noted that it is the most comprehensive summary of local stewardship issues and management techniques currently available. "The information in this book can help anyone"“whether they are responsible for one acre or a thousand"“take steps toward better stewardship," Harper added.
The Stewardship Handbook and the CCL are the result of NLT's years of cumulative experience managing its 20,000-acre network of nature preserves in the region. Gwynedd Wildlife Preserve in Montgomery County is one of the first of many examples where the extensive knowledge gained in the field by NLT's team of land managers and ecologists was put into a comprehensive resource management plan for a property. The original 110-acre parcel was in active agricultural use when it was donated in 1986 by Jack and Claire Betz. Since then, the preserve has grown to 279-acres and through careful stewardship is now an oasis of meadows, woodlands, and wetlands nestled among the quickly developing suburbs of Blue Bell and North Wales.
Since 1953, NLT has worked to protect landscapes in eastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey by preserving and caring for natural lands, healthy habitats, and clean watersheds. The organization owns and manages over 40 nature preserves, totaling in excess of 20,000 acres, and holds conservation easements and other restrictions on more than 18,000 acres.
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Chester County Starts Construction on Planned 22-Mile Recreational Trail
Chester County recently began Phase I of construction on the Chester Valley Trail, a planned 22-mile multi-use recreation trail that will ultimately connect the Struble Trail in Downingtown, Chester County to the Schuylkill River Trail in Norristown, Montgomery County. Chester County’s initial phase of the project will complete 4.2 miles from the County’s Exton Park Site to Route 29, and is expected to be completed in August 2010. It is anticipated that the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s (PennDOT) review of plans for Phase II of the project will be completed by next year.
The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission identified this as a priority project within its 2009 Regional Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP), allotting $24.72 million of federal, state, and local funds for completion of the 12-mile Phase I and Phase II project from Exton Park Site east to Montgomery County. A project that is identified on the TIP as a priority project is eligible for federal transportation funding as part of the larger plan to improve regional infrastructure. The FY09 TIP was amended in 2009 to reflect programming of $5 million of federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds for the construction of the Phase I project.
Once completed, the trail will be a transportation backbone through some of Chester County's busiest communities and allow nearby parks and local trails to join a regional network of open space. It is estimated that there are over 85,000 jobs and around 58,000 residents located along the trail, as well as several major office and retail centers.
The Chester Valley Trail is being treated as a transportation project and is indicative of the shift in funding that the Federal transportation system has undergone in recent years. Formerly centered primarily around automobiles, the 2005 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) allows highway program funds to be used to finance multiple types of transportation projects.
The trail will primarily run along the abandoned Chester Valley Railroad Corridor. Chester County has gradually acquired segments of the corridor from PennDOT over the last 15 years. Several privately funded sections of the trail have already been completed as part of independent projects, including an eight tenths of a mile section and crossing of Route 100 in Exton. In addition, PennDOT has completed a section of the trail in Montgomery County between Warner Road and South Gulph Road in King of Prussia.
The completed sections, along with those under construction, will eventually be linked to complete the entire 22-mile Chester Valley Trail. The trail will be a vital part of the region’s trail network with a planned direct connection to the Schuylkill River Trail.
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