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March 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
MontCo's Green Futures Program Offers a Multifaceted Approach to Municipal Training and Education
Green Futures is an educational workshop program run by Montgomery County Lands Trust (MCLT) that offers a multifaceted approach to municipal training and education. This dynamic series of workshops is targeted towards local municipal officials and their advisors and has reached over 1,100 people throughout the county. The program was funded for three and a half years through a generous grant from the William Penn Foundation with help from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development, The Claneil Foundation, and several corporate supporters. Currently in its fourth year, Green Futures is reaching even more municipal officials then ever before. Since the start of the program, municipality membership at MCLT has increase from 19 to 39 members and the vast majority of municipalities within Montgomery County have attended a workshop or seminar.
The purpose of the program is to educate local officials on good land preservation practices through the use of training workshops and by circulating resource materials promoting good land preservation techniques. In a recent survey, many municipalities voted that the biggest way Green Futures helped was by “providing information or encouragement to help make greener decisions.” The program also helps municipal officials find the best places to look for funding, and find ways to mobilize citizen support.
 The Green Futures program has facilitated 12 training workshops and brought together officials and administrators from a variety of different backgrounds. This collaborative setting has allowed individuals to create a network with other participants and facilitated peer-to-peer learning. The workshops have covered a variety of important topics ranging from community gardens, green streets, and regional trail systems. Some session titles have included Protecting Green Connections for People and Habitat and You are Not Alone: Putting Green Deals Together. Green Futures is widely recognized as an engaging and supportive venue in which to gain information, have questions answered, identify mentors and connect with the “green thinking” community.
The Green Futures program is a project of MCLT, an organization that was established in 1993 in conjunction with the first Montgomery County Open Space Program. Since then, the Trust has been working to preserve and connect the natural areas, farmland, and neighborhood green spaces that are vital to quality of life within their county. MCLT works to preserve land through the donation of conservation easements, the promotion of transferable development rights, and by acting as an important informational resource for land conservation in Montgomery County.
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Bucks County collaboartes with East Rockhill Township to Preserve 45-acre Farm
The preservation of a 45-acre property in Buck County’s East Rockhill Township now connects over 140 acres of contiguous active farmland. Bucks County, East Rockhill Township, and the Heritage Conservancy worked together to make the conservation effort a reality. The property, owned by William Hart Rufe III and his wife Jewel, is adjacent to several other preserved farms, including the Petit property and the Musselman-Worthington property. The conservation agreement will permanently protect active farmland, woodlands, a large pond, wetlands and a tributary of the East Branch of the Perkiomen Creek. According to Robin Folkerts, Vice President of the Heritage Conservancy, the Rufe property is “a working farm with prime agriculture soils,” making it an even more valuable asset to preserve.
Preservation of the property was made possible through a conservation easement, a voluntary agreement with the property owner that restricts selected uses and protects the natural resources of the property for perpetuity. This easement is part of the Bucks County Municipal Open Space Program which assists municipalities in the acquisition of land that preserves farmland, provides open space and recreational areas, and protects unique natural and environmental features. To date, over 2,400 acres of significant natural resources and habitats have been preserved through this program. Both Bucks County and East Rockhill Township contributed money toward the purchase of the easement, with the Heritage Conservancy acting as the Land Trust Beneficiary.
The Rufe Property preservation is also a part of the Heritage Conservancy’s Lasting Landscape® program, a four-step process which the Conservancy staff uses that includes research, planning, implementation, and stewardship to fulfill conservation goals. “Heritage Conservancy’s Lasting Landscape initiative unites open space protection and historic preservation at the landscape level,” said Folkerts on the program, “This property is part of the Route 113 Lasting Landscape.”
The Route 113 Heritage Corridor is a 30-mile track of land in Bucks and Montgomery counties that has many historical and natural qualities still intact. This important arterial roadway has historic towns, rolling hills and green lands that are under significant pressure from advancing suburbanization.” As a result, the Heritage Conservancy is working very hard to implement a joint farm preservation program between the counties and raise awareness on the importance of land preservation.
East Rockhill Township is located in the northeastern corner of Bucks County and has over 500 acres of land permanently protected as State Park and State Gameland. The Township also has valuable agricultural resources that are under significant development pressure. Conservation easements, such as those placed on the Rufe Property, are essential for the permanent preservation of these valuable lands.
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ChesCo, State and Uwchlan Township Preserve 28.5 Acres and Reopen Struble Trail Access
Chester County officials recently held a ceremony to mark the official re-opening of the Struble Trail. The trail was closed in 2005 when private owners bought the property, motivating the Natural Lands Trust (NLT) and Chester County to act. NLT purchased the 27-acre Shryock Mill property in 2008 from Shryock Brothers, Inc. In 2009 23 acres were transferred to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as an addition to Marsh Creek State Park. The remainder of the land was transferred to Chester County to help extend the Struble Trail and allow for continued public access to this land. NLT now holds the conservation easements that will allow the trail to be expanded northeast across the property.
The state and county each contributed $1.5 million to the purchase of the property, with an additional $150,000 provided by Upper Uwchlan Township. “The purchase of the property is an example of cooperation among Chester County, the landowners, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Upper Uwchlan and Uwchlan Townships, and the Natural Lands Trust,” stated Carol Aichele, Chester County Commissioner. A real multi-level governmental effort was required to help make this project a reality, making it a great example of how multi-dimensional funding can be one of the best ways to preserve land.
State Rep. Curtis Schroder and state Senators Andrew Dinniman and John Rafferty were all instrumental in helping to secure the state funding for the project. Collectively, they convinced the state to allocate funds from the capital budget for the project. This marked the first time that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has used capital budget funding for a land preservation project of this kind.
According to the County Commissioner Terence Farrell, "The extension of the Struble Trail really enhances our trail network throughout the county." The trail will eventually connect to the Chester Valley Trail, another project currently in development along an abandoned railway corridor, which connects to Philadelphia via the Schuylkill River trail.
Chester County officials envision that this trail will become a part of a larger network used not only for recreation, but for transportation as well. The regional trail system is being constructed to connect vital sections of the county and eventually become a viable bicycle commuter route.
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Growing Greener II Grant Makes Wetland Restoration Project Possible
The Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association (WVWA) recently completed Phase II of their Sandy Run Wetland Restoration and Enlargement Project. Located in Montgomery County, this initiative was made possible by a Growing Greener II grant from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The expansion and restoration of wetlands in this section of the Sandy Run, a tributary of the Wissahickon Creek, will provide significant stormwater storage for an area with a history of flooding.
The Sandy Run has long been a source of significant water quality problems for the Wissahickon watershed. The Wissahickon Creek is currently listed on the Commonwealth’s inventory of impaired waters. Waterways are placed on this list when water quality does not meet the use designated by the state. These designated uses can include contact recreation such as swimming or fishing, drinking water supply or healthy fish habitat. Phase II of the wetland restoration project will make possible many benefits to the watershed including increased groundwater recharge, reduced sediment pollution, filtered runoff, and increased habitat for local fauna. According to WVWA’s Director of Stewardship Bob Adams, “ The Sandy Run is the largest tributary to the Wissahickon, with more than its share of problems. This was an important first step in addressing those problems. “
In 2004, the WVWA received a grant from the EPA for completion of Phase I of this project. The first half of the wetland complex was built using these funds. As another part of this original initiative, a tree and shrub buffer was established along Sandy Run, and measures were taken to mitigate the future impact of invasive plant and animal species.
In addition to the Sandy Run project, the WVWA has preserved and remediated numerous other sites along the Wissahickon watershed. Most recently, the organization was award a grant from Merck & Co., Inc. to stabilize and restore a section of the Wissahickon Creek’s stream bank and riparian buffer. This extensive project will include retrofitting a stormwater basin, building a stormwater wetland, the removal of a 20-foot concrete bridge and the stabilization of stream banks with bioengineering applications including riparian vegetation replanting.
The WVWA has also partnered with Montgomery County to maintain the section of the Green Ribbon Trail running from the border of Philadelphia border to Upper Gwynedd. This hiking trail stays close to the creek, linking a network of greenways and open space. Also known as the Wissahickon Trail, the Green Ribbon Trail runs from the Liberty Bell Trail in the North Penn area near Lansdale to Philadelphia’s Forbidden Drive Trail in the Fairmount Park System. When completed, the trail will extend for almost 20 miles.
The Wissahickon watershed is located in Southeastern Pennsylvania and drains approximately 64 square miles. The WVWA is a non-profit land trust founded in 1957 to protect the quality and the beauty of the Wissahickon Creek and the surrounding area, with a focus on land stewardship and community outreach. Since then, the organization has protected over 1,100 acres of natural open space in this watershed through collaboration with volunteers, local municipalities, Montgomery County and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
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