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March 2011 GreenSpace Connect Digest
This issue of GreenSpace Connect is dedicated to projects that were made possible through funding from the Commonwealth’s Growing Greener grants. In addition to the projects mentioned below, Growing Greener grants have protected working farms, cleaned up rivers and streams, created and improved parks and trails, and conserved special places. To contribute or
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List of Stories
Final Report Gives Insight into the
Return on Environment
 Return on Environment, the final version of The Economic Value of Protected Open Space in Southeastern Pennsylvania report has been released by the GreenSpace Alliance and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. This report is the first to quantify the economic value of protected open space in the five-county Philadelphia metropolitan area.
Preserved open spaces are so much more than just pretty places. They contribute to our local economies and property values. They help us save on everything from health care to recreation, and they perform valuable ecosystem services that naturally clean the air we breathe and the water we drink.
The full report, appendices, and a brochure that summarizes it are available to read or download at http://www.greenspacealliance.org/home/whatsnew.asp. or http://www.dvrpc.org/openspace/value/. The study was completed by the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, Econsult, and Keystone Conservation Trust. For organizations wanting to find out more, a PowerPoint presentation is available that not only summarizes the results, it highlights the region’s scenic open spaces. Contact Donna Pitz, Executive Director of the GreenSpace Alliance, at dpitz@greenspacealliance.org or (215) 545-4570, extension 111, to request a speaker to give the presentation to your group.
Included in the final report, but not available in the draft report issued earlier, is an analysis of stormwater runoff in four sub-watersheds and an estimate of the value of stormwater retention provided by local open spaces which can retain more water than if the land is developed. The estimated capital costs for constructing manmade stormwater detention facilities in the four areas total $87 million. This is the cost to do what nature is doing for free. An additional annual investment of $2.6 million would be required to maintain the new infrastructure. Given that the area studied is only 9% of southeastern Pennsylvania, this is a fraction of the total impact of protected open space.
Investing in open space is more affordable than ever in the current market. This report drives home the point that the return on an open space investment is great for our health and for our pocketbook.
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Delaware River Waterfront Corporation Receives $5 Million Boost to Better Connect the Waterfront to Neighborhoods
 A $5 million grant from the William Penn Foundation will provide lighting, design and safety improvements to connect the neighborhoods, the river, and bring more people down to a refurbished waterfront pier that is scheduled to be finished this summer.
$650,000 of the two-year grant will be applied to the Race Street Connector project. The rest of the $1 million to $1.5 million connector project will be paid for from the DRWC's budget, and with a portion of a $1.3 million state transportation grant. The remainder of the $5 million William Penn Grant will fund the design and creation of other street improvement projects aimed at reconnecting the city to its riverfront.
DRWC is developing a long-range master plan for the waterfront from Oregon to Allegheny Avenues, and several early action projects aimed at announcing the plan to the public. The Race Street Pier, expected to open in April, and the Race Street Connector, the multi-use bike trail and Washington Avenue Green (a park at the foot of Pier 53 that opened in fall 2010) are among the first projects to be completed.
Philadelphia Live Arts Festival & Philly Fringe will be opening an arts center in a former pumping station across the street from Race Street Pier – the side of the red brick building can be seen in some of the renderings for the connector project.
The Race Street Connector project has been designed by the same firm that created the concept for the pier itself – James Corner Field Operations. The basic goal of the plan is to make people want to take the trip east on Race Street down to the riverfront, even though it goes beneath two I-95 overpasses and one elevated train track.
The plan for improvements includes lighting for safety, and also aesthetics. Other improvements will also include security cameras. The idea is that places that attract groups of people are inherently safer. Plans also include new landscaping, bike lanes, benches and artwork, including special video screens that will be attached to the overpasses. The cameras that transmit to those screens will be focused on the river, so that passersby may see waves, boats or birds. Signage will let people walking in Old City know just how close they are to the river, and also show people on the river how to get to Old City.
The grant must be used up within two years, so the pressure is on to move relatively quickly. The other streets that will be targeted, either for full projects or for design, have yet to be selected. One of the surprises that came out of the master planning process is that 34 streets already technically connect the neighborhoods to the waterfront by passing beneath I-95. DRWC will identify about a dozen that have the highest priority for improvement. And from these, the handful that is the most strategically significant, and also logistically possible in the grant time frame, will be selected for the grant money.
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French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust Preserves an Additional 300 Acres
 Nearly 300 acres of preserved property in East Pikeland and West Vincent are now under the protective oversight of French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust. Fully 222 of those acres are the result of the decision by the West Vincent Land Trust to transfer all of its easements to the French and Pickering Trust. The remainder is the result of East Pikeland’s first land preservation effort since voters approved a referendum levying an earned income tax on themselves to fund open space preservation.
The 70-acre Latshaw Family Farm, adjacent to Spring City borough and bordered by Pikeland Avenue and Wall Street, will be the first property protected through (the value was not the entirety of their funds) the $1.7 million open space fund the township has amassed since the earned income tax increase was approved by 65 percent of township voters.
The French and Pickering Trust, which was a party to the final easement agreement, will serve as the “steward” for the property, conducting annual site visits to ensure the property remains in compliance with the conservation values identified in the agreement.
These values include its scenic quality, wildlife habitats and protection of natural features, such as wetlands and riparian buffers. The property was selected by East Pikeland’s Open Space Committee, chaired by Township Supervisor Rusty Strauss. More and more Pennsylvania municipalities — and organizations connected with municipalities— are turning to established private land trusts to protect their open space investments.
Most recently, the French and Pickering Trust has been involved in several easements along Pigeon Creek in Charlestown Township, as well as joining in a successful effort to preserve 87 acres within the Great Marsh in East Nantmeal Township.
"French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust’s local experience and strong monitoring program make it a good choice to provide the solid protection the West Vincent Land Trust wants for its easements," noted Chairperson Zoe Perkins. The West Vincent Land Trust will continue to evaluate valuable open space properties and to make contact with owners interested in preservation. The land owners will remain the same and pay taxes on that land, but receive financial consideration for restricting future development on their property and allowing public access for specific purposes such as trails.
The West Vincent Land Trust easements were all donated. The WVLT transferred 11 easements on 14 properties totaling 208 acres to the French and Pickering Trust as part of the recent agreement. It also owns four additional properties totaling 14 acres, but nevertheless imposed easements on those as well and transferred those rights to the French and Pickering Trust.
Other towns are looking to preserve properties through easements held by non-profit partners, which have options that municipalities don't always have. Upper Pottsgrove Township’s most recently protected open space property — the 21-acre Grim farm — was done through an easement held by Montgomery County Lands Trust. A recent report by GreenSpace Alliance and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission showed the economic value of open space preservation, not only to the regional economy, but also to the local properties which enjoy close proximity to preserved land.
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Support for Renewing Growing Greener in Somerset County
 Somerset County leaders are looking to keep money flowing from Harrisburg to pay for environmental projects. Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution calling for the renewal of Growing Greener. The state-funded grant program, which first was signed into law in 1999, has pumped millions into the region for projects such as Conemaugh Township’s whitewater park. State figures show that, from 2006 to 2009, Somerset County received more than $5.6 million while Cambria County took in more than $14.3 million in Growing Greener funds. The money has helped treat abandoned-mine drainage, aid parks and libraries, upgrad water plants and storm sewers and fund community organizations. Somerset County put up $100,000 in Growing Greener money for the whitewater park on the Stonycreek River. Cambria County commissioners chipped in $150,000 in Growing Greener funds for the project in 2008.
The future of Growing Greener is uncertain given the cost-cutting mood in Harrisburg. Legislature must understand that it needs to continue the program. The time is crucial to maintain the momentum achieved so far. Conservation, recreation and environmental groups are looking for a successor to the Growing Greener initiative. There is no schedule for convincing lawmakers to continue funding. To remain active, Growing Greener must find some dedicated and sustainable long-term funds.
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Schuylkill Center Preserves 325 Acres with Assistance of Conservation Easements
 The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education has placed conservation easements on 325 acres of land located between Spring Lane, Hagy’s Mill Road, Port Royal Avenue, and the Schuylkill Bike Trail. The easements will be held by Natural Lands Trust to preserve the land indefinitely. The Schuylkill Center’s partners in this effort have been the Natural Lands Trust (NLT), a non-profit land conservation organization serving eastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey, and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), which maintains Pennsylvania’s 117 state parks and manages its 2.2 million acres of state forest land.
DCNR supports this project because it ensures that children will always have access and a connection to nature. The placement of conservation easements was a detailed process over two years in the making. The placement of Conservation Easements ensures that The Center’s mission to preserve and improve our natural environment by fostering appreciation, understanding, and responsible use of the ecosystem will be recognized in perpetuity. "It is difficult to overstate the significance of preserving 325 acres of open space in Philadelphia,” noted Molly Morrison, president of the Natural Lands Trust. “This really is an historic moment for the city. We are grateful to The Schuylkill Center’s Board of Trustees for having the foresight to ensure that this wonderful resource is preserved for future generations."
"This easement to protect The Schuylkill Center’s land is critical for the conservation and enhancement of the broader Schuylkill River Trail," added DCNR Deputy Secretary Cindy Dunn said. "DCNR also supports this project because it ensures that children will always have access and a connection to nature in this special place." This effort firmly establishes the Schuylkill Center as an organization committed to stewardship and conservation of land. Our neighbors can enjoy the land and rest assured that it is protected by a conservation easement held by the region’s leading conservation organization.
Trails will remain open to the public at no charge.
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