EASTON, Pa. — Northampton County will get a $730,000 grant to help buy and preserve 43 acres of “high conservation value” undeveloped land in Stockertown, officials announced.
A spokesperson for the county declined to specify exactly where the land is.
“Our acquisition protects the land from development and conserves the agricultural, environmentally sensitive habitat, and trail connections in the Bushkill Creek Watershed.”County Executive Lamont McClure in a statement.
“Our acquisition protects the land from development and conserves the agricultural, environmentally sensitive habitat, and trail connections in the Bushkill Creek Watershed,” County Executive Lamont McClure said in a statement Monday.
“We are honored to be a recipient of this prestigious grant award and our staff in the Division of Parks and Recreation will continue to work in partnership with [the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources] and the [U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service] to conserve critical open space in Northampton County.”
'Build a world class trail system'
The grant is part of the Highlands Conservation Act program, an initiative managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service which aims to preserve parts of the Highlands region of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
The region covers about 5,500 square miles, according to the National Forest Service’s mapping, defined by ridges, hills and plateaus of the Appalachian Mountains and the forests, streams and lakes the region’s geography supports.
"It helps the Lehigh Valley Greenways Conservation Landscape expand the LINK Trail Network, and its work to build a world-class trail system within the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor.”State Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn.
Northampton County will have to match the grant dollar-for-dollar and cover half of the Stockertown property’s $1.4 million price tag.
County officials applied for the grant money in tandem with the state Department of Natural Resources, which backed the county’s bid for funds.
“Not only does addition of the property help the Commonwealth close a key trail gap in the Two Rivers Trailway in Northampton County," Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn said.
"It helps the Lehigh Valley Greenways Conservation Landscape expand the LINK Trail Network, and its work to build a world-class trail system within the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor.”
