CPC's project coordinator, Brennan Kaye, has been on the monitoring trail this fall and early winter. With the support of other staff and volunteers, she's been traveling throughout Cumberland, Perry, Dauphin, and Juniata Counties to fulfill CPC's legal obligation to visit and report on 28 conservation easement properties. The process includes landowner communication, a review of individual easement objectives and restrictions, initiating GIS tracking, hiking the boundaries and photo stations, and completing a monitoring report. CPC has transitioned to an online monitoring program, called Landscape, which transfers information easily from the office to the field and vice versa, providing an effective data center for monitoring and stewardship efforts.

We are thrilled to announce grants recently awarded by PPL Foundation ($25,000 to support ecological restoration and access improvements at CPC's Letort Spring Garden Preserve) and by Appalachian Trail Conservancy's Wild East Action Fund ($25,000 to support CPC's efforts to permanently protect the 1300-acre, South Mountain gem--Camp Tuckahoe--broadly known in the region for its summertime, youth outdoor education camps and operated by the local council of the Boy Scouts of America (New Birth of Freedom Council). The ATC's Wild East program advances the conservation of the wild, scenic, and cultural wonders of the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) and its surrounding landscape. Both grants will support core projects for CPC in 2022.

Save the Date! The 2022 Ironmaster's Challenge is scheduled for Sunday, September 25, 2022. CPC extends a big thank you to a new Check Point sponsor for 2022--Pennsylvania American Water! We look forward to offering the traditional trail routes for both 50k and 15k distances, as used in years past. Please stay tuned for a registration announcement in early 2022.