In this Edition...
Laurel Highlands Happenings
LHCL Field Trip
Trails
Water -
Grant Opportunities!
Tourism & Gateway Communities -
Grant Opportunities!
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Laurel Highlands Happenings
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Sustainability Tour Stops in Ohiopyle
DCNR stoped at Ohiopyle on a Sustainability Tour where Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn announced DCNR's
extensive, long-term investment in energy conservation
. Ohiopyle State Park, in collaboration with the commonwealth’s Government Energy Savings Act (GESA), upgraded fixtures to capture energy savings in the LEED Gold visitors center. Boy Scout Peter Livengood
was recognized
with a Conservation Award for completing four projects in and around Ohiopyle.
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Johnstown featured in
PA Legacies Podcast
Cambria County's business, government, and nonprofit sectors are teaming up with citizens to reinvent the historically flood-ravaged city of Johnstown.
Pennsylvania Legacies podcast
explores Johnstown's evolution through the work of the Vision 2025 initiative and the Laurel Highlands Conservation Landscape.
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Laurel Highlands Welcomes
Land Trust Alliance Rally Participants
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On October 10
th
and 11
th
, partners in the Laurel Highlands Conservation Lanscape hosted two field trips for attendees of the
Land Trust Alliance
Rally.
On Wednesday, twenty people from around the country and as far as Chile toured land conservation sites with a unique story. Jane Menchyk of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC), led the group through Jennerstown Borough Park, where a collaboration between a municipality and land trust helped the community preserve lands for public recreation. With maps in-hand, Jane spoke to the group about the many sites that have been conserved throughout the conservation landscape. Kyle Shenk, Pennsylvania Conservation Fund, explained the complex land acquisition that aided in the creation of the Flight 93 National Memorial landscape. After an emotional tour of Flight 93, a reception at Scenic View Lodge and Overlook, the recent addition to Laurel Hill State Park Complex, provided a perfect respite and opportunity to enjoy the views and connect with fellow land trust professionals.
On Thursday, approximately 30 intrepid attendees biked in the rain along the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) to tour an array of recent conservation projects. Brett Hollern, trail manager of Somerset County, Bryan Perry, executive director of Allegheny Trail Alliance, and others shared the history of the GAP and region, recent land conservation projects, trail and tunnel development projects including stewardship and management issues. Lunch and brews were served at Lucky Dog in the Trail Town
®
of Confluence where the discussion continued and further examples of recent land conservation projects along the trail were shared.
The tour was capped with a visit to Ohiopyle State Park and the visitor center overlooking the Falls. Ken Bisbee, Park Manager, spoke to the park’s history including how it overlaps with the GAP trail, change in visitors over the years and how they enjoy the park, management triumphs and tribulations including a new camp site for GAP users near Ohiopyle. Land trust professionals who also manage high-visitor lands asked Ken about how they address particular issues – infrastructure and safety were popular topics.
Both tours were embellished by our local guide, Stacy Magda of the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau, who provided history, an appreciation for the landscape and all it has to offer visitors and residents, and her enthusiasm for the region.
Additional field trips were hosted by Westmoreland Land Trust, Natural Heritage Program, and Natural Areas Association.
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Snowshoeing in Forbes State Forest
Save the Date- January 31st
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The Laurel Highlands Conservation Landscape is hosting a snowshoeing and chili social on January 31st at Forbes State Forest. Further details will be forthcoming. Mark your calendars!
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Jim Mayer Riverswalk Trail
PA's Newest National Recreation Trail
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On September 4
th
, state and local officials gathered at the former Sheesley Supply Co. in the Hornerstown section of Johnstown to announce that the
Jim Mayer Riverswalk
Trail has been designated Pennsylvania’s newest National Recreation Trail.
Following the Stonycreek River, the 3.1 mile urban trail named for a local conservationist, begins in Riverside on Michigan Avenue and ends on Messenger Street in Hornerstown near Sandyvale Memorial Gardens & Conservancy. Ghost Town Trail and Path of the Flood Trail are among
Cambria County Rail Trails that have also received the National Recreation Trail designation. .
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Grand opening: WV-to-Point Marion section
of the Sheepskin Trail
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September 23rd marked the completion and reopening of the newly built section of Fayette County's Sheepskin Trail in Point Marion Borough. This section serves as the southern terminus of the Sheepskin, but trail users can continue across the Pennsylvania state line into West Virginia and ride for an add
itional 49 miles on the Mon River Trails system. Completing this section is a win for the Sheepskin, and it was celebrated widely. Point Marion residents joined with trail users arriving from Morgantown for a ribbon cutting that included lunch and sheep-shaped cookies.
Future developments are in the works for the next section. With support from Fayette County's Commissioners and the Southwestern PA Commission, Donna Holdorf of the National Road Heritage Corridor is energizing the work as the trail continues from Point Marion along the Cheat River towards Lake Lynn, PA.
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Johnstown Inclined Plane
Grand Opening
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For the last ten months, dedicated volunteers have toughed out in every weather condition imaginable to maintain the existing trails and cut, by hand, several new trails into the slopes of Yoder Hill. The Inclined Plane trails team was born from the Vision 25 Trails and Greenspaces team to bring downhill mountain biking to downtown Johnstown, all while preserving the stunning hiking trails that snake their way up the mountain.
A grand opening ceremony, spearheaded by Katie Kinka, Cambria County Planning Commission, was held on August 12th at the Inclined Plane observation deck. The event featured guest speakers, a trail hike, and an inaugural “Dirt Ch
urch
Down Hill” mountain bike race that drew 20 racers. The Inclined Plane Trails team is working to build additional miles of trails and organizing future racing events.
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Laurel Highlands Trail Summit
Recap
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Over seventy participants gathered at a local business in Ebensburg for the Laurel Highlands Conservation Landscape Trails Summit. The Summit focused on town-to-trail connections, maintenance endowments, legal issues, and business development.
The keynote address,"Trail to Good Health", was given by Marlene Singer and emphasized use of local trails as a key element to changing the overall health status of a country. The afternoon workshops included a walking tour of Ebensburg and a bike tour of the Ghost Town Trail. 68% of surveyed participants rated the Summit as "excellent."
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Sugarloaf Mountain
New Trail Network in Ohiopyle
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Members of the Ohiopyle Biking Club are hand carving a network of multi-use trails atop Sugarloaf Mountain in Ohiopyle State Park. Volunteers are reconstructing existing logging paths and gravel roads to be more bike friendly and clearing downed trees and brush by hand to build new trail segments. The approval process for the trail building effort has been slow-moving. It will likely be years until the planned 12-mile “falls-to-summit” path is completed. This long-term labor of love will ultimately attract more visitors for a different type of recreation and add to the tourism economy of the area.
Ohiopyle Biking Club members meet at 944 Sugarloaf Road
on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. for trail work or a group ride.
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Canoe Access Development Fund
Application Deadline - November 16, 2018
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The application period for the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy’s 2019 Canoe Access Development Fund is now open.
CADF applications will be accepted until Nov. 16, 2018.
Applicants will be notified of selection by Dec. 15, 2018.
If you have any questions, please contact Eli Long, WPC watershed manager, at
elong@paconserve.org
or 724-471-7202, ext. 5105.
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Tourism & Gateway Communities
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Laurel Highlands Visitor Bureau Tourism Grants
Deadline - November 16, 2018
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Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau is administering tourism grants to increase visitation, enhance the visitor experience, and increase overnight stays in Fayette, Somerset, and Westmoreland counties.
The deadline for applications is November 16th.
Please address any questions to Georgia Robinsky, Grant Administrator, at grobinsky@laurelhighlands.org or 724-238-5661 ext. 115.
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Harnessing the Power of Local Heritage
Staff Training
Front line staff from state parks and forests throughout the Laurel Highlands took a tour of historical and heritage sites to deepen their education and awareness of these resources to better serve park visitors. While the location of the bathrooms may be the most frequently asked question by visitors, their next question is often about activities within and nearby the parks. All participants were pleased to be better informed about local historic resources.
If you would like to participate, or send a staff person on a training tour, please contact
Marla Meyer Papernick.
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Inaugural National Summit
REGISTRATION - NOW OPEN!
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Celebrate the role of gateway communities in the stewardship of America's public lands and identify opportunities to help them thrive at the National Summit for Gateway Communities. The Summit, taking place on December 11-13, 2018, at the National Conservation Training Center (NCTC) in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, will bring together gateway communities, their partners, and experts from conservation, community and economic development, recreation and tourism, planning, and other creative fields. The agenda is designed to highlight success stories and lessons learned while engaging participants in robust discussions leading to specific actions for invigorating the future of gateway and rural communities.
Secretary Dunn will be participating in the opening plenary to provide a state perspective
.
Meredith Hill, Pennsylvania Wilds Director, is participating on the Gateway Summit Planning Team and shaping this program to be conducive to conservation landscape professionals.
It would be of great value if constituents from the Laurel Highlands Conservation Landscape participated.
Contact Marla Papernick by phone or
email
if interested in attending.
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PEC is proud to be the external lead to the DCNR Conservation Landscape Program in the
Laurel Highlands
.
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We want to hear from you! If you have a story or an event that takes place within the Laurel Highlands Conservation Landscape that you want to share, contact
Laura Bray
at
lbray@pecpa.org
or 412-481-9400.
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