Hellertown borough officials accepted a ceremonial check from Lehigh Valley Greenways during a gathering on the Saucon Rail Trail in the borough Tuesday. The check for $10,000 represents a mini-grant that will be used to pay for improvements to the canopy along the trail, in the form of trees that will be planted where voids have developed in recent years, in part because of the destructive Emerald Ash Borer. Pictured above at the presentation ceremony, from left to right, are Rob Neitz of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR)/Lehigh Valley Greenways, Hellertown borough councilman Andrew Hughes, councilwoman Liz Thompson, mayor David Heintzelman, councilman Earl Hill, Brit Kondravy of the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor/Lehigh Valley Greenways and borough engineer Bryan Smith of Barry Isett & Associates.
Over the past few years, as more people have ventured outside to exercise and relieve stress amid the Covid pandemic, traffic has noticeably increased on the Saucon Rail Trail. The uptick in use has made trail maintenance an even greater priority, but long-term improvements are also becoming a focal point for the four municipalities that support the 12-year-old path.
The trail is a revenue driver in communities like Hellertown, where businesses such as Saucon Valley Bikes and PA House attract bikers and hikers; another reason why keeping it green is vital.
One of the trail’s greatest assets is the lush canopy of trees that lines much of it, however in places there is room for improvement. Holes in the canopy along the borough’s section of trail prompted officials to apply for a grant to help pay for trees to be planted where there aren’t many now, and they were recently awarded $10,000 in funding by Lehigh Valley Greenways to do just that.
Borough officials including borough manager Cathy Hartranft, mayor David Heintzelman and council members Liz Thompson, Earl Hill and Andrew Hughes joined with representatives from Lehigh Valley Greenways and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) to celebrate the upcoming tree plantings with a formal check presentation Tuesday.
The Saucon Rail Trail Buffer Reforestation project mini-grant will allow for the purchase and installation of more than 30 native trees such as red maple, sugar maple, white oak and Eastern redbuds along the trail between Water and Walnut streets, where some of the large trees that once provided shade have been lost to the invasive Emerald Ash Borer in recent years.
“The trees help with not only providing shade and (reducing the effects of) global warming, but also providing a natural corridor” for wildlife, borough engineer Bryan Smith said Tuesday.
Smith, of Barry Isett & Associates, said the trees will be planted outside of a five-foot grassy verge on either side of the trail, at least 10 feet back from the trail itself.
He said he expects the plantings to take place this fall or in the early spring.
Borough manager Cathy Hartranft said the borough public works department will oversee the effort.
Lehigh Valley Greenways Partnership is a public-private partnership by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor.
Created in 2004, the organization provides funding for regional landscape conservation to improve the quality of life of residents and visitors in Lehigh and Northampton counties.
Above, a void in the continuous canopy along the Saucon Rail Trail will be at least partially filled with the planting of native species of trees near the W. Saucon Street entrance to the rail trail in Hellertown borough.
Borough officials and representatives from the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, Lehigh Valley Greenways and DCNR talk on the Saucon Rail Trail following a mini-grant presentation Tuesday. Above, pictured walking in the foreground, are Liz Rosencrans of the DLNHC, Hellertown borough manager Cathy Hartranft and Rob Neitz of DCNR/Lehigh Valley Greenways.
