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Lehigh Gap Nature
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A year of meetings, research, and creative thinking on the part of the Lehigh Gap Nature Center’s Master Site Planning Committee had led to the publication of our 28-page Master Site Planning document. The plan calls for a $3 million capital campaign for facilities, infrastructure, educational exhibits, and endowment in support of our mission to protect wildlife through education, conservation, and research.
Bill Mineo, Trail Manager and Steward for the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, led the process that began in February of 2004 and culminated in final approval of the plan by the Board of Directors in February of 2005. The Lehigh Gap Nature Center’s Board of Directors, Executive Director, and three key community members comprised the 12-person committee.
The plan evaluates the resources of our Lehigh Gap Wildlife Refuge and the needs of the surrounding communities, and then lays out plans for education, recreation, research, and ecological restoration. It calls for infrastructure improvements related to access and circulation, educational exhibits (both indoor and outdoor), trail improvements, a large visitor/education/headquarters complex, and a field laboratory and classroom.
The plan serves two major purposes: 1) to serve as the guiding document for development of the visitor facilities and protecting and restoring the natural resources of the Lehigh Gap Wildlife Refuge, and 2) facilitate fund raising for the project. The $3 million campaign to fund the plan and endow the maintenance and upkeep of the facilities has just begun. Anyone wishing to contribute to the campaign should send donations to the Lehigh Gap Nature Center and mark them “Lehigh Gap Fund.”
To
view the plan in Adobe PDF format, click
here. The file is large--1.8 Mb--and may take a few minutes to
download over slower connections.
If you can't read the PDF files, you can get a copy of Adobe Reader here:
