Op-Ed Piece in the Allentown Morning Call

One of the greatest conservation success stories in the state is evolving in the Lehigh Valley, yet many residents are not aware of the project. It involves educating and motivating children and adults, protecting the Lehigh River watershed, providing recreation opportunities close to home, and boosting small business. The project is called the Lehigh Gap Restoration Project. 

The project has received statewide awards, and a national award from the US Department of Interior. It has been used as a case study in a scholarly book by an ecologist from the University of Washington who visited the site, and was recently visited by a delegation from the French Regional Nature Parks. However, it needs more local attention and support to reach its full potential. 

In 2002, our small private nonprofit group, the Lehigh Gap Nature Center (originally founded as the Wildlife Information Center) decided to transform more than 750 acres of the Palmerton Superfund site into a nature center and public access park. The dedicated teachers, scientists, and conservation-minded citizens who comprised the Center’s Board of Directors, developed innovative plans to restore vegetation to the polluted “toxic moonscape” on the Kittatinny Ridge at Lehigh Gap at the junction of Lehigh, Northampton, and Carbon Counties. This acreage is part of the largest superfund site east of the Mississippi River. 

By 2003 we raised nearly $1 million to purchase the property. Following the purchase, we moved to implement a plan to use native American warm-season prairie grasses to trap heavy metals in the soil, stop huge erosion problems, and restore a functioning ecosystem for the first time in 50 years. The plans were approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency, which is monitoring the ongoing success of the restoration efforts. 

Volunteers at the Lehigh Gap Nature Center have developed dynamic site-specific programs of education, conservation, research and outdoor recreation. Our location at the crossroads of the Kittatinny Ridge, Lehigh River, Appalachian Trail, and Delaware & Lehigh Natural Heritage Corridor creates unique opportunities for the region.  

A $3 million campaign is now in progress to improve infrastructure and facilities, provide program support and begin endowment growth. Functional facilities are needed to serve local area K-12 students, as well as the college students from Scranton to Philadelphia that visit the site in growing numbers. Corporate donations to our Lehigh Gap Environmental Education Partnership and several other programs are eligible for PA Education Improvement Tax Credits. Currently more than 50 university and government scientists are involved in a consortium performing research on site. 

The recreational opportunities in the Lehigh Gap area are incredible. Birders are treated to locally rare birds including Prairie Warblers, Ospreys and Bald Eagles. The clean Lehigh River is used for float trips and is an economically important trout fishing destination. The Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor suggests that thousands of people each year will hike, bike, jog, or otherwise use the “D&L Trail” being constructed through the Nature Center. 

Two important aspects of the Lehigh Gap Nature Center’s work deserve the special attention of everyone in the Lehigh Valley. One is the removal of a great threat to the Lehigh River by stopping the erosion of the heavy metal contaminated hillside into the river. The other is protecting the watershed and recharge area of the Lehigh and local groundwater sources. Water absorbed by the Kittatinny recharges aquifers in the townships south of the Kittatinny and feeds the Lehigh River with important seeps and springs along the length of the Nature Center. 

All of this is taking place literally in the backyards of the residents and businesses of the Lehigh Valley, but has been “under the radar screen” for many, even though the project has been celebrated state-wide and nationally. That a small group of concerned citizens could accomplish so much is amazing. As Congressman Paul Kanjorski noted when he visited Lehigh Gap, this is the kind of project that deserves the full support of government, as well as the business community, philanthropists, and the residents of the Lehigh Valley region. 

Please visit the Lehigh Gap Nature Center website, www.lgnc.org and contact me at dan@lgnc.org to discuss how you can help. 
 

            Dan Kunkle
            Executive Director