Name: Duncannon watershed deal to be sealed next month
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Duncannon watershed deal to be sealed next month

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By Jim T. Ryan Staff WriterDuncannon and The Nature Conservancy are expected to close in September on their deal to preserve the borough's watershed properties along Shermans Creek and the north wing of Cove Mountain, according to an update from the conservancy.Josh Parrish, the conservancy's working woodlands director who helped broker the deal last year, told borough council in July that all fundraising is complete and the expected closing date is Sept. 15. As part of the deal, the conservancy will give the borough $550,000 at closing to buy the development rights on the nearly 1,600 acres of watershed lands. The conservancy paid the borough a $100,000 option up-front for a total price of $650,000."Both parties want to close as soon as possible in one swoop," Parrish said.The conservancy committed to a staged payment schedule, unless it could raise the full amount in a shorter time. It had until the end of 2018 to raise the first $200,000, but by April it raised $1.1 million.It got $558,000 in a grant from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the rest from the Hamer Foundation in State College. The money will pay for the conservation easement, access and facilities improvement, as well as long-term planning for recreation and forestry uses.The conservancy also will use the money to establish an endowment to cover future maintenance and upkeep of the lands, Parrish said."We did the same at the Cove Mountain Preserve," he said, referring to the 350-acre preservation it completed in 2017 on the southern ridge of Cove Mountain in Marysville.Part of the money will develop a forest management plan to help the borough manage its timber harvests to improve the forest's overall health and produce better harvests. The conservancy completed a forest inventory in early July and will have a draft plan for borough review by April 2019.Because the borough and conservancy are partnering with the state Game Commission, there's also money available to control invasive plant species, improving habitat for local wildlife.More immediately, visitors to the watershed lands will soon see some noticeable improvements for hunting and for hiking on the Appalachian Trail. The conservancy will place a new information kiosk at the parking area, including maps, rules for use set up by the borough, and other important information for visitors.Recreational improvements will be an important part of the plan, Parrish said. That includes new marked hiking trails, and boating access to Shermans Creek.A new trail will be marked out along the length of the watershed lands, tentatively to be known as the "Smokestack Trail." The roughly four-mile trail would take visitors out to an old smokestack that's part of the watershed's industrial past, as well as a sandy, natural spring feeding fresh water into Shermans Creek from under the mountain. There will also be a connector trail from the western end up to the Appalachian Trail."I think that will be a popular hike," Parrish said.Plans are to cut a safe access down to Shermans Creek so people can launch kayaks and other small, non-motorized boats, he said. The conservancy is hoping to work with the borough and area businesses to promote fun events that incorporate both the trails and waterways.The conservancy wants to improve the parking area and place new gates to limit motorized access where it's unwanted. It has offered new fencing at the borough's water facilities to help protect them, new sheds and fencing for the recycling operation the Boy Scouts run, and improvements to the composting area, too.The hope is that as access and facilities improve, more people will visit and take an ownership stake in the lands, Parrish said. That makes it difficult for unwanted activities, such as illegal dumping and vandalism."The long-term is more people enjoying those properties," he said, "and really valuing them."Jim T. Ryan can be reached via e-mail at jtryan@perrycountytimes.com

By Jim T. Ryan Staff WriterDuncannon and The Nature Conservancy are expected to close in September on their deal to preserve the borough's watershed properties along Shermans Creek and the north wing of Cove Mountain, according to an update from the conservancy.Josh Parrish, the conservancy's working woodlands director who helped broker the deal last year, told borough council in July that all fundraising is complete and the expected closing date is Sept. 15. As part of the deal, the conservancy will give the borough $550,000 at closing to buy the development rights on the nearly 1,600...

Duncannon watershed deal to be sealed next month

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