The Pocono Forests and Waters Conservation Initiative, administered by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, recently awarded 10 grants totaling $60,000 to support recreation and education projects in Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, and Wayne counties. Five of the projects involve improving or promoting trails:
Countryside Conservancy: $10,000 to build 2.6 miles of singletrack trails on the 82-acre Gardner Preserve adjacent to Lackawanna State Park.
Downtown Hawley Partnership: $7,500 to complete the Hawley Trail extension connecting the Wayne County Historical Society Lock 31 trail to Hawley’s existing trails at Riverside Park, including a comprehensive trail guide and trail-side signage.
Lacawac Sanctuary: $2,250 to create Get Outside, Get Healthy! guidebooks with trail, map, and facility information about nature-based activities for health and wellness on Pike and Wayne County public lands.
West End Park Open Space Commission: $5,000 to develop 900 linear feet of an all-inclusive, shared-use connector trail at West End Regional Park.
Wildlands Conservancy: $3,000 for boardwalk/trail construction at the Maple/Haase Preserve to enhance access to a trail network connecting over 1,000 acres of Fern Ridge Bog open space.
