On Tuesday, Governor Rendell announced that the state would invest $44 million dollars in 316 conservation and recreation projects, including 66 miles of trails, 4,341 acres of open space, 10 swimming pools, 135 community parks and 73 planning projects for regional efforts, parks, greenways and trails.

Many of these projects are located within the five-county reach of the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor.

Two grants directly related to the D&L are:

• $160,00 to the D&L for the D&L Trail from Northampton to Catasaqua Borough for further development to include the determination of trail alignment, preparation of drawings and specifications that will facilitate the bidding and construction of approximately two and one half miles of trail.

• $300,000 to the D&L for the Lehigh Valley Greenways Implementation Block Grant to coordinate the Lehigh Valley Greenways Initiative, provide education and outreach activities to landowners and municipalities in the Lehigh Valley, and fund the 2009 Implementation Block Grant Program.

Other grant recipients include Bristol and Morrisville in Bucks County, Easton and Bethlehem in Northampton County, Allentown and Fountain Hill in Lehigh County, and Bowmanstown and Lansford in Carbon County.

A statewide listing of all grants and projects is available on the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources website.

Over the weekend, two Landmark Towns, Morrisville and Yardley, received 65 donated trees, as part of the TreeVitalize tree planting program.

TreeVitalize is a partnership launched by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources that includes the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the Department of Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania State University, Aqua PA, and the William Penn Foundation. The partnership works to promote the value of trees in community and economic development and stresses that trees and green space increase residential and commercial property values, in addition to quality of life.

TreeVitalize’s involvement in Morrisville and Yardley began when program manager Michael Leff approached Donna Boone, Regional Main Street Coordinator for Landmark Towns, to explore the possibility of a large planting project in those towns. Working with the two town boroughs, Yardley’s Shade Tree Commission, and Morrisville’s Environmental Advisory Council, the Landmark Towns Design Committee coordinated the project. Representatives from each borough attended nine-hour Tree Tenders training courses to ensure proper planting and care of the new trees. Regarding the widespread support for the project, Boone noted, “This is a perfect example of how a regional Main Street program is supposed to work. We’ve put together a great team of volunteers in a public/private partnership that benefits the communities.”

For additional information on this TreeVitalize effort or the Landmark Towns program, please contact Donna Boone at Donna@DelawareandLehigh.org or 215-781-2605.

A note from Dennis Scholl, D&L Outreach Coordinator and head of the Trail Tenders:

Nineteen Trail Tenders gathered Saturday morning under cloudy/rainy skies to clear overgrowth from the perimeter of Lock 28 in Lehigh Gorge State Park.

Tenders from three chapters worked for more than two hours cutting down and digging out invasive glossy buckthorn that was beginning to dominate the area around the lock. The final half hour was spent cutting a short path down a slope at the north end of the lock, so visitors to the site can get a full view of the lock looking downstream. The path was bolstered on the edge with large rocks. Rocks also were used as steps.

Lock 28 is an engineering marvel that requires volunteer attention once a year. If the buckthorn were not taken out, it would quickly overtake the site and compromise some of the lock’s stonework and certainly take away the magnificent view of the lock that is available to the public now. While the Tenders were working, the lock was visited by about 12 bikers and walkers who were out despite the gloomy weather.

Saturday’s cleanup marks the end of the season’s all-chapter cleanups. They will resume again next spring. The Lehigh Valley Chapter will continue working at Lock 43 in Bethlehem throughout the winter. A cleanup is scheduled there this Saturday, Nov. 15, from 9 a.m. to noon.