The Wildlands Conservancy had no resistance convincing the past two park directors to allow them to plant riparian buffers along the streams in the park system. Both directors were from out of town, trained in recreation at Penn State, and had no feeling or knowledge of the park's history and traditions. To add absurdity to the situation, the storm sewer systems in Allentown are piped directly into the streams, bypassing the buffers, making them useless to their stated purpose. To add further irony to the absurdity, the park department must now spray insecticide on the underbrush to control the invasive species. Worse than blocking access and view of the streams, the recent director endorsed the Conservancy demolishing two small historic dams, after being here only six weeks, and never actually having seen the dams himself.
Why do I dwell on water over the dam? The Wildlands Conservancy is now pitching the dam demolition and riparian buffer agenda to South Whitehall Township. If they get their way, the beautiful picnic vista overlooking Wehr's Dam will be replaced with a wall of weeds. I'm on a mission to make sure that beauty and history survive at Covered Bridge Park.
reprinted from September of 2014
ADDENDUM: June 14, 2018. The park department now has a new director and the city a new mayor, yet the influence of the Wildlands Conservancy continues, along with the weed walls blocking our view and access of the creeks. Although Wehr's Dam was saved in South Whitehall by voter referendum, the Wildlands Conservancy and the South Whitehall Commissioners still want to tear it down, and are conspiring with the state to have it condemned, to subvert the will of the voters. The Morning Call has been cooperating with that effort by not reporting the story.
Basically, the Wildlands Conservancy is running the Parks Department now? These parks were gifted to the people of Allentown, not to a single small group of people who are determined to ruin our beautiful parks and deny access to the water's edge. These are OUR parks, not their's. How many feet deep will the required riparian buffer be along the river's edge at the new riverfront area?
ReplyDeleteSLK@8:27, good question... Lehigh Valley runs on influence and cronyism. The riverfront developers, the Jaindl family, have enough influence to keep the river view free of weeds and other obstructions/
ReplyDeleteWell, the wall of weeds certainly helps them enforce their new 'no being in the creeks law'. I dont know the formal name of it. I spent over half my life in the park system and creeks throughout tge valley. Now it's only a place for runners, zero turn mowers and Xmas lights
ReplyDelete