Preserving Pa.’s mountains is win for all

Emmaus-based Wildlands Conservancy is about to close on the purchase of 500 acres along Kittatinny Ridge.

Perhaps you noticed on a drive to the Poconos the latest effort by the Wildlands Conservancy to preserve land along the Blue Mountain on the northern edge of Lehigh County and thought: “Well, tree huggers gotta hug. Let them use somebody else’s money to invest in steep mountain sides that nobody wants anyway.”

That’s one way of looking at it. From the dark side.

Last week the Emmausbased nonprofit announced that it expects to close soon on the purchase of 500 acres along Kittatinny Ridge — as the extension of the formation is better known in New Jersey — or the Blue Mountain, as it’s widely known on the Pennsylvania side.

The effort to preserve valuable mountain land, as with farmland, is a piecemeal approach, but 500 acres is nothing to sneeze at.

This acquisition fits nicely into the conservancy’s strategy to preserve the hilly border that separates the Lehigh Valley from the Poconos — adjoining areas that are facing intense development pressures.

“This is one of the most significant gaps in continuous protection on Blue Mountain,” Wildlands President Christopher Kocher said. “It also kind of continues this legacy commitment ... Wildlands has protected more than half of the total acreage that has been protected on that ridge in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”

The land being preserved is on the north side of the mountain, between the Bake Oven Knob lookout to the west and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension to the east.

Wildlands says it has purchased and protected 54,000 acres of open space since 1973, and more than 13,000 of the 23,000 acres protected along the ridge.

Other contributing parties are the Pennsylvania Game Commission, National Wild Turkey Federation and Appalachian Trail Conservancy. The Game Commission will use the land to expand State Game Lands 217.

If you think the conservancy and others groups are operating in something of a green vacuum by sewing up the Blue Mountain for posterity — well, it’s just the opposite.

Perhaps you’ve ventured onto the Appalachian Trail and reveled in its ruggedness and panoramic views, but also noticed the encroachment of development in some spots. A big part of the Wildlands Conservancy’s mission is protecting the ridgeline trail by securing buffers on both sides.

Perhaps you’ve noticed parts of other states, including New Jersey, where oncepristine hillsides have given way to housing.

And how the spread of communities into mountains and high valleys, notably in California, has exposed people to devastating wildfires and mudslides.

Blue Mountain isn’t about to be converted to the Hollywood Hills, but its role as a natural buffer is critical to a large swath of Pennsylvania.

Perhaps you’ve noticed — or been impacted by — rising flood waters on creeks and rivers, sometimes from a one-day weather event. Or conversely, by droughts and lowered water tables.

The absorption and release of rainwater and snowmelt from the Blue Mountain plays a big role in replenishment of streams, wells and aquifers that provide drinking water, recreational opportunity and aquatic habitat. And to some extent, flood control.

Perhaps you’re a hunter, angler, hiker or mountain biker, and have lamented the loss of habitat that draws you to nature — and helps you keep your sanity in the more pressurized aspects of life.

Perhaps you don’t do or think much about any of these things, but have stopped to marvel at the geological upheaval that is a mountain, and wondered about the science that explains it.

Or you’ve been inspired by the colors of autumn that every year turn Blue Mountain into a palette of God’s work, 1,000 feet high.

We’d like to thank the Wildlands Conservancy, its staff and financial supporters, for thinking about and raising money for ... mountains. And all the things that connect to them.