Montour Trail-Letter

Volume 12, Issue 6

November/December, 2001

At our annual dinner on November 11, members of the Montour Trail Council (MTC) will be asked if they approve of a change in the by-laws. The purpose of the change is twofold: to give us official status as a Land Trust, and to more clearly state that we have an interest in lands adjacent to the trail.

Because we were not a Land Trust, the MTC underwent considerable unnecessary expense in acquiring the property on which our trail easement is located. This is the section from milepost 0 to about milepost 7. We knew that this land had caught the eye of someone who wanted it for topsoil and we had to act quickly.

First, using a short-term Allegheny Trail Alliance (ATA) loan, we purchased the land from the former owner. Per our request, the Allegheny Land Trust (ALT) graciously stepped forward and purchased the land from us using Allegheny Regional Asset District (ARAD) funds and a Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) grant that could only go to a Land Trust. The MTC was then able to pay off the ATA loan. The ownership of the land by ALT was not a problem, as their goals are the same as ours. But this additional transfer cost several thousand dollars.

The ALT, in turn, looked at the land, and asked: Who should be responsible for managing this land? The obvious answer was: The Montour Trail Council. So they are going to sell it back to us for $1.00 in a year! All this could have been avoided had we already been a Land Trust, but prior to this experience, we had no idea that this might be an issue to government regulators.

The second point of the by-law change addresses the fact that we are maturing as an organization. To implement our linear park concept, we are expressing interest in available neighboring parcels. Such purchases would enhance the 'viewscape' of the trail, and if large enough, a parcel might allow a side loop trail. Or it might just be the land on which an access path is situated. While we have little money that we can devote to this cause at the present time, we should be ready to accept any gifts of land or otherwise for this purpose.

We hope you will join us for our annual dinner and meeting on November 11, and get your questions answered on this and other topics of importance to the future of the Montour Trail.