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Rambling through Cherry Valley

Sponsored by Friends of Cherry Valley and the Brodhead Water Association

BARTONSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA — March 25, 2008 — Friends of Cherry Valley and the Brodhead Watershed Association will sponsor the Cherry Valley Ramble from 2-4:30 p.m. Sunday, May 18.

Participants will drive to four selected tracts, and then walk less than half a mile to meet with naturalist volunteers, who will explain how the property was acquired and how it provides for watershed protection and habitat for special plants and animals.

Farming is traditional in the Cherry Creek watershed and each of the tracts represents a farm saved by easement or purchase. 

The Nature Conservancy saved the Blakeslee farm, Stroud Township saved part of the Josie Porter farm, Pocono Heritage Land Trust saved part of the Walker property, and Monroe County Open Space with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture preserved the Fetherman farm.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is exploring the possibility of establishing Pennsylvania’s third national wildlife refuge in Cherry Valley.

Participants must register for the first-come, first-served Ramble by noon on May 17 by calling Anne Fetherman at 570-424-8121. 

Friends of Cherry Valley will operate a welcome center tent in the parking lot of the education building of Cherry Valley United Methodist Church, along Kemmertown Rd., four miles west of  Rt. 191, from 1:30-2:30 p.m. on the day of the event. At the tent, participants will be asked for a donation ($10 individual, $15 family), and nametags and site directions will be provided. 

Information on watershed issues and preservation groups will be available at the welcome tent and at the Fetherman home, where participants are invited to meet for refreshments at the end of the Ramble. 

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.