None The Nature Conservancy in Pennsylvania Press Releases Search All Press Releases Randy Edwards Phone: (614) 717-2770 ext. 30 E-mail: redwards@tnc.org

New Recreation Opportunities and Additional Acreage for Moosic Mountain Preserve

Mountain bikers and hikers join The Nature Conservancy in celebration

JESSUP, PENNSYLVANIA — October, 5, 2008 — After 16 months of cleaning up trash and building trails, mountain bikers and hikers are ready to begin enjoying the fruits of their labor at Moosic Mountain, a windswept landmark overlooking the Lackawanna Valley in Northeast Pennsylvania.

When the groups get together Oct. 5 to dedicate the new trail system, they’ll mark an important milestone in the effort to protect Moosic Mountain, a wild and rugged corner of Pennsylvania located only a couple of hours from Harrisburg, Philadelphia or New York City.

A decade ago, this 2,200-foot peak near Scranton was slated for a business  park.  In 2001, The Nature Conservancy purchased 1,200 acres of rugged barrens and worked with local development officials to relocate the proposed business park. . The Conservancy then began working with local mountain bike clubs and community groups to build a wild retreat among the rocks and knee-high heath and blueberry plants.

Since May 2007, 65 volunteers have contributed 775 hours at the Preserve, working on trails, manhandling heavy-duty weed whackers through the brush and removing more than 500 abandoned tires from the site.

They've created about eight new miles of single track hiking and biking trail, linked by existing dirt roads and jeep trails.

"We were thrilled to be part of this project," says mountain biker Rob Gregory. "Moosic Mountain is an awesome place. It's the most diverse place in Northeast PA. You have conglomerate stone, birch trees, oaks, maples, pitch pines, ferns, blueberries, flagstone, low growth, tall trees, amazing views  and a ton more that we want to incorporate into the trails. It's like a 1,500-acre playground."

Gregory designed one of the trails, a rocky single track path that takes bikers and hikers over several “balds” -- open areas of lichen-encrusted rocky patches—to a big-boulder corridor that the volunteers dubbed, “Stonehenge.”

Gregory, along with bikers Lee Curry and Gene Katapski, designed the trails to blend into the landscape, so hikers and bikers would have minimal impact on the land, which The Nature Conservancy identifies as one of the largest intact scrub oak/heath communities left in North America.  It is also home to three rare natural communities and at least 18 rare species.

“Moosic Mountain is an ecological gem,” says Ralph Cook, Director of The Nature Conservancy’s Northeastern Pennsylvania Office.  “Although the preserve harbors rare species, it’s also a hardy, rugged place, with austere beauty through the winter months, blueberries and wildflowers in summer, and stunning year-round views of the Lackawanna Valley.”

The excited mountain bikers and hikers will be joining neighbors, local leaders and public officials in a Sunday celebration of the new trails at the Conservancy’s Moosic Mountain Nature Preserve, which now encompasses 1,500 acres east of Scranton and just south of Jessup, Pennsylvania. The preserve – adjacent to 7,200 acres of state game and forest lands already is popular for hiking, hunting, bird watching and photography.

 Many of these “friends of Moosic Mountain” are expected at the Sunday celebration.  They’ll get a first glimpse of the expanded preserve map and have an opportunity to hike or bike the new trails, all of which were designed, cleared and marked by volunteers.

“Great praise is due to our mountain biking friends and our friends and neighbors who volunteered many, many hours painstakingly putting in these trails on difficult terrain,” remarked Jenny Case, Stewardship Program Manager, for the Conservancy.

The trail-building process began more than a year ago when members of two local bike clubs, Hubbard Bike Club and NE PA Mountain Biking Association, visited the Preserve with Case.

The trail planners tried to highlight the Preserve’s extraordinary natural wonders.  Casual hikers and bikers might venture onto the  “Blueberry Trail,”a gradual, winding climb through the blueberry and heath barrens. Those seeking longer, more challenging adventures can explore the Preserve’s southern trails, which twist and turn through rocky, landscapes and unusual sights.

The Conservancy hopes to connect all of the trails with one exterior loop trail, which could be expanded as the Preserve expands.  Currently, hikers and bikes users access the trails via abandoned dirt roads; however, vehicular traffic and ATV use are prohibited throughout the Preserve. Trail maps can be obtained here (pdf. 2MB).  Preserve visitors are reminded that hunting is permitted in season; please wear orange during the hunting season.  For more information on Moosic Mountain Nature Preserve, call The Nature Conservancy at 570-643-7922.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. The Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have protected nearly 120 million acres worldwide. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.