It’s so satisfying to see a project come full circle. This is how we feel about the 10th anniversary of Pike County PA’s Scenic Rural Character Preservation Program (which just so happens to coincide with Heron’s Eye Communications’ 10-year milestone in April of this year).
Back in the day, when Pike was grappling with rapid population growth, Heron’s Eye Co-Founder’s Krista Gromalski and Sandy Long served as Campaign Manager and Volunteer Coordinator for Vote to Keep Pike Green, the grassroots citizen group in support of the Scenic Rural Character Preservation referendum, which passed with 68% voter approval in the November 2005 general election.
The referendum called for:
- protection of water quality, wildlife habitat, scenic ridges and critical open space
- creation of parks and recreational areas
- improved county and municipal planning
- acquisition of land from willing sellers on a voluntary basis
- transparency on the provision of funds for such purposes
More recently, Heron’s Eye collaborated with Dorene Warner of W Design and Jessica Grohmann, Assistant Director of the Pike County Office of Community Planning, to create an infographic depicting highlights of the Scenic Rural Character Preservation Program’s achievements in celebration of its 10th anniversary.
“Thank you for your attention to detail,” said Grohmann of the infographic. “It’s a great piece of work!”
Scenic Rural Character Preservation Program Highlights
The Pike County Commissioners launched the Scenic Rural Character Preservation Program in April of 2006 under the auspices of the Pike County Office of Community Planning. Since its inception, the program has dedicated almost $440,000 to 20 planning projects within nine Pike County municipalities. Most of these projects also received matching state grants.
In addition, the program has so far awarded $5.6 million for acquisition of property for parks, open space and trails, as well as for the purchase of conservation easements from willing sellers. Further, $6 million of state, federal or other matching funds have been leveraged to achieve the protection of more than 3,500 acres. Of these projects, three properties (totaling 1,475 acres) are now part of the Delaware State Forest.
Geocache Mission
A series of nine geocaches are located on the publicly accessible lands created by the Scenic Rural Character Preservation Program — one on each property. Visitors are invited to explore the lands with their GPS unit or smartphone app and log their finds in the field and on a downloadable Geocaching Passport to receive a custom trackable geocoin (while supplies last).
That’s a lot of great progress over the past decade!
Here’s to more on the horizon…
