By admin 
Lycoming County, Pa. — Five miles of trails in the Glacier Pools Preserve will now be permanently protected and open to the public.
Now being considered a trail easement, this ensures that the refuge will now be open and accessible to the public in perpetuity, according to Merrill W. Linn Land and Waterways Conservancy.
A trail easement allows a property owner to give others the rights to create, maintain, and use a trail on their property without giving up ownership and enjoyment of the land through which the trail passes, according to WeConservePA .
Previous to this trail easement, the first to be negotiated by the Conservancy, the 290 acres of mature forest, wildflower meadows, sweeping vistas, and vernal pools were preserved — but perpetual access was not guaranteed.
Only 22 of the 70 land conservancy groups in Pa. have successfully achieved permanent public access to lands they protect.
Landowner Michael Gross is glad to have access assured for what he considers an “unusually varied and interesting piece of land.”
“The more I have gotten to know (Glacier Pools) I have wanted to be sure it remained open to the public,” says Gross, “but good trail systems are a work of art, and I didn’t want the ones here to revert to overgrowth and disappear after I can no longer take care of them.”
Gross has seen evidence of Glacier Pools hosting all sorts of wildlife, including amphibians who depend on the vernal pools and mammals like bears, porcupines, deer, and many other species. The 35 acres of managed open meadow boast successional blooms of wildflowers and provide habitat to butterflies and ground-nesting birds.
A board member of the Merrill Linn Conservancy, Gross credits a decade’s -worth of effort from past-President Diane Donato for “being really helpful in figuring it all out and plotting a direction” for putting the new trail easement in place. He is also grateful for the financial assistance he received from Pennsylvania General Energy of Warren, Pa.
“My property is in the middle of an active subsurface gas-drilling area using resources that are two miles deep, with no surface disturbance. The funds from this lease are what have been used to fund the permanent endowment of the trails.”