Dan Kunkle, Director of the Lehigh Gap Nature Center, spoke to the Palmerton Area Democratic Club on Monday night. Mr. Kunkle made the group aware of just what a jewel we have along the Lehigh in Southern Carbon County.
He pointed out that the denuded Blue Mountain had been treeless for so long that area residents assumed it had always been that way, but he showed a picture of the Lehigh Gap around 1900 before the advent of the Zinc Company. The entire Gap was heavily forested.
Mr. Kunkle then explained how the Nature Center saw this as an opportunity rather than a problem. Volunteers planted grass seeds--grass, unlike trees, does not absorb the cadmium, lead, and zinc, but leaves them in the soil and out of the food chain. He also noted that of all the Superfund sites in the United States, the Palmerton Superfund site is the only one that features a nature center.
I have been to the Center on two occasions and have hiked a number of its trails. The Center is free, the trails are varied, and the views are spectacular. If you are a reader who lives in Carbon County who has not yet visited the Center, you should. If you plan a trip to this area, make the Center one of your stops.
To visit the Center on-line, go to <www.lgnc.org>.
P.S.: I have not seen them yet, but Mr. Kunkle said that river otters have been spotted on Center property. I would so like to see a river otter.
Thanks for the info Roy. Next time I'm in the area I'll try to visit.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young I remember all to well the pollution that the Zinc works emitted. Thankfully the EPA has been a strong force in cleaning it all up. I hope that fracking doesn't do more environmental harm to the river and the area. Clean water is essential. When you see the river otters, ask them what they think.