Susan Gallagher described turning down a $5,000 grant from developers of a proposed natural gas pipeline as a "difficult ethical decision."

The Carbon County Environmental Education Center administrator was able to put the dilemma behind her thanks to a generous donation that will allow the nonprofit organization to improve its trail and increase accessibility to its bird blind.On the day a story in the Times News described how the CCEEC advisory committee recommended declining money from the PennEast Pipeline Company, Gallagher found a check for the full amount of the grant under the center's door."I've been thanking people here for 27 years for supporting us," Gallagher said. "This is the first time I've felt speechless. There are no words to describe how grateful we are for this money."The check came from the estate of Barbara Stone, a former Lower Saucon Township resident who passed away in 2013. Stone's daughter Anita lives in Jim Thorpe with her husband, Galen."It's obvious there are people who sincerely care about the environment, and that is so gratifying to see," Gallagher said.The center applied for the PennEast grant and was one of several area nonprofits named as funding recipients.After finding out the application was successful, however, CCEEC officials questioned whether to accept the money."What PennEast is proposing to do to the environment is not in line with something an environmental center should be supporting," Gallagher said. "While we don't feel accepting the money would have influenced how we feel about the pipeline project, we didn't want to give the impression that we are supporting the project. There are a lot of environmental issues they need to address."With the donation in hand, the center will get to work on what will be appropriately named "The Barbara Stone Trail," which will lead to the bird blind."It's really muddy in certain sections, and what we want to do is develop a longer section of the boardwalk," she said. "It would help get wheelchairs in there, and our handicap accessibility would be better."October remains a busy time for school groups to visit the center, and Gallagher said it would likely be a few weeks until the planning stages of the project could begin."We're hoping that by the spring, we can get to work and unveil this to the public," she said.