The Ross Township Board of Supervisors discussed participation in a public park mapping project by The Nature Conservancy at the regular board meeting on Monday.

Chairman Howard Beers Jr. presented the concept during the new business section of themeeting at the Ross Township Municipal Building.The Nature Conservancy, a charitable organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, with a branch operating in Pennsylvania, is currently working on a map that highlights public parks in the West End. The board debated which areas in Ross Township should be submitted for consideration."We have two spaces that would be on the map," Beers said. "Of course, one would be our park. Where would we want the second one to be?"Board member suggestions included the Cherry Valley Wildlife Refuge, but Beers quickly rejected the idea."You have the 'No Trespassing' signs all over," Beers said. "So it's not public. How can we put that on a map that someone could pick up at a diner, and then they go there, and they find themselves booted off?"The Nature Conservancy has expressed interest in mapping the included parks, denoting trails, walking paths, pavilions, ponds and other points of interest. Beers and the board agreed to contact authorities in Monroe County to obtain maps or surveys for their submitted areas, particularly for the Appalachian Trail.The board eventually settled on including the Appalachian Trail, which leads to the state game land, along with the Ross Township Park for the project.