Lower Towamensing Township has granted its consent for a feasibility study for a new recreation trail in Carbon and Monroe counties.

On a 2-0 vote, supervisors adopted the revised Memorandum of Understanding for the Chestnut Ridge Greenway Study to include a $25,000 maximum contribution.

Palmerton Borough council in January agreed to pay $3,000 for a Chestnut Ridge Greenway Trail feasibility study.

The agreement is through Dec. 31, 2024.

Christopher Strohler, Wildlands Conservancy senior conservation planner, said this is really the first step in looking into the development of the trail, converting portions of a former rail bed into a multiuse trail, connecting Kunkletown to Blue Mountain Resort and the Borough of Palmerton.

Strohler said the project spans Palmerton Borough, Lower Towamensing Township and Eldred Township.

The Wildlands Conservancy is leading the effort in cooperation with municipal and local business partners to complete the study for the Chestnut Ridge Greenway, a proposed multiuse trail between Monroe and Carbon counties.

The study will evaluate the possibility of connecting Kunkletown to the borough of Palmerton, and utilize portions of the former Chestnut Ridge Railway and linking to key destinations in between.

For over 30 years, the Wildlands has owned a portion of the former Chestnut Ridge Railway, which was originally purchased to develop as a Rail-Trail.

According to Strohler, the conservancy has owned a rail line with Eldred Township in Monroe County for years. Spanning about 4 miles, it stretches from Eldred to Little Gap in Lower Towamensing and outside Palmerton’s boundaries.

The Wildlands has received grant funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to complete the study following DCNR-designated guidelines for a trail feasibility study.

In 2020, the Wildlands Conservancy Inc. was awarded state funding to complete the study following DCNR-designated guidelines for a trail feasibility study.

The Emmaus-based nonprofit organization received a $40,000 grant to prepare a study for the development of about 9 miles of the Chestnut Ridge Greenway in Palmerton Borough, Lower Towamensing Township and Eldred Township.

Strohler said the plan will focus on the preservation of the Buckwha Creek and Aquashicola Creek corridors, while creating opportunities for economic development and recreation-based tourism in these communities.

The funding was made available through the 2020 Community Conservation Partnerships Program administered by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Palmerton Borough Manager Donna McGarry said the feasibility study is where a lot of work will be done to see how it can reach the borough.

In May 2020, Palmerton voted 6-1 vote to support the study.

Councilwoman Holly Hausman Sell cast the negative vote. She said with the coronavirus pandemic ongoing, she was concerned what the borough’s future budgets might look like with so many residents out of work.

Council originally voted against the study when the conservancy asked for $10,000.