Palmerton remains optimistic about a feasibility study to pursue a Rails to Trails Project from Kunkletown to the borough.

Borough Manager Donna McGarry updated borough council last week on the Chestnut Ridge Greenway Grant.

“They are moving along that path,” McGarry said. “It’s a study.”

Last January, council agreed to pay $3,000 for a Chestnut Ridge Greenway Trail feasibility study. The agreement runs through Dec. 31, 2024.

The Wildlands Conservancy is working on the feasibility study that involves connecting Kunkletown to the borough of Palmerton, utilizing portions of the former Chestnut Ridge Railway and linking to key destinations in between.

The trail would go through the borough and Lower Towamensing and Eldred townships.

In August, Lower Towamensing Township supervisors agreed to pay a $25,000 maximum contribution.

“The development of a trail would be some time away, as the current grant is merely a study to determine the possibility of a trail,” McGarry said. “Once the study is complete and the municipalities agree to the concept, grants would be sought, and I believe the state has been supportive of this type of project, since there have been a number of these trails developed with grant funds.”

Eldred doesn’t own

trail property

In December, Eldred Township supervisors said the proposed Rails to Trails land is privately owned.

Township solicitor Michael Gaul said a review involved an abstraction of the relevant chains of title, communication with the Wildlands Conservancy, and review of township information and documentation.

Gaul said this particular Rails to Trails property involves land that was owned or had rights of way associated with a rail line from Kunkletown to Palmerton. It was originally assembled by the New York and Pennsylvania Brick, Tile and Terra Cotta Co. for the purpose of transporting raw materials to make bricks.

The rail line impacted four properties known today as the Tanzosh property, the Barlieb property, the Kunkletown Rod and Gun Club, and property owned by Eldred Township. The township focused its review on the Tanzosh and Barlieb properties.

Wildlands Conservancy acquired the property from the Chestnut Ridge Railway Co. in 1990. By a quitclaim deed in 2000, Wildlands granted and conveyed interest in the Rails to Trails property within Eldred Township to the township.

The problem was that Chestnut Ridge Railway Co. did not own the land. They had an easement, and had abandoned the rail line long before the transaction.

Under Pennsylvania law, there has to be an agreement to maintain the right of way and an agreement that re-entry of the easement is expressed by the party wanting the easement.

If these two requirements are not met, then the property reverts back to the land owner, Gaul said. From his research, neither of these requirements were met by the railway company.

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

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 Emmaus-based nonprofit organization received a $40,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to prepare the study, which will focus on the preservation of the Buckwha Creek and Aquashicola Creek corridors, while creating opportunities for economic development and recreation-based tourism in the communities.

Kristine Porter contributed to this report.