The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) has awarded Pike County a $30,100 grant to prepare a greenway plan for the Lackawaxen and Upper Delaware rivers. According to a press release from the Pike County Office of Community Planning, the project will complement an existing waterfront revitalization program currently underway in Sullivan County, NY.

The greenway will follow the Lackawaxen and Delaware from the border with Wayne County through Pike County to Milford Borough. The greenway plan will identify action items found in county and municipal comprehensive plans and open-space plans and target them for implementation. Public input will identify areas of commonality between plans and offer insights for further evaluations.

Pike County Planner Nicholas Dickerson explained, “A greenway consists of a series of hubs connected by a common geographic feature that promotes a regional identity.” Given the natural, scenic, recreational, cultural and economic assets in Pike County and the Upper Delaware Region as a whole, greenway planning and promotion can help attract tourists, businesses and jobs to the region.

The idea behind the Pike County greenway planning grant originated in the county’s involvement in Sullivan County’s waterfront revitalization planning process. Sullivan County has received grants from New York State to implement the plans and goals of its municipalities along the Delaware River.

Similarly, the Pike County Greenway Plan will be an action plan that can be used by the county and municipalities to apply for implementation grants.