Over $500K awarded for Milford park upgrade, game land addition

Peter Becker, Tri-County Independent
·4 min read

State grants have been awarded to upgrade Milford Borough's West Ann Memorial Park, and to add approximately 130 acres to State Game Lands in Shohola Township, Pike County.

The awards announced Jan. 17 by Rep. Joseph Adams (R-Pike/Wayne) total $195,100 for the Milford park project and $400,000 to buy the acreage in Shohola Township. The funding was awarded by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR).

“Improved parks are a key ingredient in revitalized communities, large and small,” Adams stated. “I’m thankful Pike County will be awarded this highly competitive funding. Further developing these locations will benefit children, parents and the entire community.”

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Upgrading Milford park

The Milford Borough grant is for the rehabilitation of West Ann Memorial Park and will go toward construction of pedestrian walkways and parking area, installation of play equipment with required safety surfacing and fencing, improved ADA accessibility, general landscaping, a pickle ball court, entrance gates, and a tree-lined, lighted, promenade down the middle of the park.

"The park just looks tired. We also had a playground inspection completed two years ago that found several deficiencies." Milford councilmember Maria Farrell commented. "We were able to correct many of them immediately however, some overall concerns remained."

She said the playground needs a complete overhaul to provide modern, appealing equipment to encourage continued use, and to make the park more inclusive for those with disabilities.

"Our goal is to build an all-inclusive playground and park that embraces all ages and abilities," Farrell said. "This grant will fund much of Phase 1 of the park renovation. It will include an all-inclusive playground, pour-in-place safety surfacing, decorative fencing around the play area, and new walkways that will directly tie into the play area from the ADA parking spots." ADA refers to Americans with Disabilities Act.

Farrell stated that the grant required a 20% match which will be paid from the borough General Fund as well as unspent Parks and Recreation budgets, and federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.

Council is awaiting word about a separate grant application to pay for laying sidewalks around three of the four sides of the park (the fourth side is an alleyway).

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Protected lands in Pike

West Ann Memorial Park, in Milford Borough, viewed from West Catherine Street. A state grant for $195,100 will fund walkways, a parking area, and play equipment with required safety surfacing and fencing.
West Ann Memorial Park, in Milford Borough, viewed from West Catherine Street. A state grant for $195,100 will fund walkways, a parking area, and play equipment with required safety surfacing and fencing.

The Nature Conservancy grant will be used as payment toward the acquisition of approximately 130 acres in Shohola Township, Pike County, for an addition to the 3,024 acres of State Game Land 116. Funding comes from the DCNR Community Conservation Partnerships Program.

In addition, on January 18, The Nature Conservancy, Pennsylvania and Delaware chapter, announced closure in the purchase of 1,071 acres of wooded land with a cabin across State Route 434 from State Game Land 116.

This newly acquired parcel adjoins the 11,400-acre State Game Land 180. With this acquisition, the two state game lands will be linked, bisected by Route 434. Game Land 116 is to the north of the roadway and 180 is to the south.Together, the two state game lands will form a 43-mile corridor of protected lands.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission provided $2 million toward the $4 million purchase price.

“The Nature Conservancy is excited to acquire this property, which features clean streams and threatened species that are increasingly vulnerable to climate change,” said Lori Brennan, Executive Director of The Nature Conservancy’s Pennsylvania and Delaware chapter in a press release. “The parcel also creates a critical link between two forested tracts of protected lands that will help maintain migratory corridors and safeguard biodiversity here in the Central Appalachians.”

The 1,071-acre property lies downstream from Shohola Falls and Shohola Lake and includes more than a mile of frontage on Shohola Creek and six tributary streams. It also includes Bald Hill, a landscape that provides habitat for several plant and animal species of concern, the Conservancy states.

The Shohola Creek project received financial support from two Open Space Institute funds: the Delaware River Watershed Protection Fund and the Appalachian Landscapes Protection Fund.

The acquisition of the 1,071 acres marks The Nature Conservancy’s second land protection project in Pike County. In 2017, it bought and transferred 318 acres to the state Bureau of Forestry, expanding the Delaware State Forest.

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Grant will fund Milford park upgrades, Pike County game land addition