Spring Creek Canyon Master Plan
Centre County, Pennsylvania
Services
GIS Mapping and Analysis
Resource Analysis
Master Planning
Cost Estimation
Public Involvement
Project Management
Purpose
To assess the project site’s overall capacity and identify opportunities for sustainable conservation, preservation and special recreation development.
To prepare feasible design alternatives and implementation strategies for greenways, recreation facilities, agricultural areas and open spaces.
To explore and define realistic management
structures and operating policies and procedures alongside coordination of project partner roles and responsibilities.
Client
Benner Township
Sub-Consultant
Johnson, Mirmiran and Thompson, Inc.
Toole Recreation Planning, Inc.
Maille Consulting Services
Spring Creek Canyon has been identified by the Sierra Club as one of the nation’s 50 most “under protected” ecologically important sites in the United States and because of the quality and number of potential outdoor recreation activities available to users of the 1,800–acre site, conservation of the natural resources is a priority in the Plan.
In developing the Plan, the compatibility of natural resources was evaluated based on environmental sensitivity, spatial requirements, accessibility, and safety, as well as connections to the surrounding community. Following EPD’s facilitation of three separate district committees as well as hosting public meetings with 200+ active attendees, planning recommendations were formulated to accommodate the range of desired user groups and seasons of activity. The final Master Plan seeks to optimize trail development, site access, circulation, compatibility with adjacent uses, conserved landscape areas and the site’s known physical limitations.
The Management Plan builds upon the resources available, exploring new approaches, offering insights to techniques and proven methods as well as creating recommendations based on partnership, stewardship, collaboration, and a mix of traditional and non-traditional approaches to resources management.