Editorial - Washington Observer-Reporter (PA)

For years, it was essentially a 150-acre brownfield that included a mine refuse dump, sediment ponds and memories of a grimy but prosperous vocation. This was a tract of West Bethlehem Township that was forlorn and, seemingly, forgotten by time.

Not anymore. The land has been reclaimed and impressively repurposed in an area where coal mining predominated more than a quarter-century ago. That waste dump and those sediment ponds are gone, replaced by a pond with clean water and a bounty of fish, encircled by a large, healthy wetlands with cattails galore. All of this is complemented by the creation of a mile-long grass hiking trail with a steep ascent that tests one’s stamina and yields scenic views.

The beast has become a beauty. “It’s gorgeous,” Lisa Scherer, a volunteer at the property, recently told the Observer-Reporter’s Scott Beveridge.

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For the entire editorial, see

https://observer-reporter.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-west-beth-trail-a-much-needed-asset/article_58e422d8-e017-11e7-89e1-1b8b955cd46a.html