The Alleghney National Forset compirses 514,029 acres in the northwestern corner of Pennsylvania. Besides being one of the world's primary sources of black cherry logs for furniture, the ANF has a wide array of recreational activies, from hiking, to fishing to hunting. We have partnered with the ANF to maintain the Laurel Mill Trails, located a few miles west of Ridgway. We also, as time and resources permit, help out at other nearby non-motorized recreation areas.
Ridgway Township is located in Elk County and is surrounded by the Allegheny National Forest. While they are a small in terms of population (2,800) they have a wonderful park (Sandy Beach Park) which borders the ANF's Laurel Mill Trails. We have partnered with Ridgway Township and are developing mountain bike trails on a 40 acre portion of the park that is undeveloped. It is our hope that at some point in the future the ANF will allow biking on the Laurel Mill Trails and at that point the bike trails at Sandy Beach Park will be connected to the Laurel Mill Trails.
The Lumber Heritage Region is a 15-county region in Northwest/North Central Pennsylvania that accentuates the importance of the lumber industry for the past, present and future. The goal of the heritage region is to market its assets to potential visitors, to serve as a resource to the PA hardwood industry, and to keep the economic impact of the region in the forefront. LHR is a 501(c)3 organization that is dedicated to helping the region make an impact internationally. It is our mission to serve the region with technical, educational, and financial assistance through coordination of networking and communication initiatives.
The LHR is dedicated to promoting the Heritage of Pennsylvania's internationally significant forest region and recognizing its value as a sustainable asset. The LHR promises to work throughout the 15-county region utilizing the past to create a better place to live, work and play. The LHR is is an internationally recognized forest community with a sense of pride in our people, our quality of life, and the traditions of our rural heritage; preserving, relating, and enhancing the history and heritage of the people and their relationship with the forests or rural Pennsylvania.
We have partnered with the Lumber Heritage Region in the development of the Laurel Mill Mountain Bike Trails and they have awarded us a $30,000 grant to help construct the trails and provide interpretive signage. These trails are part of their Lumber Heritage Trail program.
NAMBA is the local affilate chapter of the International Mountain Bike Association. They serve an area roughly bordered on the west by the Ohio State line, on the North by Lake Erie, on the South by Interstate 80 and on the west by Route 219. They are best known for creating the Jake's Rocks mountain bike area in the Allegheny National Forest and we have partnered with them as we create the Laurel Mill Mountain Bike Trails in Ridgway Township's Sandy Beach Park.
