Montour Greenway

HOLT's most well known project is the Montour Greenway, which extends from the Ohio River at Coraopolis through Moon, Robinson, Findlay, and North Fayette Townships. The objective of the project is to establish and protect a corridor of undisturbed open space, or "greenway", that follows Montour Run and the Montour Trail. Greenways provide environmental, recreational, educational, and economic benefits to the surrounding communities. The concept for this project has been reviewed and supported by the Allegheny County Greenways Program.

The proposed Greenway corridor is comprised chiefly of undeveloped steep wooded slopes and ravines on both sides of Montour Run. This includes the stream's tributaries, environmentally sensitive wetlands, and areas of biological significance. The rich limestone slopes support a central mesic forest community of mature sugar maple and oak. A high diversity of plants -- including trillium, hepatica, ginger, trout lily, violet woodsorrel, jack-in-the-pulpit, maidenhair fern, and bladdernut -- are present among bedrock outcroppings. These rocky areas provide a unique habitat and enhance the aesthetic quality of the land, offering a refreshing contrast to the highly developed suburban areas that surround some portions of Montour Run.

Three HOLT properties, the recently acquired Clemmons site, the Santucci Conservation Area and the Meek's Run Conservation Area lie within the proposed Greenway corridor.

Establishing the Montour Greenway will preserve the biodiversity of the Montour Valley, help to sustain the water quality of Montour Run (that currently is known to support fourteen species of fish), protect the aesthetics that enhance the Montour Trail, and secure educational and research opportunities for school programs and scientists. In addition to these benefits, studies have shown that protected open space can have a positive impact on adjacent property values.