Easton is losing a nearly $1 million federal grant to acquire land along the Two Rivers Trailway, which has grown to become one of the Lehigh Valley’s prime walking and biking paths and is seen by city officials as a potential to boost the local economy. The city was in line to receive $830,862 from the U.S. Department of Interior, but the agency notified the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources on May 22 that it was terminating the award, according to state spokesperson Wesley Robinson. In its notification, the federal department said the award “no longer effectuates the priorities of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and is therefore terminated,” Robinson said. Fish and Wildlife is the designated agency for the Highlands Conservation Act Grant program, created in 2004 to support conversation efforts in the region that spans Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. Federal officials did not respond to emails seeking further comment. The grant was for the acquisition of five parcels of land and a trestle bridge within Easton, property currently held by the Belvidere and Lehigh River Railway, according to the state. The acquisitions would have included: - Connecting downtown Easton with the Two Rivers Trailway through a pair of parcels owned by other municipalities; - Allowing the city to preserve 19 acres of green space within a short walk of the city’s downtown; and - Positioning Easton to pursue the second phase of rail corridor acquisition — five additional parcels privately owned — to create a new connection to the Delaware & Lehigh National Historic Corridor at Hugh Moore Park. Connecting downtown Easton with the Two Rivers Trailway, and the new connection to the D&L Trail, has been a priority for the city and is seen as a way to boost its economy from restaurants, shopping and tourism. “It’s disappointing to hear how quickly this grant was denied,” said city Administrator Luis Campos, “but nevertheless, we are not discouraged, because we think it’s a great project for the city and the Lehigh Valley.” The grant was set to acquire the land to create a trail extension from Mount Ida in the city to near the Lidl supermarket in Wilson, he said. Campos, who didn’t immediately know when the city was awarded the grant, said the loss of federal dollars would not derail the project, because it still requires various “due diligence.” For example, he said the city still needs to work on engineering reviews of bridges that would be converted for pedestrian use to make sure they are structurally sound, he said. The city will have to look to other revenue sources to make up the funding loss, Campos said. Robinson said this was the first notification the state received of a grant being terminated. Northampton County was recently awarded $730,000 under the same program to preserve 43 acres of open space in Stockertown; to date that grant remains active. On the government’s website, federal officials say projects earmarked for Pennsylvania include conserving wildlife habitats, creating new outdoor recreational areas and protecting drinking water supplies for the Lehigh Valley and other areas in southeastern Pennsylvania. The grant comes as a 50% funding match from the Fish and Wildlife Service. Some 32 projects in Pennsylvania totaling 2,253 conserved acres have received more than $34 million in “total obligated funds,” according to the website. The city’s trail system, which besides Two Rivers Trailway includes the D&L and Karl Stirner Arts trails, offers roughly 30 miles of hiking and biking paths. Contact Morning Call reporter Anthony Salamone at [email protected].