Eminent Domain

 Since we had purchased this property in 2010 we had planted roughly 350 sapling trees.  Most were planted in two year increments. The first 250 were planted in the center of our property underneath the power lines. They were torn up when the power company came in and replaced the massive wooden poles with even more massive steel poles. 

The aim was and still is to bring more infrastructure into the mountain. They’re still talking about running a gas line through the back end of our property as well.  While we had no written warning or conversation about this massive first change to our property, they have since then taken sending letters to all of the property owners - after that first fiasco - letting us know when people are coming onto our properties to either do studies or take information down for the next phase of their plans.

During the excavation of the land for the first change out of the poles, they destroyed just over 250 of our saplings.  What was interesting about the change out and the excavation, is that it was all done in designated wetlands. The area was posted as Pennsylvania wetlands and was not to be disturbed for any land management purposes whatsoever. In other words, if we had wanted to build there ourselves, we couldn’t because it was a wetland. So not only did they destroy the saplings, remove our giant hemlocks, they also destroyed the wetland filled in covered it over with a massive stone base and then gravel, and then eventually soil on top of that. 

Fortunately, we had planted some other evergreens around our property. They are growing just fine. We also managed to salvage about a dozen concolor pines.  Needless to say, our venture to sell trees for donating to worthy causes came to an abrupt end. We were able to donate approximately three dozen trees to worthy causes before everything came to a screeching halt.

Now we camp here, occasionally bring in or take out a small tree and explore the richness of or side of the mountain.  

Stay tuned for more posts!