RidgeRIDER Receives Grant
January 23, 2003

Duncansville, PA -Allegheny Ridge Corporation (ARCorp) received a $55,000 grant for continued development of Project Ridge RIDER, a regional motorized trail plan working toward a win-win solution to the ongoing debate over motorized recreation Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Secretary John C. Oliver announced last week.

An ARCorp initiative covering a 12-county area in the southwestern part of the Commonwealth, Ridge RIDER seeks to bring about environmental restoration and economic revitalization by developing a system of multi-use motorized recreation areas on abandoned mine lands in the bituminous coal fields of western Pennsylvania. The plan includes selecting sites for development and doing conceptual plans for three to five abandoned coalmine sites for motorized recreation areas.

"Abandon mine lands scar Pennsylvania's landscape. Water quality in these mine communities has been adversely affected. Citizens buy all terrain vehicles and discover there are very few legal places to ride. Opportunity exists to develop recreational amenities that encourage tourism and economic growth and address remediation. RIDER simultaneously targets these issues," states Adam Mattis, Project Coordinator.

ARCorp was created to manage the Allegheny Ridge Heritage Area, which was designated by the Commonwealth in 1992, in a cooperative program involving all levels of government and the private sector.
ARCorp works with many invaluable partners to develop heritage-based recreation, environmental and quality of life infrastructure projects throughout the Allegheny Ridge Heritage Area, which includes Blair, Cambria, Huntingdon and Somerset counties.

ARCorp is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to develop, interpret and restore the historic, cultural and natural resources of the Allegheny Ridge Heritage Area in central/western Pennsylvania. For more information on the Allegheny Ridge Heritage Area, Allegheny Ridge Corporation, or Project Ridge RIDER visit www.alleghenyridge.org.

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CONTACT:
Adam Mattis
814-696-2900