Our Partners

We go further when we go together.

For the D&L, partnership is second nature! The staff and board take a partnership approach to everything. Since the organization does not actually own the D&L Trail—the organization works directly with federal and state agencies, municipalities, and landowners to connect and maintain the trail and other regional treasures.

Partners of the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor include federal agencies such as the National Park Service, state agencies such as the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, program partners such as the regional planning commissions, convention and visitors bureaus, landowners along the D&L Trail, private funders and corporations, and other nonprofits who contribute to the D&L Trail or Corridor goals.

The two anchor partners for the D&L –the National Park Service and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources—lead the way when it comes to land conservation, making trail connections, and federal and state legislation. Both partnerships require ongoing and close attention from the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor to address funding requirements set by both agencies.

The path of the D&L Trail passes through two State Parks (Lehigh Gorge and Delaware Canal) as well as lands owned by Lehigh County, multiple municipalities, a park commission and the non-profit Anthracite Scenic Trails, Inc. To assure all 165-miles are managed in consistent fashion, owners convene annually to discuss common issues and identify priorities.

We often partner with other nonprofits with similar goals –our partnership with the Wildlands Conservancy has been instrumental in the development of the Lehigh River Water Trail and THE LINK Trail Network in the Lehigh Valley. D&L is proud to work with DCNR to lead one of the longest-running Conservation Landscapes in the Commonwealth, Lehigh Valley Greenways. Since 2004, the Lehigh Valley Greenways Partnership has been coordinating efforts and leveraging resources for land conservation, outdoor recreation and environmental education

As you can see, encouraging partners’ capabilities is central to the work of the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor.

Though we could never list all partners that have been invaluable to the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor and the D&L Trail for 31 years, here are some partners that we work with most recently:

• Anthracite Scenic Trails Association
• Bethlehem Township
• Borough of Freemansburg
• Borough of Slatington
• Bushkill Township
• Bucks County Conference & Visitor Bureau
• City of Allentown
• City of Bethlehem
• City of Easton
• City of Wilkes Barre
• Community Bike Works
• County of Carbon
• DCNR – Bureau of Forestry
• DCNR – Delaware Canal State Park
• DCNR – Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center
• DCNR-Lehigh Gorge State Park
• Delaware Canal Advisory Committee
• Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
• Discover Lehigh Valley
• East Penn Township
• Friends of Johnston, Inc.
• Ironton Rail Trail
• Jim Thorpe Borough
• Lafayette College
• Lehigh Canal Recreation Commission
• Lehigh County Parks
• Lehigh Gap Nature Center (Wildlife Information Center)
• Lehighton Downtown Initiative
• Lehigh Valley Planning Commission
• Luzerne County Conference & Visitors Bureau
• Historic Bethlehem Partnership
• Nurture Nature Center
• North Branch Land Trust
• North Catasauqua
• Northampton County
• Northampton County Conservation District
• Northern Lehigh Recreation Authority
• Old Freemansburg Association
• PA Department of Transportation
• PA Environmental Council
• PA Fish and Boat Commission
• Plainfield Township
• Pocono Forest & Waters Conservation Landscape
• Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau
• Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
• Riegelsville Enhancement Group
• St. Luke’s University Health Network
• The Circuit Trails
• Walnutport Borough
• Watershed Coalition of Lehigh Valley
• Wildlands Conservancy