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Northern Tier Coalition of Townships
Susquehanna County, PA
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Coalition
Members
Apolacon Twp..
Bridgewater Twp.
Choconut Twp.
Forest Lake Twp.
Franklin Twp.
Jessup Twp.
Liberty Twp.
Middletown Twp.
Rush Twp.
Silver Lake Twp
Friendsville
Little Meadows
Montrose
EMPLOYMENT AND TAX BASE
Qualitatively it can be said that the tax base in each of the municipalities is severely limited by lack of significant industry and relatively low land value. Further, income levels and lack of high paying jobs in the area make tax increases particularly unfeasible. Per capita income in Susquehanna County is $18,575 compared to the statewide average of $25,670.
The loss of families in farming and the lack of large industry mean that the community is largely a bedroom community. None of the principal employers in the region are located in Susquehanna County
In addition to a handful of retail sector jobs in the NTC communities, forestry and quarries provide local income. Information on the number of landowners that earn money from selling trees to lumber processors and leasing land for bluestone quarries is unavailable. It should be noted however, that forestry in Susquehanna County in general pumps almost as much money into the economy as agricultural concerns. Sixty-four percent of the land in Susquehanna County is forestland. Of that forestland, 96% of it is in private hands. Although the economic value of the timber harvest in the County is $3.22 million annually, the forestry sector and the wood products and paper sector add $10.0 million and $5.8 million to the economy each year. This is only slightly less than the almost $18 million contributed by the agricultural production and processing sectors.
Susquehanna County participates in the Keystone Opportunity Zones program, which identifies areas to set aside for development where businesses can grow without state and local taxes for up to 12 years. The program allows for the abatement of five different State taxes and three different local taxes. None of the County’s Keystone Opportunity Zones are located within the municipalities.
RECREATION, HERITAGE AND OPEN SPACE
The Northern Tier Coalition area has a variety of recreational opportunities because of the area’s abundance of natural resources. These amenities has probably been the prime driver for most of what development has occurred in the area, with many new comers moving to the area to A variety of public and private park and conservation areas provide important natural resources for the enjoyment of resident and non-resident alike. For example, Salt Springs State Park is an extraordinary natural and cultural resource including mature hemlock groves accessible by well maintained trails. The area’s upland lakes provide important enjoyment for lake residents as well as the public though few of the lakes have direct public access. The forests and streams in the area amply stocked and are seasonal draw for long time locals and an increasing number of out-of-towners. Hunting and fishing are popular in the region as are off-road biking, snowmobiling, and horseback riding. Several private organizations are at work to conserve the natural resources of the area including the Countryside Conservancy, the Edward L. Rose Conservancy, the North Branch Land Trust and the Pennsylvania Chapter of the Nature Conservancy. Lake Associations and a number of recently formed watershed organizations also play an important role in responding to natural resource conservation opportunities.
In addition to important physical features, the area has a rich cultural heritage including hamlets, heritage farms, cemeteries, churches (Figure 3.21), old schools (Figure 3.22), and turnpikes (Figure 3.23). Various conservation and historic preservation interests in the area are involved in protecting community landmarks and cultural heritage corridors. The Endless Mountains Heritage Trail plan established Scenic Byways that connect a series of important cultural landmarks throughout not only Susquehanna County bust also neighboring counties. Another local effort is currently underway to establish a Montrose Greenway, connecting important natural and cultural resources by a system of existing gravel roads and recreational trails. A proposed route of the Greenway is included in Figure 24. A comprehensive planning effort should incorporate these efforts and their goal of conserving the cultural heritage of the Northern Tier area into the visioning process.
SUMMARY: INGREDIENTS FOR THE CONSERVATION & PLANNING
Figures 3.25 & 3.26 are summary maps of important ingredients for the comprehensive planning process. Figure 3.25 is of working farms, prime agriculture land and prime field habitat. Figure 3.26 depicts hamlets and historic roads. The turnpikes are a unique cultural asset in this landscape. There is as stretch of the Milford-Owego turnpike, which remains as it was in the 19th Century, threading its gravelly over-hill-and-dale diagonal trajectory through historic farm and woodlot. The relationship between Montrose and its surrounding environment to the south and west, sitting on the hill, surrounded by creeks and wetlands, then with the fields and the woods especially, should be conserved perhaps as greenbelt. Hamlets should be emphasized in planning and allocating development, and their singular relationship to the neighboring countryside such as with Birchardville. Finally, the 706 corridor heading west along the East Branch of the Wyalusing Creek from Montrose through Jessup and into Rush still has the character of road, woodlot, field and hamlet. It has not only value as a fishing and farming corridor, but also is itself a cultural landscape gem worthy of conservation efforts. Other valley roadways with similar relationships to streams such as 29 (Snake Creek), 858 (Wylusing North Branch and Apolacon Creek) and 267 (Choconut Creek and Wyalusing Middle Branch) should also be the focus of planning attention.
Footnotes 1 Blackman, Emily C., History of Susquehanna County Pennsylvania. Baltimore: Regional Publishing Company, 1970 (Originally published in 1873), page 25. 2 Ibid., page 9-10.